[littletattooist]

stupid car

i got the same problem with my 51 plate clio.... engine maintenance light has been on since i bought the car over a year and half ago... but found out it was only because of a loose spark plug lead - not worth shelling out for having it reset. never had a problem with it -- till 3 days ago! the eng maintenance light started flashing, car started loosing power... its wierd tho cos its ok one min... then starts again and shakes like hell when i go down to low gears. i aint got a clue about cars so i deffinatley cant fix this myself. has anyone else noticed they seem to go thru a hell of a lot of oil aswell??? guess im just gunna have to take it on the chin and hope they fix the damn thing. i think im deffinatley put off having a clio again. the amount of recalls etc ive had on it are unreal :( -- and i have to attempt to drive it to work tomorrow as i have no other way of gettin there --- RAC -- expect a call!

[Doobie]

Clio not starting, running rough

Had an intermittent problem with our 51 1.2 Clio. Wouldn't start, ran rough. Turned out to be the engine wiring loom (runs from ECU to injectors and all engine sensors). These are fragile. and difficult to repair because they are encapsulated in plastic. Renault brought out a new version. Had mine changed after diagnostic equipt showed up a whole range of faults. Expensive at £250 but car runs perfectly now.

[hev7878]

Clio 1.4, 54 Reg

I got my Clio in May 2008 and within a week got the engine management system light come up so as it was still under warranty with the Renault Garage I took it back. They told me not to drive it at all but of course I had to take it to the garage (about 5 miles away). Anyway it was done within the afternoon and was fine after that. They didn't say what the problem was but the guy I spoke to seemed to know what my problem was as soon as I told him. So the next few months were fine and then in September it happened again. So next day car was taken to independent garage and they told me it needed new coils and plugs which cost me £250 approx. It worked fine and I didn't have any more problems until.... Friday just gone. We were in the car about 25 miles from home going on a weekend break when it just sort of jumped and failed. Then when iginition was started it bought up the good old Management Light. Somehow we managed to get car home in 'Limp home mode' with it sounding like a lawnmower!! Not good! It was stopping mid drive much to the annoyance of other drivers! Anyway its at the garage again and they have told me its not the same problem as before but they are going to check the wiring and if that is all ok they will send the ECU away to be checked.

[timbo7989]

Hi

I have only just started reading these forums even though i have been having trouble with my clio for the last year! all of your problems i can relate to....however you need to be careful going to a local mechanic...mine plugged my car into the diagnostic machine said there was no faults with the ecu, so he advised me on an engine replacement. After a new engine, new gearbox and new clutch the problem still lives. Only to find out from the person that fitted my new engine, that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the old engine!! so 800 quid later im still havin to fork out more for another ecu because the old one has been heavily corroded with water damage! My suggestion for anyone having problems with loss of power/warning lights/other general running problems, if you are going to try and get it fixed make sure that your mechanic has a new and UP-TO-DATE diagnostic machine, as the old ones simply cannot interpret the codes obtained from the ECU, thus not giving a correct diagnosis. Luckily i have found a new ecu from a breakers for £85, but it will cost another 150-200 to get it fitted and re-coded.
if anyone was wondering mine was a 03 reg
All in all i think these cars are designed to go wrong, because usually to fix an ecu problem you have to go to a main dealer, and for a new ecu it can cost anything up to £800!!!

[owain859]

Clio 1.2 engine problem

I got a 1999 clio 1.2 couple of weeks ago for £600
New there would be some work to do and £250 later it passed its mot. I was driving along and the engine cut out, but restarted 2 mins later, then cut out again, and finally ran for about 4 hours. It cut out the same night with the engine management light on, i think - spark plug sort of symbol. Local garage plugged it in to diagnostics machine came up with 7 faults.
3 to do with injectors
1 to do with ecu
1 to do with knock sensor
2 unknown.

They say t could be an ecu problem, but i don't want to pay£600 for something they THINK it is.

Anyone any ideas?:)

[Hometune]

What are the code numbers?

[hev7878]

54 Reg, ECU fixed and refitted - problem with cd player - ERROR

I have just received my car back from an independent garage who have had it for 2 weeks while they tried to solve my problems. They checked all the coils and plugs and they were fine. They checked for burnt wiring which they found a bit so replaced that. I chose to have the ecu sent away to be tested and fixed as that was £260 instead of £400 for a new one from Renault. So it was sent away but didn't work when came back so my mechanic believed they hadn't fixed it properly so sent it back. They put the ecu back in and it all worked fine - fingers crossed for the future. However my cd player has now come up with error and we cannot get it to go to 0000 to put in the code - does anyone know what to do ?

[durango]

51 clio

Originally Posted by Hometune

If you can get the car to Ossett I can do this for you. I can be at Birdsalls Garage, Dale Street, Ossett (next door to the Fire Station) at 12 o'clock on any day this week. Any good?

