Engine Warning Light Suddenly Activates

The Yellow Engine Warning Light Suddenly Appears.

This fault seems to be quite common with Morgans made at least after 2009 when our Roadster 100's were made. A Few of our R100 owners have found this problem occurring without warning . 

If any of you find the problem occurring with your car then you could try posting a message to members here or to the members of 'Talk Morgan' to find out what action other have taken to cure the problem.

A few Late Comments are well worthy of being posted here in the Preamble.

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"We purchased a little piece of technology from Ebay, plugged it in, read the error code, 

cleared it and hey presto everything is back to normal."

"An Autel Maxiscan MS309. Plug and play, simple to use and cheap as chips."

As our Roadster 100's have an engine used transverse in a Ford Mondeo and has Ford Based Wiring Harness here is the link to the full list of Ford OBD II Fault Codes for your reference.

https://www.fordwiki.co.uk/index.php/OBD-II_-_Fault_Codes

This list contains 'Ford Specific Fault Codes' and the Full List of Generic Fault Codes. 

The next three photos have been submitted by a Register Member who has recently suffered from the annoying Engine Warning Light problem and has used his OBD II reader to switch off the Faulty Code. 

• The First Indication Fault Code is - P0153 Oxygen Sensor Circuit Slow Response (Bank 2 Sensor 1)
• This fault refers to one of the Lambda Sensors located in the Catalytic Converter.

The Second Indication Fault Code is - Oxygen Sensor Circuit Slow Response (Bank 1 Sensor 1)

• This fault also refers to one of the Lambda Sensors located in the Catalytic Converter.

The Third Indication Fault Code is - P0153 Oxygen Sensor Circuit Slow Response (Bank 2 Sensor 1)

This fault is a repeat of the First Indication and refers to the same Lambda Sensors located in the same Catalytic Converter.

The Feeling among those who have suffered this annoyance is that one cause could be 'Fuel Starvation' if the Ignition Process is actioned too early, before the the fuel pressure is at maximum, by not waiting for the Red Immobilizer Lamp to extinguish first. 

If uncertainty continues then it is recommended that an OBD II Reader is carried in the car and used to switch off the Fault Code at the earliest opportunity.

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Thanks to Terry for putting me right. The Socket which takes the Reader is located under the Dashboard and not this socket in the fuse box as originally stated

The actual location is inside the cabin under the Dashboard, level with the Left Side Heater Vents, just lodged behind the Scuttle Roll Bar. You just have to feel around there a little to find it.

The Reader Socket just hanging down.

 Looking at the socket from below.

It just tucks away, back over the top of the Roll Bar, over this mass of cables

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" In first two years a quick fix turned off the warning light, and no fault found, although it was suspected that 'over filling fuel' may be a factor.

I Booked the Ecu into factory, as still under warranty, and a visit to Europe was pending.  Unit sent by Morgan to their Supplier for a Rework.  Unit re fitted at Easter 2012. Ran perfectly until return.  

Then in severe rainstorm, the light came on, indicating a 'pre cat Lambda Sensor probe' problem.  The Probe was changed for a non Morgan probe, ( which was 'NBG' ) so a 'genuine unit' fitted.  Perfect motoring until 2024. The Light came on after a radiator failure as you might expect. 

A Test indicated problem on lambda probe, off/side.

As the car was going for its MOT I decided a good idea was to get a new Sensor - £120 approx.  in fact, on way to test, the light cancelled itself , and it passed the MOT! 

Possibly my impatience in never allowing fuel pump 2 or 3 secs to 'catch up' before starting was a factor, mentioned by a Motorbike / Morgan owner, and Mechanic at Life's Motors.

Conclusion. Morgan Ecu fix was good.   

' Not Overfilling the Fuel Tank' and 'Allowing Time for the Fuel Pump to Get Fuel to the Engine' is important, especially the latter. 

The Lambda Sensor under the car is vulnerable to water, under extreme conditions.  I am not expecting problems  as I have a rational answer to reason for lights going on! "

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" I had not intended posting a response to the warning light issue as fortunately to date I have not experienced the fault.

However something Nick mentioned does seem to be important, and that is "waiting for the fuel pump to prime" before turning the key to position 2 for starting.  

This was impressed upon me by the mechanic at Melvyn Rutters when I first had the car and it was stated that if you rush that procedure you can end up scrambling the ECU. I normally wait for the red alarm light to extinguish or if you watch the rev counter it registers a quick flick of the needle. 

