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Common Causes Of Car Breakdown
Flat Battery or Defective Battery
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Battery faults are some of the most common causes of car breakdowns. The car battery powers the starter motor, and when the engine runs, the alternator recharges the battery. If you had a car battery problem, you couldn’t start your car.
How to avoid a flat car battery
Always ensure that you switch off all electronics before leaving your car. If you don’t take long trips often, your car battery may not charge properly. To prevent this, you can charge it overnight with a battery charger. Additionally, when you take your car in for servicing, ensure the mechanic checks the battery connections are clean, protected from corrosion and adequately secured.
Clutch Failure
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It’s essential to keep an eye out for signs of wear in your clutch system to avoid breakdowns. Symptoms of a worn clutch can include a very high biting point, juddering on take-off, or a clutch pedal that’s hard to operate. If you notice any of these signs, it’s important to check your clutch as soon as possible. This can prevent the replacement of the clutch kit and further vehicle damage. So, be proactive and check the clutch at the first sign of malfunction.
Alternator Not Charging
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Having the red battery light on while the engine is running could indicate an alternator failure. Your vehicle cannot run with the alternator not charging; therefore, if you have an alternator fault, you need to contact the garage as soon as you can.
Engine Oil
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Having the oil changed when doing your car servicing is not enough until the next replacement interval. Lack of oil or having overfilled could cause serious engine damage. Sometimes on a diesel vehicle with a DFP, the oil may become diluted if the DPF regeneration doesn’t happen. This can cause the oil level to increase, and this will need an oil change. Oil level has to be checked regularly with the dipstick or electronically from your vehicle instruments.
Starter Motor
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A starter motor is an electric motor that turns a combustion engine. Without its functionality, no engine start is possible. A starter motor is an electric motor that turns a combustion engine. Without its functionality, no engine start is possible.
Even if you get your car serviced regularly, any potential faults on the starter motor cannot be noticed before they cause you any problems in most cases.
Wrong Fuel
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Wrong fuel in your car? It happens yearly to about 133,000 drivers. Don’t start your engine if you’ve misfuelled your car, all contaminated fuel has to be drained. Remember – green for petrol, black for diesel.
Engine Overheating
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Overheating engines can be a top cause of breakdowns and engine damage. If your engine temperature warning lights on, there could be a problem with the engine cooling system. If there’s steam coming from the engine bay or the temperature warning light is on, pull over to the nearest safe spot and call assistance. Running with the engine, how could cause damage to the head gasket or damage the complete engine. Make sure you regularly check coolant, but always when the engine is cold.
Timing Belt or chain
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The timing belt has a variable replacement interval from one manufacturer to another and from one engine to another. It is happening more often than you think that timing belt replacement intervals if forgotten and when the belt breaks are causing big engine damage. Therefore always check your cambelt change interval.
Some cars have a timing chain that, in theory, it shouldn’t require replacement; however, on newer vehicles, this is also a serviceable item. The timing chain will start making a noise like a rattling, especially at a cold start. This is an indication that the chain is screeched and should be given great importance.
OGS Can Also Help with Car Repairs For:
- Lost Car Keys
- Damaged Wheels and Tyres
- Suspension & Shock Absorbers
- Timing Belt
- Tow Bar
- Clogged Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF)
- AirCon Services
- MOT
- Steering
- Electrical Work
- Engine rebuild
- Exhaust
- Extreme Carbon Build-up
- ADAS Calibration
- Fault Seeking & Diagnostics
- Gearbox manual and automatic
- Glass & Windscreen
- Brakes
- Diagnostics, coding, programming
- Injector Removal
- Car Service
Did You Know?
Lost Car Keys
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Losing your only car key or getting it locked inside the car will leave you stranded. Therefore it is always a good practice to have a spare car key. However, the spare might not help if you’re far from home and you’re losing the key. In this case, an auto locksmith will be the best call for help.
Damaged Wheels And Tyres
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Punctures are also top for breakdown reasons, and while most of them cannot be prevented, there are a few aspects you should check to prevent a flat tyre. Check regularly the tyre pressure and tread, and if you see uneven wear, have the wheel alignment checked. If you’re driving with loads, adjust the tyre pressure accordingly and avoid driving rough road surfaces with speed.
AdBlue
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Newer diesel vehicles use Selective Catalyst Reduction (SCR), which reduces nitrogen oxide exhaust emissions. AdBlue is an additive that gets injected in the exhaust for this reason. It’s also called urea or Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), and it needs to be kept topped up to work properly. Your car engine won’t start if AdBlue runs out, so it’s important never to run out.
Extreme Carbon Build-Up
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Here at O.G.S. Mechanics, we are not shy to take up a carbon disaster and put it right.
It takes a lot of hard work, skill, care and attention to put an excessive carbon leak situation as pictured back to the right way.
It is without a doubt that we would require to use our specialist injector removal tools on a job as such, clean up the injectors & the sleeving, re-cut the injector seating and fit new injector seals. Even possibly repair a few broken bolts and threads here and there, nothing new to us there.
Focus On: Clogged Diesel Particulate Filter Repair (DPF)
Is your Diesel Particulate (DPF) Clogged?
THE MYSTERIOUS DPF!