Hi my daughter has a problem with her 51 clio, from time to time the engine warning light flashes no power, turn the engine off for a few mins then it will work fine for a while. I have removed the cap off the emu and repaired the wires, can you look at it if we get to you?

[Hometune]

Yes I can but must advise that a new wiring harness is usually the only permanent fix. I have managed to successfully 'bodge' them to last a bit but it cannot be considered a proper fix.
Its up to you!

[durango]

Originally Posted by Hometune

Yes I can but must advise that a new wiring harness is usually the only permanent fix. I have managed to successfully 'bodge' them to last a bit but it cannot be considered a proper fix.
Its up to you!

Thanks for the reply, i take it these harnesses are only available from the main agents or do you know of a supplier, any idea of cost?
Thanks

[Hometune]

Dealer part as far as I know. Cost is around £300 fitted I think. Please check first though! The trouble is the dealer wants to change everything to cover his backside and thats when it gets very expensive.
As you have removed the steel box why not undo the 2 large plugs from the ECU and spray them with WD40. If it works for a short time, you have more or less identified the problem area.
To remove, press down on the small tab on top then move the plastic lever across and the plug will be pushed up. Also, disconnect the plug from the accelerator pedal housing and spray there too.

[durango]

I have removed the plugs as you suggested in an early email, this did nothing at all, the metal box had dammaged wires but i have repaired them. its going in next week for a diagnostic check, see what that brings

thanks

[Hometune]

Ah, but you haven't read all my posts! You HAVE to erase the fault codes after doing the work as the ECU thinks its still broken! Then the ECU needs to relearn the throttle adaption which you can do yourself. The only bit you can't do is erase the codes from the ECU memory without a scanner unfortunately. If you know your radio code you can try disconnecting the battery for 5 mins but I doubt it will be enough to sort it.

[jassdhali]

Has anyone got this issue fixed - please let me know

[MrDanno]

Originally Posted by jassdhali

Has anyone got this issue fixed - please let me know

All the answers to the Clio problems are on these Forums, Use the search facility and read. :D

[nireus]

So are the problems caused by the same reason in both 8v and 16v cars?
I had my water pump & cambelt changed just in case, gas pedal changed, but still the same problem. I also get a funny clicking noise from somewhere behind the dashboard when the gas pedal is fully depressed.
Also where is this metal box?Any photos ?I need to tell my mechanic what to do next. The only thing that comes up during scanning is slightly lower than normal voltages.

[Techiloyd]

My guess: (A confident one)

Crank sensor loom - water ingress and resistance issues.

VERY common on Renault. If your crank sensor is Black in colour it is the old problematic type, best to upgrade it to the Blue type with wiring loom mod that cures the ingress issue.


If you give me your full reg I will give you the part number for the mod.


Lloyd

[nireus]

Well, it's a 51 reg. The thing is I had the crack sensor changed to the new type a couple of years ago. The problem then was that the car wouldn't start the first time. It would take 5-6 tries to start. Now it just loses power and the electronics warning light comes up. Also the RAC guy plugged it to the diagnostics and it came up with a throttle pedal problem. Do you still think it's the crack sensor?
Cheers!

[Techiloyd]

Originally Posted by nireus

Well, it's a 51 reg. The thing is I had the crack sensor changed to the new type a couple of years ago. The problem then was that the car wouldn't start the first time. It would take 5-6 tries to start. Now it just loses power and the electronics warning light comes up. Also the RAC guy plugged it to the diagnostics and it came up with a throttle pedal problem. Do you still think it's the crack sensor?
Cheers!

Crack sensor!! :D Maybe we should use those to stop drug-driving


Sorry, it did make me chuckle... anyway, I was replying to an earlier question but forgot to quote. As for your issue, a very difficult one.

I will investigate and come back to you.

[Techiloyd]

Originally Posted by nireus

Well, it's a 51 reg. The thing is I had the crack sensor changed to the new type a couple of years ago. The problem then was that the car wouldn't start the first time. It would take 5-6 tries to start. Now it just loses power and the electronics warning light comes up. Also the RAC guy plugged it to the diagnostics and it came up with a throttle pedal problem. Do you still think it's the crack sensor?
Cheers!

Intermitant faults are the worst, this car needs a good look over. I would start by doing the following (this may resolve it & costs about £5)

Pref do this from cold.

1. Buy a tube of silicone grease (this is normally used on coils) in approx 85g squeazy tube. This is great for electrical contacts eliminating interference etc. Normally about £5ish

2. Disconnect positive lead off battery, then just for 2 - 3 seconds hold the positive terminal to an earth point. (this is safe, it merely discharges the ECU) leave disconnected

3. Go over every thing electric on the powertrain side by disconnecting it's plug, smear a dolop of SG then re-connect, including the ECU and pedal TPS, coils, crank sensor etc.

