A couple of weeks ago, whilst driving, the amber coloured engine management light came on on the Fiat Ducato’s dashboard. The manual suggests driving at a moderate speed and contacting a Fiat dealer, so I did both. The difficulty with the engine management light is simple. The light comes on to indicate a fault, but gives the user no clues about the fault! I had no idea at that stage that a differential pressure sensor problem was the issue.
The amber coloured engine management light can indicate a number of faults – including a differential pressure sensor problem
The motorhome was taken into North East Truck and Van where it was hooked up to the heart attack monitor. Various tests and diagnostics were carried out. Investigations revealed the fault lay at the differential pressure sensor! Parts were ordered and a repeat visit to the dealer was arranged for the parts to be fitted.
Second trip back and the parts were not correct, so further parts were ordered. These were apparently sent from Turin, but in the time they took to arrive, I could have driven to Turin to collect them. Well, I would have done, but with the engine management light on, was the Fiat good to go, or did she need to be laid up. I spoke to Fiat UK who did not give a view one way or the other, so I opted for the lay up and cancelled our mid-week plans.
Alas, I am unable to offer any information about what a differential pressure sensor is, what it does or indeed if Tesco sell them, but I understand it is something to do with a “diesel particulate filter” (DPF) – and there is plenty of pleasant reading on the web about that!
Replacement parts arrived at the dealership and today the issue seems to have been resolved…
Hi Just read your blog, I have a Fiat Ducato motor home only 4 years old and 13000 miles done.
My warning came on on our way to Devon having just filled up with diesel, 7 miles later check engine warning, called out breakdown and after 4 hours wait took me to a garage who cleared the fault and said enjoy your holiday, ten days later it came back on, took it to another garage and they cleared it again but said to have it checked out when home, 40 miles later yes you guessed it’s back on. Did the parts you changed do the trick? and what did it cost. While driving did you notice any loss of power?
Neil
Hi – as per the article above, I do recall there was an issue and the supplied parts were wrong. When driving the van with the light on, it was not in “limp mode”. The van was under warranty so no cost to me. The DPF can be problematic when either not enough miles are done (common in a motorhome) or short journeys.
Hi Neil
Whilst in Southern Poland during a huge rain storm, my engine warning light came on. I was concerned, but as nothing in the feel of the motor had changed, I continued my journey, as far as Tallin. That was 19 months ago. I took it to my local van garage, where the reset the light, which came on as soon as I started up again. I had my van MOT and service completed this time last year, where again, the light was reset, only to come back on almost immediately. After another year of perfect running, I thought I’d better get it ‘fixed’ this February.
The DPS failure light meant that it failed its MOT and needed a new DPS and 2 further heat sensors. The total cost was a whacking £900! The van feels like it did beforehand. It is a 2013 Ducato with 20,000 miles on the clock.