Check Engine Light and Revs Limited

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recneps

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Being the proud owner of a 1.0 P reg Micra I was little disheartened to see my "check engine" light come on this morning accompanied by a loss in power.

The engine seemed to go into a "safe mode", where the revs were limited to around 2,000 RPM.

Is this "safe mode" normal when the engine light comes on, or does it help me to diagnose the problem?

I will try the Haynes Manual self diagnostic check later.

Does anyone have ideas as to what this may be?
 
i assume its not overheating,

the engine may not be able to sense the emmitions... you'll know after you fault find the ECU...
 
No, the engine was not over heating. It happened about 2 miles from home (less than 5 mins of driving).
 
sorry mate, can't really help until you get the fault code from the ECU

did you change anything recently? did it have a service?
 
how old is it? whats the milage? is it regularly services? and do you rag it? (over 4000 rpm)
 
Age: P reg (1997?)
Milage: about 70k
Full service history
Never driven hard. I have other cars for that!
 
hmmmmmmm, interesting, its quite a young car... there shouldn't be any problems with it...

have you left it standing for a while or do you drive it every day?

i can only think that it is either an electrical fault or something like a block in the fuel filter. a quick service might sort it...

but i don't recommend driving it with the light on just incase its something serious...

does it sound right? like its firing on all cylinders? do you have a rev counter?
 
there shouldn't be any problems with it... - That's what I thought. Having run an original shape Micra for 5 years / 50,000 miles with nothing more than replacing brakepads and rear box!

It's driven every day and it still sounds fine (before the revs are limited) and the power at low revs is exactly the same as usual.

Is it normal for the revs to be limited when the engine light comes on or does it depend on the problem?
 
i assume it must depend on the problem because i've never heard of the revs being limited before,

check the filter, make sure no sparrows are in there lol
 
does the engine sound different when its reving @ 2k, could you get me a video of the engine when its reved to 2k with sound aswell please,

ive had a lot of micras do this but i wont be 100% sure untill i hear the engine when its in "safe mode"
 
could be a sensor thats down, Or if you have driven throo a large puddle maybe some water in your electrics making the car go into limp home mode
 
im 99% sure it will be mass air flow sensor the other 1% is that the cat has collapsed and blocked the exhaust
 
Fordy said:
im 99% sure it will be mass air flow sensor the other 1% is that the cat has collapsed and blocked the exhaust
Click to expand...

thats what i was thinking but i think if the AFM sensor goes then the car tends to stall..
 
I suppose, as with so many things not just cars, it is effected by many other components conditions and how broken the component its-self is.
 
just wondering but have you checked the oil? ive seen it where low oil affects the revs(doesnt limit but slows it down loads) and the way the car drives...i know its a simple thing but no harm checking...
 
NeX said:
ok, its anoying that one dodgy unit can give different symtoms
Click to expand...

yes it is for example you get a fault code fuel sys lean b1 this means theres something wrong with the front oxygen sensor but on k11s this is mainly caused by the maf sensor lol
 
Fordy said:
yes it is for example you get a fault code fuel sys lean b1 this means theres something wrong with the front oxygen sensor but on k11s this is mainly caused by the maf sensor lol
Click to expand...

lol, well my fault code is always 55 ;)
 
OK, so I have now got a fault code: 28. Haynes manual says "if code 28 is displayed it should be ignored"... not much help!

Does anyone know what code 28 means?

No other codes are showing. I also did the exhaust gas sensor test as described in the Haynes manual and that seems fine.

Something else I have noticed is that the fan seems to be running a lot. I must admit that I don't know how often the fan ran when the car was working fine but it seems strange that the fan comes on within 20 seconds of starting the car from cold.
 
So I've just had a fault diagnosis check at Nissan.

I've been told that it's the mass airflow sensor and the engine coolant temperature sensor. (By the way, the self diagnosis check did not show up a mass airflow fault)

I have just replaced the engine coolant temperature sensor for a brand new one! So don't know why this is faulty, unless the ECU is not being reset properly.

They said that you sometimes can't completely remove the memory in the ECU and I will have to pay them again to reset the ECU!

QUESTIONS:

Is the mass airflow sensor fixable using the re-soldering fix or will I need a new throttle body?

Do I really need to go back to Nissan to reset the ECU?

He said something about the engine coolant temperature sensor was on the exhaust. I didn't know there was one on the exhaust, is there?
 
recneps said:
So I've just had a fault diagnosis check at Nissan.

I've been told that it's the mass airflow sensor and the engine coolant temperature sensor. (By the way, the self diagnosis check did not show up a mass airflow fault)

I have just replaced the engine coolant temperature sensor for a brand new one! So don't know why this is faulty, unless the ECU is not being reset properly.

They said that you sometimes can't completely remove the memory in the ECU and I will have to pay them again to reset the ECU!

QUESTIONS:

Is the mass airflow sensor fixable using the re-soldering fix or will I need a new throttle body?

Do I really need to go back to Nissan to reset the ECU?

He said something about the engine coolant temperature sensor was on the exhaust. I didn't know there was one on the exhaust, is there?
Click to expand...

the coolant temp sensor isnt on the exhaust.

if the engine management light comes back on, when you replace the mass air flow sensor (resoldering doesnt always fix the problems so replacement is the best idea) the light may stay on, you might be able to clear it by disconnecting the battery for half an hour if not you will have to go to a nissan dealer to get it erased again
 

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