1.4i 2002 manual engine management light and loss of power

Hi all, I'm new here

I have a problem. I bought a C3 at the start of this month and all has been well - until today. I got in the car and pulled away, very juddery, but since I'm a new driver I assumed that it's just me with the pedals. 1st, 2nd and occasionally 3rd gear have a juddery feel when driving. While idling the revs are so low that it sounds like it could stall any second, and it's a little bit bumpy while idling. There's a funny smell in the car, and the only way to get up to 30mph from a standstill without going quite slow is to keep in the lower gears as much as possible (e.g 1st gear until about 20mph...?? ) There is now a strange smell coming from the bonnet and the engine management light has started flashing on the dashboard.

Any ideas guys?

Hi Ryan7100, welcome to the forum.

Any ideas guys?

I would suggest you don't drive it to avoid do any more damage as the smell from under the bonnet is a concern.

Getting the codes with a tool like the Maxiscan MS509 (amazon, here) will help you diagnose why the EML is on and possibly why the car is giving trouble.

Hi Arfur, thanks for your reply. I will avoid driving it, but my parents seem to think that it's because I only drive short distances, like a 5 minute journey to the shop etc.

Will try out what you suggested.

Thanks again.

Ryan7100 wrote:my parents seem to think that it's because I only drive short distances, like a 5 minute journey to the shop etc.
Thanks again.

Short runs are not ideal as the engine and exhaust components can't get up to temperature, but the codes you get from the scanner will hopefully point you in the right direction.

A nice tip for reading the codes is to do it in several stages:

Firstly connect up and read all the codes, write the all down, then delete them all.

Make a note of all the codes that won't clear or are unable to be deleted.

Then start the car and dive it a short distance until you get the problem (it may show straight away, but some take a while to show).

Now read all the codes again and make a note of these.

Its these last set of codes that are the latest, freshest ones that need to earliest attention.

Hi again, just a little update.

Out of curiosity, I took my car for a spin earlier after leaving it for a day. The engine management light isn't on anymore, and the idle rumbling isn't so bad but still present. It's still a little bit jerky while travelling in 1st and 2nd and still feel a loss of power though.

I'm awaiting delivery of the gadget you recommended, Arfur. So when that arrives I'll give that a go.

Ryan


Continues: https://citroenc3owners.com/petrol-citro ... t1045.html

Hello again.

Just a quick update for anyone who may have been following this up.

My dad had a look under the bonnet for me, and while going to change the spark plugs he pulled the coil pack out and noticed that it was broken. Obviously the previous owner put it back in and it worked okay for a while.

So, after a new coil pack the car is back to normal.

Thanks again.