4. Reconnect battery

5. Start car *DO NOT touch any pedals* (touching a pedal will spoil the base idle settings)

6. Leave ticking over until it gets to normal running temp.

7. Jump in and go on a varied drive for minimum 12 miles (A drive cycle) go fast, slow, etc make it varied.

8. After 12 miles pull over safely and switch off engine. (data now stored)

9. Start up and see how you go.

[Hometune]

This problem where the car will not rev up is almost certainly due to very poor contacts in the engine wiring loom. The faults are most often in the wiring connector for the MAP sensor but these engines with the steel box suffer in many places. Sometimes simply removing and reconnecting the ECU plugs does a temporary repair. This has been answered previously many times in other threads. While it may be the pedal at fault, unless you have access to Renault technical bulletins to follow their check procedure, you will be guessing. I think the wiring is your problem.
The only real cure is a modified wiring loom from the dealer available for about £120. You then need it fitting and this should take around 1.5hrs.

As for the modified blue crank sensor and wiring, this was introduced not for water ingress but for a tighter and more stable fit on the pins. Simply holding the old sensor wiring and pulling gently upwards while cranking, usually gets a 'non-starter' going again. Slightly adjusting the pins very often sorts this fault so you don't need to buy a sensor (£22+vat) or the wiring (£28+vat)

[HIGGS76]

has the inlet manifold been inspected for air leek or ant collapsed or soft breather pipes. i have seen this fault and it was fixed with a oxygen sensor as the ecu did not see correct signals so it adds and takes off fuel hens up and down idel. another possible fault is a parcialy blocked cat

[munchy]

renault clio ecu problems solved
as previously explained ive had problems with my clio 51 plate mark 2 cuttin out and losing revs wen at junction ect. diagnostics read map sensor-pressure interupted. many mechanics (and i saw a few for advise) suggested a new ecu £700. i had the wires taped 4 £50 previously thinking that was the problem-it wasnt altho there were wires starting to wear. one day i had a thought.........not one mechanic had the bonnet open with engine running to see what the problem was. so i did it. oh my god-bingo. there was air pressure been lost out the top of the manifold where the map sensor sits. it sounded like a kettle whistling and if you wiggle the sensor and rev the car you will know. it should be a tight fit. i pulled out the sensor (do carefully as mine broke off after removing it several times, which was a bit of a nightmare-had to remove the whole manifold, replace gasket covers. DO NOT START CAR IF THIS HAPPENS. you must remove the broken piece if it falls in) there is 2 small rubber seals on it. mine had worn an broke. so i hunted 4 replacement seals (found some similar at halfords ect) but no joy, dont seal properly. the result was i ordered a new sensor which comes with the seals £35. simple to replace the whole sensor. which i did. guess what - FIXED. NO MORE PROBLEMS WHAT SO EVER. FANTASTIC. i so thought i would have to sell the car as nobody could get to the bottom of the problem. everybody looked straight past the obvious. so simple. i hope if you have similar problems that this is all you need to do. in time you should remove the fault on the ecu, but not essential, it wont bring the problem back but if your engine management light comes back on at a later date and you have a diagnostics, you wont know if its the same problem or a new one. GOOD LUCK ALL.

[carlosfandangos]

Hello i have a 51 plate clio which wouldnt start and had the rac out who advised me it was the crank position sensor he wiggled the wires and it started and ran fine, he then advised me to change the cps which has already been modified to the blue connector so purchased the little fellow fitted it which seamed quite simple and now it doesnt start at all :( and the cars immobilising sequencte all seams to be working fine ie the red light goes out when the car is open and closed of the fob . any advice please ?

[Hometune]

I guess the joins where the new blue connector has been fitted to the wiring loom are not making good contact. They should be soldered ideally or at least crimped with the supplied tubes, try remaking the joins.

[carlosfandangos]

the modified wiring has been soldered with the proper connections and i have done a continuity test on the wires and its good but still no joy :( just a shame as it was working before i attempted to replacte the cps that i was advised to do .

[MrDanno]

Have you double checked the sensor is located properly? Have you tried putting the old sensor back on?

[carlosfandangos]

yes tried the old sensor and still no luck tried new battery in key and checked and recoded key
and now checked and i have no spark and looks like the presence of no fuel either :(
do i need to cut of the ecu anti tamper box and check for damage underneath ?

[Hometune]

Yes, as the wiring may have been damaged by vibration against it. Look closely at the driver's side of the box and where the loom goes under. Usually rubs through there and earths out.

[carlosfandangos]

it looks good from what u can see on top .