IS YOUR DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER (DPF) CLOGGED? IS YOUR VEHICLE RUNNING IN LIMP MODE, LACKING IN POWER, OR IS THE ENGINE UNABLE TO START? DOES YOUR VEHICLE STRUGGLE TO ACCELERATE FROM TRAFFIC LIGHTS? IS THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ON? DO YOU HAVE AN ADBLUE MALFUNCTION? AT OGS MECHANICS, WE CAN HELP.
By treating the early symptoms of Diesel Particulate failure, you can avoid expensive unnecessary repairs. OGS Mechanics can help in the efficient diagnosis of this fault – restoring your vehicle’s performance and extending the life of your vehicle’s DPF. At OGS Mechanics, we specialise in diagnosing DPF faults and assisting vehicles that are running with a lack of power – our highly trained technicians use advanced diagnostics equipment. Our diagnostic procedure includes:
- scanning control units for faults;
- running test and reading relevant live data, comparing against specification
- checking software level of relevant ECUs
Upon gathering all data, a test plan will follow to identify the exact cause of the DPF problems.
How to Diagnose a DPF Fault /Engine Running With A Lack Of Power
CORRECTLY DIAGNOSING A DPF FAULT / AN ENGINE RUNNING WITH A LACK OF POWER IS ESSENTIAL TO AVOID REPLACING UNNECESSARY PARTS – SOMETHING THAT COULD CREATE SIGNIFICANT AND UNNECESSARY HIGH COST. From 1992 new cars and vans had to meet defined Euro emissions standards when being built as part of a global initiative to improve air quality by reducing emissions. ‘Euro 6’ is the latest directive set to help reduce the level of harmful pollutants produced by vehicles and since September 2015, all new cars and vans have had to be built to meet the Euro 6 emission standard. Diesel Particulate Filters were installed on vehicle exhaust systems to meet Euro 5 emission regulations. While DPFs are a very important element in reducing exhaust emissions. they also are an added source of problems and expense. They can often cause vehicles to slip into emergency limp mode (more precisely, reduced power mode if the maintenance cycle known as ‘regeneration’, which is controlled by the engine’s ECU, is failing to complete several times causing the filter to become clogged.
Causes of DPF Failure
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE CAUSE OF DPF FAILURE IS IDENTIFIED AND REPAIRED. REASONS FOR DPF FAILURE INCLUDE:
- Combustion/compression issue;
- Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system problem;
- Injector over-fueling;
- Faulty glow plugs or glow plug control unit;
- Air intake issues;
- Turbocharger problem;
- Faulty thermostat;
- Incorrect software version.
Common DPF Fault Codes
HERE IS A LIST OF THE MOST COMMON GENERIC DPF FAULT CODES:
- P1471 Diesel particulate filter (bank 1) regeneration not completed;
- P2002 Diesel particulate filter (bank 1) efficiency below the threshold;
- P2003 Diesel particulate filter (bank 1) particulate mass too high;
- P242F Diesel particulate filter (bank 1) regeneration not active;
- P244A Particulate filter differential pressure too low;
- P224B Particulate filter differential pressure too high;
- P2452 Particulate filter differential pressure sensor malfunction;
- P2453 Diesel particulate filter differential pressure – sensor malfunction;
- P2454 Diesel particulate filter differential pressure – sensor voltage too low;
- P2455 Diesel particulate filter differential pressure – sensor malfunction;
- P2458 Particulate filter regeneration maximum regeneration time exceeded;
- P2459 Particulate filter regeneration, regeneration frequency implausible.
What’s The Difference Between Passive Regeneration and Force Regeneration?
Passive regeneration is when the regeneration process is initiated by the engine ECU whenever required. Forced regeneration is the process initiated by the technician via a diagnostic machine when a DPF is too clogged for passive regeneration to happen. Forced regeneration can be completed stationary or in motion depending on the vehicle software. Contact OGS Mechanics today if your car or van has restricted performance, or any engine management warning light on and we’ll be able to assist with diagnostics and restoration of the vehicle’s performance.
How does the DPF Work?
UNDERSTANDING THE DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER AND ITS FUNCTIONALITY The DPF looks similar to an exhaust silencer box but is mounted close to the engine, usually within the same housing as the catalytic converter. Inside is a complex honeycomb ceramic structure designed to filter exhaust gases while minimising flow reduction (which would otherwise limit performance). By forcing the exhaust gases through the walls between the channels of the DPF, the particulate matter is deposited on the walls, reducing the amount of air pollution. Once the DPF reaches a certain level of ‘Saturation’ it performs a regeneration cycle which burns off the particulate matter retained inside the filter. In normal driving conditions, a DPF should run for approximately 100,000 miles without the need for forced maintenance. DPFs can and will fail most of time prematurely through no fault of their own. If a DPF has blocked prematurely due to a fault further upstream, then simply replacing or cleaning the filter will not solve the problem and the DPF will usually block again after just a few miles. To have a DPF block again after just a few miles after cleaning or replacing indicates that there is a fault within the engine management system that is preventing successful DPF regeneration cycles from being completed. A comprehensive diagnostic check can reveal the DPF regeneration cycle history within the engine ECU memory.
