After months and weeks of trawling the internet looking for a solution to this problem I have decided to make a post about it myself. I can see that I am definitely not alone and that many other Renault Clio owners are experiencing the same problem but I am really at a loss of where to go from here...
I bought my Clio second hand in December 2006. It is a 2001 1.2 16v dynamique and had done 35,000m when I bought it (for way more than it's worth, but that's a different matter!!)
So after having it for a few weeks I noticed that the orange coil light was coming on and the engine would cut out - often at junctions or roundabouts, whilst crawling through traffic or sometimes when pulling into parking spaces. Initially I put it down to the fact that this was my first car after passing my test and I perhaps hadn't quite got the hang of it and was just stalling it without realising but after a while I realised this wasn't the case. I noticed that the majority of the time the light came on when my foot was hard down on the clutch so I couldn't be stalling the engine, it had to be something else.
I was told it was an electrical fault but I found that if I revved the car a lot as soon as the light came on, eventually it would go away and I could continue driving without the light coming back on so just left it at that and carried on using the car as normal.
Sometimes it won't happen at all but other times it will happen 10 times in a 10 minute jounrey which can be seriously frustrating but I was never really in a position to afford to be able to take it to a garage and pay the prices that people were quoting on other forums and even after paying almost thousands STILL experiencing the problem.
Well, I am 6 months pregnant and a few weeks ago the car decided to cut out on my whilst doing somewhere in the 70's on the motorway which was quite frightening. I managed to turn the engine off and on again whilst hurtling along and with a lot of revving in a lower gear the light went off and I continued the journey. A few days later the same happened but as I was pulling out at a roundabout and I almost got hit in the side by another car coming from the right hand side which scared the hell out of me. After a lot of angry beeping and me in tears (yes, guys you can all have a laugh at women drivers and their hormones!) I managed to get myself off of the roundabout and home to safety.
I actually feel like I am driving around in a potential death trap but being that I am currently unemployed (I left my job before finding out that I was pregnant and have been applying left right and centre since finding out but lets face it - no one wants to employ a preggo) and therefore lacking in funds I just don't know what to do. My dad has looked at the car and although he is good with things like this I just don't think he can really do anything about it.
So basically I am hoping that someone will be able to enlighten me as to (in the most basic terms possible!) what I need to do.
Can I take it to a non Renault garage and if I do, will they be able to do what needs to be done?
What ACTUALLY needs to be done? After reviewing all of the posts I have read (there have been many) from what I can tell I need to get the throttle body cleaned (my dad tried to do this but we didn't even know where the throttle body was..!) and have the wiring loom looked at (again - we have looked on the back of the engine and can see what appears to be the black box. It is fixed tightly though and not sure how to remove it. Can see wires in light grey clips going in but no idea what to do from there). If only a Renault garage can do this does anyone have any idea of roughly how much these two things would cost as I am completely brassic, not to mention fat and exhausted and I could really do without being ripped off if I do have to go to Renault. A single pregnant woman driver - a garage's dream!
Please help me if you can, I'm sorry the post has been extremely long but I am just trying to get everything down that I need to.
I also have a problem with the fan and heating working, but I'll save that for another time...
Thanks in advance, someone please be my hero! x
Edited by Pugugly on 29/01/2009 at 20:48
|
Hmm, for some reason I can't edit but it should state that I AM now 6 months pregnant...not I am not pregnant!
{amended. For info, the edit button is only live for 5 mins, or until someone replies to your post; whichever is sooner}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 22/09/2008 at 13:35
|
"I also have a problem with the fan and heating working, but I'll save that for another time..." ....
Sorry - cant help with Orange light, but I have an older Clio that has had heater blower problems:
1. The connector plug to the blower motor corrodes and needs cleaning reseating - fiddly job but not hard.
2. A resistor (I think?) next to the blower motor failed. Another Renault special but I extracted the resistor, replaced for pennies at Maplin & it has worked for years. However to get to it means remove of blower motor, after remove of wiper motor etc etc.
|
|
Ooh thank you so much talking hoarse - we took the wipers off and took out the blower etc but weren't sure where to go from there as we couldn't see anything obvious. My dad tested it and there was current running through and before we looked at that we looked at fuses etc. Did you need to do anything with the control inside the car? I can have it on 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 but it's totally dead. I should be able to get that sorted, excellent! x
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you Dynamic Dave for editng my title so that you can actually see the problem and for filling me in on the edit thing. I feel like a right plonker!
|
"Ooh thank you so much talking hoarse"
snipquote!
