National Park driving, CEL and error code 41
Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 1:20 pm
Hi All,
I just want to share an experience and look for some feedback.
Pajero 2002 DiD 248000km EGR NOT blocked off. Injectors refurbed by Alan Black at 233750km March 2013. Pump did not require attention based on Dyno test.
I recently spent several days in the North of Kruger Park. After maybe 3 days of driving at near idle for maybe 7 - 8 hours at a time my CEL (Check Engine Light) came on and the engine became hard to start when hot. I had to crank it over many times and it would struggle to catch, whereas normally it starts easily first crank. Typically the CEL light would go off if I restarted and drove at a reasonable speed, but it would come on again within a few seconds of idling the engine.
On the 4th day by the time I exited the Parfuri Gate the engine was not running at all nicely. At any incline at constant accelerator position you could feel the revs die much faster than normal. Then you would have to depress the accelerator with no response, depress further and then the engine would speed up faster than you wanted. So instead of spotting elephants we became a kangaroo.
On the tar after leaving the park the engine continued to run roughly. At light throttle not too bad, but as soon as we came to an incline speed would drop and depressing the accelerator would not make much difference. I could feel the engine holding back and at these time I could see unburnt fuel in the rearview mirror. In fact I began to doubt that I would make Mussina (was heading for Mapungubwe).
All the while I am thinking: black smoke, overfuelling, next will be hole in piston and I am extremely tense - like don't talk to me now, love.
Then I thought back to the last time we were in Kruger about 2 years ago. And I remembered this kangaroo feeling (but no CEL then). At that time I had blamed it on poor fuel from Satara. I also remembered someone else posting from Kruger with this problem some time after that. Again I attributed that to poor fuel. But this time I had not filled up in the park at all.
SO, still with knots in my gut I just eased the peddle down to get the revs up, trying to tap off a bit when I saw the unburnt fuel / felt that not all 4 cylinders firing correctly. The outcome was that by the time I got to Musina, instead of looking for a B&B (it was Easter Monday) I felt confident enough to drive on to Mapungubwe. The CEL light only came on once more and since then Dusty has just resumed her normal purr.
Today I managed to get to my local Indie and put the MUT-II tester to good use. The only error code was code 41, which reads Throttle Valve Solenoid (Although I have read elsewhere code 41 = Injectors). We cleared this.
My take on this is that the extended slow driving caused one or more injectors to foul at the tip, leading to hard staring when hot and also to the code 41 error + CEL. Driving at highway speeds burned this carbon buildup off.
Next tank I will treat with Spanjaard injector cleaner then I am going to join the 2SO club. And when in parks I will adjust my driving style to suit - periodic higher rpm.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought it might be pertinent to others.
I just want to share an experience and look for some feedback.
Pajero 2002 DiD 248000km EGR NOT blocked off. Injectors refurbed by Alan Black at 233750km March 2013. Pump did not require attention based on Dyno test.
I recently spent several days in the North of Kruger Park. After maybe 3 days of driving at near idle for maybe 7 - 8 hours at a time my CEL (Check Engine Light) came on and the engine became hard to start when hot. I had to crank it over many times and it would struggle to catch, whereas normally it starts easily first crank. Typically the CEL light would go off if I restarted and drove at a reasonable speed, but it would come on again within a few seconds of idling the engine.
On the 4th day by the time I exited the Parfuri Gate the engine was not running at all nicely. At any incline at constant accelerator position you could feel the revs die much faster than normal. Then you would have to depress the accelerator with no response, depress further and then the engine would speed up faster than you wanted. So instead of spotting elephants we became a kangaroo.
On the tar after leaving the park the engine continued to run roughly. At light throttle not too bad, but as soon as we came to an incline speed would drop and depressing the accelerator would not make much difference. I could feel the engine holding back and at these time I could see unburnt fuel in the rearview mirror. In fact I began to doubt that I would make Mussina (was heading for Mapungubwe).
All the while I am thinking: black smoke, overfuelling, next will be hole in piston and I am extremely tense - like don't talk to me now, love.
Then I thought back to the last time we were in Kruger about 2 years ago. And I remembered this kangaroo feeling (but no CEL then). At that time I had blamed it on poor fuel from Satara. I also remembered someone else posting from Kruger with this problem some time after that. Again I attributed that to poor fuel. But this time I had not filled up in the park at all.
SO, still with knots in my gut I just eased the peddle down to get the revs up, trying to tap off a bit when I saw the unburnt fuel / felt that not all 4 cylinders firing correctly. The outcome was that by the time I got to Musina, instead of looking for a B&B (it was Easter Monday) I felt confident enough to drive on to Mapungubwe. The CEL light only came on once more and since then Dusty has just resumed her normal purr.
Today I managed to get to my local Indie and put the MUT-II tester to good use. The only error code was code 41, which reads Throttle Valve Solenoid (Although I have read elsewhere code 41 = Injectors). We cleared this.
My take on this is that the extended slow driving caused one or more injectors to foul at the tip, leading to hard staring when hot and also to the code 41 error + CEL. Driving at highway speeds burned this carbon buildup off.
Next tank I will treat with Spanjaard injector cleaner then I am going to join the 2SO club. And when in parks I will adjust my driving style to suit - periodic higher rpm.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought it might be pertinent to others.