It's about 2 seconds from the first turn point of the key. Then I turn the key fully to start. I once rushed this procedure and suffered bad misfiring until I switched off and re started as above."

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" This works for me also.

Waiting for the red light to extinguish before firing the engine does seem to allow the ECU to “settle everything down”.

Of course one of the LAMBDA sensors might be the problem on the odd occasion.

The good news so far is that no consequential damage has been reported – as far as I know! "

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There a various other theories about the cause

The following Feedback received from members is about their own experiences.

I have listed them here. 

1. " Ours kept coming on until we insisted that it went back to the factory. Here they found that there was a leak on the a fuel pump seal so that under pressure air was sucked into the fuel line. Since this was fixed the R100 has been much smoother and more lively. And more importantly the light hasn't come on again."

2. " I have experienced this problem twice since buying 008 new in 2009. On both occasions the fault was diagnosed as an over sensitive sensor with no material fault found. On the first occasion we were touring in northern Spain and after a visit to a most accommodating Ford dealer they assured me all was well and reset the computer.Their opinion was that the variation in fuel quality was probably the cause.On the second occasion I was less alarmed and having carried out the basic oil water and temperature checks we carried on with our journey."

3. " Had the light on quite a few times in the first couple of years of the car. ECU was returned to the factory a couple of years ago .... For the fortnight the only guy capable of reprogramming ECU was on holiday. Anyway, it was returned, put back into car .... And, fingers crossed, haven't seen the light since! So, might be that it settles down."

4. " If the fault code is P0460 then it is most probably a fault with the ECU. It would occur every few months and I would have to get a garage to reset it. I started to get the problem about 18 months after delivery. 

Thanks to Allon White I finally found out what the problem was. The fault is with the supplier of the ECU and is confined to a batch of ECU's supplied around the time the 100s were being built. Morgan factory are aware of the problem.

It can only be properly remedied by sending the ECU back to Malvern who then send it back to the supplier to have it reprogrammed. I encountered the same problem as above…the only person capable of reprogramming the ECU was on vacation so it took some time.

In my case, as I live in France I sent the ECU directly to:   

Mark Baldwin,

Warranty and Service Manager,

Morgan Motor Company 

Pickersleigh Road

Malvern

Worcestershire

WR14 2LL

United Kingdom 

Mark managed the return to the supplier and back to me. I have had no more problems with it since then. "

5. " I had the green light monster  last year.Looked up the fuse box instructions and changed the offending fuse.

No problems since my remedy. Lucky or not!!!!!!!! "

6. " Sadly I have to report to the R100 Group that as other members have experienced, my engine warning light is still malfunctioning! 

The ECU was removed by BHM in the first week of December 2013 and returned and reinstalled at the end of January 2014 (almost 2 months without the use of the car) I must stress that BHM sent the ECU back to the factory promptly. 

However the problem still persists! 

The engine management warning lights periodically,notably as I left the car park of the Majestic Hotel last August and Wednesday morning of last week.

The OBD tells me that there is a low reading on the left hand bank,which I guess is a LAMBDA reading. 

That`s the history, but the solution seems to me to either pay to have the ECU remapped or to do what I have done and carry a OBD reader with the car which I suppose is not curing the issue but is at least is controlling the symptom. "

7. "  Initially this was a recurring problem so bought a fault reader (£12) and each time the recorded fault - PO153 O2 sensor CKT slow response ( bank 2 sensor 1) 

So, I just pressed cancel - all clear. 

So, intermittent, I don't consider it a fault just an inconvenience.

I get the same trouble on my motorbike if I don't let the systems clear when turning the ignition on, just wait a few seconds.

I m doing this on the Morgan and the problem has not occurred, mmm yet! "

8. " My light has come on once, 4 days after buying the car and after driving it down to the south of France and shortly after filling with cheap French supermarket petrol.

Quick phone call to Phil Ledgewood told me not to worry and after refilling the tank with decent petrol and cruising for an hour at 80 mph the light went out never to return.

Plugged it into a diagnostic tool on my return to the Uk and it told me it was low O2 on left hand lambs sensor.
Have never bought "cheap" supermarket petrol since. "

9. " When this happened on my Roadster I popped into the local dealer who connected his "gizzmo", light goes out, no problem since.

Seems to be a case of "hyper electronic sensitivity" on some MOG's?"