The connector in question that needs clean & reseat is the loom connector that clips on to the blower motor. You may be able to get to it (if you know where it is ...) after removing the jack, maybe even the ecu (just move to one side?) or the washer bottle. If its not that it means remove the wiper motor and remove the blower motor to get to (& replace) the "dropper resistor".
Having said all of this, my troubles have been with an older shed than yours!
Good luck.
Edited by Webmaster on 22/09/2008 at 20:43
|
you need to take the car to a renault garage, who will read the error code stored in the memory and tell you what the problem is
|
|
|
|
The reason I haven't taken it to Renault yet is because after the research I have done and the posts that I have read it appears that the fault causing the problem with the car flags up with a number of incorrect codes on the diagnostics test which means 'repairs' are being carried out and parts are being replaced and therefore paid for unecessarily. Like I said, I really can't afford for them to tell me I need a new MAP sensor, have it replaced then for the same problem to arise a few miles down the road.
From what I can gather the main cause is due to the throttle body being very dirty and needing to be cleaned however Renault will only replace the throttle body which costs a lot more and the problem with the wiring loom all that needs to happen is for the wires to be re-insulated but I do not know how to do this myself or whether a normal garage will do this without referring me to Renault. I don't want to be ripped off by them when it appears that they are aware that this is a common problem yet continue to carry out 'repairs' that do not need to be done.
It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't still paying for the car. :(
|
It seems you're stuck somewhere between a rock and a hard place.
Have you tried HJs good garages (top of screen, towards the right), also:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/directory/index.htm?mk=&ct=&p...&
I'm sorry, but I think you've got to bite the bullet and let someone who knows what they're doing have a go. You could spend a fortune trying to save money!
|
|
|
>From what I can gather the main cause is due to the throttle body being very dirty and ?>needing to be cleaned
Meggy - sorry to be a bit brusque about this, but you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Throttle body problems are not "common" on clio 1.2s - Crank sensors issues are much more common.
Get the codes read or you are in for a long and painful experience,
|
|
|
|
|
Just wanted to let you all know that is WAS the throttle body and apparently is EXTREMELY common. A friend of mine has cleaned it thoroughly with carbhouretta cleaner and found it with his Haynes manual an hey presto expensive problem fixed for a fiver!
|
Well thats a good result - well done! (I do wish I had a friend like that. Or indeed a friend ....).
How about the heater blower?
|
|
|
|
|
Just saw your post and it seems you have it sorted. FYI we had a similar problem with my daughters Clio 2 1.2 16V sport. That was caused by the MAP sensor playing up. Had to pay £30 for a mobile diagnostic guy to spot it but managed to get a replacement from a local scrappy cheap!
|
|
|
I have a 2003 Renault Clio 16V Dynamique and have just had to take it to a garage. I'm still a learner and obviously cannot drive on my own yet. Me and my mum were out driving one day and the Fan wouldn't work, and there is a knocking noise in the engine. We took it down to the nearest Renault garage, and we were quoted £588.82!! There is no way that I can afford that. Apparently, the Crankshaft Pulley on the drivers side is bent and it needs a new one, it needs a new Heater Fan Motor, and several other bits which seem un-neccesary.
And that orange light comes on too, but apparently just a fault. But it stalls alot on its own, and for a 2003, it shouldn't have these problems, should it?
I don't know wether or not it needs all that work.
|
|
|
|
please read my post i think it might help you
|
|
|
After months and weeks of trawling the internet looking for a solution to this problem...
[details of your nightmare car and your plight]
...someone please be my hero! x
You will probably never read this, Meggy - but THANK-YOU! Our 20 year old clio dynamique (only 50,000 on the clock) had exactly the same symptoms and your friend's fix of cleaning the throttle body worked a treat and saved us time and money that we didn't have :-)
Best wishes x
|
|
|
