Citroen ZX (1992 - 1998) - 1995 1.8 Petrol - Cutting Out On Over-run

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Fri 30 Nov 2007 13:48
1995 1.8 Petrol - Cutting Out On Over-run - HarryS
Why does our ZX cut out on slowing down for lights?
(Probably same engine as early Zantia s?)


We have just acquired a ZX 1.8 which has an unpleasant habit of occasionally cutting out when coasting down to lights etc. It restarts immediately, or if the car is still moving can be bumped with it?s momentum. Whilst it?s doing this the yellow ecu warning light comes on, but goes out again.
Sometimes it also pinks under high load, eg motorway hills, otherwise its a good motor.


My instinct says a failing engine management sensor, but which one?

Can anyone suggest what may be wrong?
Is it likely to fail completely and not restart?

Will a fault code have been saved in the ecu? If not, is there any point in getting it read?
Clearly we are not wanting to spend £100s on an L-reg!

Any advice much appreciated.
HarryS, Yorkshire


Thankfully its not a Xantia which loses nearly all of its braking if the engine dies!!!

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 30/11/2007 at 13:49

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 30 Nov 2007 14:04
1995 1.8 Petrol - Cutting Out On Over-run - Screwloose

Giving the idle air control valve a clean would be a good place to start.

16-valve or eight?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 30 Nov 2007 14:20
1995 1.8 Petrol - Cutting Out On Over-run - HarryS
Thanks Screwloose- I'll give it a go-
Bit of an adventure though since I've run diesels ever since the days of carburettors!

its an 8v, mpi

Harry
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 30 Nov 2007 14:42
1995 1.8 Petrol - Cutting Out On Over-run - Screwloose
Harry

Good time to swap back - though I would've chosen a different car to do it on.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 30 Nov 2007 14:56
1995 1.8 Petrol - Cutting Out On Over-run - DP
Agree with Screwloose's suggestion of the idle control valve (operated by a stepper motor). My old 306 had this problem.

If left, it can sometimes go the other way and cause the engine to idle at 4000 RPM! That was embarrassing on the M42 in rush hour, I can tell you.

When the dealer eventually diagnosed it (seven attempts) it was fixed easily and cheaply. It does not log a fault code in the ECU which was part of the problem. I lost count of the number of times I was told "we plugged it in and there ain't nuffink wrong wiv it according to the computer!"

Cheers
DP

PS - company car on a full maintenance lease agreement, otherwise I wouldn't have gone within a mile of a Peugeot dealer!! :-)
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX

Edited by DP on 30/11/2007 at 14:58

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

Honest Used Car Prices

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....