2007 d40 automatic no acceleration

[Hammertime]

Hi everyone
I have a 2007 automatic d40 navarra
When we bought it it didn’t run and we had to fix bank 2 head gasket. After the repair I had done over 1000kms before it started to slowly lose power.after a while it’s now in a state of permanent limp mode. When you start it you can drive around up to 60km which takes lo get than normal due to revving to between 3000-4000 revs before changing gear. After 5 minutes it loses all acceleration. It showed bank 1 cam sensor fault which we replaced and cleared the fault but the fault reappears . Please help. Any ideas on how to get it running properly again.

 

[Old.Tony]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm assuming it's a petrol engine, so we're not going to talk turbocharger or turbo control etc.

The very first thing I'd do is clean the battery terminals. If you've pressure washed the engine bay, you may have to disconnect and reconnect any of the electrical connections that you see to disengage any debris that may have been pushed into the contacts by pressure washing.

Now this might fix the issue - because the sensor in question has to get its signal through to the ECU, and sometimes poor electrical connections result in odd signals to the ECU - but if not, there is a chance there's a problem with the Camshaft Position Sensor.

Give it a clean first and see how it goes.

 

[Hammertime]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm assuming it's a petrol engine, so we're not going to talk turbocharger or turbo control etc.

The very first thing I'd do is clean the battery terminals. If you've pressure washed the engine bay, you may have to disconnect and reconnect any of the electrical connections that you see to disengage any debris that may have been pushed into the contacts by pressure washing.

Now this might fix the issue - because the sensor in question has to get its signal through to the ECU, and sometimes poor electrical connections result in odd signals to the ECU - but if not, there is a chance there's a problem with the Camshaft Position Sensor.

Give it a clean first and see how it goes.

I replaced the cam sensor

 

[Hammertime]

I replaced the cam sensor

Also noticed when this happened the battery which is only put in in September October needed recharging. Could the battery be the issue?

 

[Old.Tony]

Perhaps the battery, but also perhaps the alternator. I'd do a simple voltage test.

Voltage with ignition off: should be somewhere in the 12.2-12.8V range, but typically 12.4-12.6V.

Voltage after starting engine: should be in the 14.1-14.7V range, but typically 14.2-14.4V.

If the alternator's not charging properly, that could provide part of the answer. Check the connections, make sure they're all clean. It's not a bad idea to use spray-on battery terminal sealant once you've completely removed any signs of oxidisation or contamination.

If the alternator's charging ok, try another simple test: drive the car for about 10 minutes (that's all that's needed to restore the energy used to start the engine) and stop in your driveway (don't turn off the engine). Check the voltage on the battery, it should still be over 14V. Now turn the engine off, the battery voltage should fall to around 13V fairly quickly then start a slow decline. After an hour, the battery should be at 12.8V (or very close to it). If the battery is higher that's ok, but if it's lower, then either the battery is faulty, or there's a significant drain in your system that's drawing extra power (perhaps a dual battery charger that constantly draws from the starter battery even when the ignition is off?).

 

[Hammertime]

Thanks I will have a look at it. Hopefully I can figure out the issue. As I haven’t been able to drive it for 2 months. Also changing the rear brake lights as one has blown

 

[Hammertime]

Replaced brake lights Cleaned cam sensor plug cleaned battery Still limp mode and then no power at all. Doesn’t cut out at all .runs fine in neautral etc. still could be the battery needs replacing. One thing I noticed was that when I undone the fuel cap there was no released pressure at all

 

[Old.Tony]

I can't comment on the petrol cap, mine being diesel the fuel system operates quite differently (diesel cars don't have a pump in the tank, and the tank is unpressurised).

Because yours is an auto I don't think it's the neutral position switch (because auto boxes work a little differently) but I wouldn't rule it out. There is some value in taking the car to an automatic gearbox specialist and having them connect their analysis tool to the car to measure torque converter slippage. This will also tell them if it's slipping too much while driving, and tell them what signals the gearbox is sending the ECU - which might have an influence on performance while moving.

 

[Hammertime]

Slightly good news. We think we may have pinpointed what it could be. We noticed the engine was building up pressure and there was hardly enough fumes coming out the exhaust so we are going to take a look at the bank a catylic converter. Fingers crossed

 

[Tappet]

so we are going to take a look at the bank a catalytic converter. Fingers crossed

Something like this maybe more likely to be causing the the engine to go into limp mode. I if you could report back that would be great. The forum is a little quiet these days but the there is a massive resource of info anything that adds helps out a lot.

Welcome and thanks.

 

[Hammertime]

Good news. Car is running again. Driver side front cat was completely blocked Now have power and acceleration and can go over 60kms an hour

need to check spark plugs as there is a slight misfire but it is drivable again. Smashed the inside out of it

 

[Old.Tony]

Bloody cats!

Well, that's good news anyway.