Wiring Boost Gauge Caused Car to be Stuck in Limp Mode

[MonsterB41]

My partner recently bought a 2005 D22 Navara that came with a Boost gauge. It was attached to the turbo but not wired in for the light. Tonight we wired the gauge into the 12V cigarette lighter wire behind the centre console and whilst the gauge works the car is now stuck in limp mode. We have tried some of the ECU resets but they don't seem to work. We also disconnected the wire to the gauge (the pipe to the turbo was still connected) but it hasn't fixed the problem either.

My partner said that he disconnected the fuse after this and the car still remained in limp mode.

Please note it also rained while the bonnet was open and the battery was disconnected. Not sure if this may have caused any extra problems.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Horatius]

That's a strange one. It's more likely to be coincidence and something else is wrong, but who knows, strange things can happen. Maybe someone who has had a similar problem will be along to help soon.

In the mean time the best thing to do might be to get the fault codes from the ecu and go from there. This should tell you why it is going into limp mode. Then reset it. Have a look at the link (actually mentions "gremlins" throwing the ecu into limp mode). Looks complicated at first, but take your time and it isn't really that difficult.

https://www.navaraforum.com/threads/zd30-fault-codes-and-electrical-gremlins-survival-guide.35136/

 

[Horatius]

ps. Something easy to check that could also be worth doing (on the off chance) would be the fuel filter to see if there is any water or rubbish in it. If it hasn't been changed in a while they can trap water in the bottom which has a small float switch that will put the car into limp mode. People aren't usually too fussy with maintenance if they're selling, have seen a float switch stuck with crud before.

There's a small valve and piece of hose on the bottom of the filter. Undo the valve and let a cup or more so of diesel out. This should get rid of the water if there is any and clear the fault.

 

[karl]

Could they have messed with a vacuum line?

 

[Old.Tony]

I'd suggest that the cigarette lighter isn't responsible for limp mode or you'd be going slow every time you had a smoke! It would be more likely either coincidence - some other failure occurred at the same time - or something was dislodged/disconnected during the inspection process that caused the failure.

True "limp mode" limits the RPM - if you can't rev the engine (while driving) over 2,000rpm you've got limp mode. If your engine will rev over 2,000rpm but lacks power, you've more than likely got a problem with boost control/leaking.