10. " I had a problem last year again , the light came on for a day ,then the next day it went off. 

This may have been Petrol? How odd?

I have took my car to the factory in the past as the offending light came on and off again a few times.

The most it has stopped on for is two weeks . I have been back to the dealer network lots, no one knows what to do. They just take it off. It may be electric windows air con or air leaks.

The best one I was told was that I had filled the car up with too much Petrol once. "

Here is a link to some useful information on Lambda Sensors

http://www.picoauto.com/applications/lambda-sensor.html

A Big Thank You to all of our Members above who have contributed their experiences.

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There has also been much written about the problem on 'Talk Morgan' 

http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/248915/1

Here are some comments from Members there:

11. " Mine came on yesterday as well. First time I had driven the car for a month or so.

Reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery for a minute. Reconnected the battery and light was gone. Took it for another drive for a few miles and so far so good. Fingers crossed! "

12. " The only time my warning light comes on is in heavy rain after a few miles. It's warning me of a slight leak to atmosphere from the fuel tank evaporative system. I've put it down to either water shorting a connection at the rear or the water that drips onto my dash wiring! Luckily my cheapo reader can identify and reset it. "

13 " Used to get the occasional warning light, not always the same one, on my last car and always took it into the dealer who checked everything, said nothing was wrong and reset it. Somewhat fed up I bought an OBD reader that can reset fault codes and three years on its still in its shrink wrap as the car decided to behave itself. 

It's a Morgan feature......... "

14. " Some ECU's are more fussy than other ones as to whether they connect to cheap OBD readers. 

My missus Ford StreetKA doesn't work with my bluetooth dongle whereas the Audi and Smart work with it fine. It does however work with my Garmin dongle.

The Mog being connected to a Ford Engine may just prove the case with yours, try another reader.

Resetting is all well and good but ideally you should read the codes and keep a history then if it's the same one time and time again chances are it's a flakey sensor or connection or just that the car voltage was a bit out and upsetting the expected ranges of values.

Or you actually have a problem, which would be indicated by it coming back on straight away after clearing the ECU. "

15. " On my Roadster it was always the after cat lambda sensor on bank 1, the near side. The Error Code is translated as "slow response". 

The "brain" gives the lambda sensor a set time to respond. If it doesn't then a yellow light comes on.

The cheap solution is to re-set the light.
The expensive solution is a fast acting lambda sensor, about £70.00, which Williams did under warranty. End of problem.

16. " My 2002 Plus 8 has had occasional warning light issues.

Last weekend the fault was with the evaporation system....reset with my OBD unit.
Previous errors have been random intermittent misfire- now seems to have gone
Emissions issue.
Last weekend light came on as I came to lights after a good run???reset ok.
The car has always had high lambda readings at MOT for years before I had her 
She runs smoothly at all times so it's a mysterious thing.
Perhaps she's just keeping me on my toes.
Seeing the comments re slow reading by Lambda sensor... Could be similar.
Sensor looks ok in the cat, no obvious connection issues. "

17. " Have also gone digging on the web for ST220 engine fault codes & found this. Which inidcates it was too rich a mixture.
Ford OBD-II Trouble Codes

http://www.stdrivers.co.uk/forum/topic/22354-fault-codes/

See also: Ford Check Engine Light @ Check-Engine-Light.com

Recommended Ford enthusiast web sites - FordF150.net - FordFusion.net - FordFlex.net - MyFordFreestyle.com

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Other Comments 

The most common one is to do with those cars who have had 'Sports Exhausts' fitted, as these are said to affect the temperature readings on the Lambda Sensors fitted in the Catalytic Converters.

Others say it just happens where no Modifications have occured.

Another person said that they found it was caused by an 'earthing' problem in the engine bay?

Others, who have bought their own ECU Fault Readers,say that they have cured the fault by plugging the reader into the special diagnostics socket located in the fuse box and then using it to switch off any unused features (such as Electric Windows or Air Con if they don't have it ) or fault codes identified as a problem. 

(available on E bay and Two are featured here also in the Technical Section - Items j & k ) 

Some owners, or maybe most, end up contacting their dealer who will often ask for the ECU Chip to be sent to them for Remapping. Give them a call.

Touch Wood, we have not had the problem with either of our original 4/4 or R100, over 24K driven miles but it could occur at any time, apparently.

Most people seem to say that they don't worry about it.

Frank