Pls experts in the house, my 99 camry v6 emits black smoke. It does not pick the way it used to be, fuel economy might have droped but i dont care much about fuel as long as my car responds the way i want. It s 3 months old, i just changed the oil and oil filter last week. Pls Siena, Sultaan, Femis and co, what could be the problem.

Thank you sir you are the best.

Your check engine light is on, pull the diagnostic code and paste it here in the sequence they occur.

P0300, P0100, P0420 etc


That will be the car telling you what is wrong

Black smoke! Excessive fuel? Na wahala o! Anyways, to add to what Siena had noted, faulty FPR (fuel pressure regulator) can also cause black smoke/excessive fueling. A car fuel pressure will drop when the FPR becomes faulty. You can check it with fuel pressure guage, if you have one. Or you can test the FPR by pulling out the vacuum hose on the FPR while the engine is running or idling. If you see fuel on the vacuum line coming out of the FPR where the vacuum hose is attached, that means the FPR has failed & it passing/supplying unrequierd fuel to the intake manifold via FPR vacuum line, thus, excessive fueling, resulting to black smoke.

Meanwhile, you also need to be sure that your fuel lines (both the supply & return line/pipe) under the car to the fuel tank, are still intact( hasnt been clogged, bent or blocked). Once the free flow of fuel on any of the lines is hindered, the fuel pressure will drop & the black smoke will result. Go under your car & check from the engine bay to fuel tank, to be sure that something didnot hit any of the fuel lines and bent it.

Most likely, things Siena listed are normally the culprit. But i would first start with cost free diagnosis, if i were you. Goodluck.

Ikenna

Thank you Sultaan.

@Ikenna,
Are you based in Abuja? do you have a workshop where i can diagnose the car or how can you help to check this fuel pressure regulator. I am in Abuja.
I went under tha car now to check if any pipe is bent or flat but i did not see any. I discovered one of the sensors ( I think O2 sensor) by the catalyst converter pot is unplugged. It is dark i could not trace where it is supposed to be plugged. Thanks.

there you go, if you look you will find, those are the thing the codes will tell you like O2 sensor on bank 2 faulty so you just have to look at one after catalytic converter if everything look good reset codes, if it comes back change sensor.


Check all sensors, use the length of wire to find connector

If the O2 sensor is unplugged, then that would be the culprit or would be contributing. But why un earth would someone unplugged o2 sensor? If one knows the function of that sensor, unplugging it for the car to run without it is insane  If the sensor is faulty, then it should be replaced & not unplugged and left the engine, an EFI engine, to run without it.

o2 sensor fine tunes the air-fuel mixture in the intake maniflod & then the combustion chambers/cylinders. The injection ECU/PCM works with the signal it gets from the o2 & other sensors, to run the engine 100%. Once it stop getting signal or gets wrong signal from any of the sensors, it would start guessing & would command injectors to spray in excess fuel (rich mixture). That would result the black smoke you see from the exhaust tail.

I wouldnt know if Toyota uses universal Bosch 4-pin O2 sensor for their vehicles. At least, the Bosch Universal O2 is very much available in our auto markets, especially the Euro auto spare part shops. The universal sensor has 4 wires: 2 white wires, one black (signal wire to ECU) & grey color (earth or negative). The 2 white wires is for the heater part of the sensor (one of the wires is + feed from relay & the second white color is negative or earth). If you can run this connection, you will need to find the previous wires of that sensor. Besides, your car engine might have more than one O2 sensors. One could be on Catalytic converter, while the 2nd one would be on exhaust manifold, facing the radiator. You need to check to be sure.

Yes, i work or base in Abuja. I dont own a workshop. Am not an auto mechanic, nor a rewire. Am just a car owner like you. But i diagnose & fix my car by myself. Am the DIY type (Do it yoursely) maintenance. I gained the knowledge i have by ensuring PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE, which can 100% be possible if you start fixing your car as the owner of the car, like you service your babe or wife yourself

Anyway, I stay at Area 1, Garki. But you should know that am not into Japanese. Am not just a fan of their vehicles. So i may have limited knowledge about their cars electrical systems. You may have to get the wiring diagram of that car online, if you havent gotten.

Ikenna.

Oh! I forgot to add. Make sure all the vacuum lines/hoses or tubes on the engine bay are well clamped. If there is a vacuum leak, the AFM/MAF will detect the leak & signal the Injection ECU (Electronic Control Unit -aka brain Box, by Nigerians) to command Injectors to spray in/inject excess fuel into intake manifold to measure up the excess air coming in from the leaking vacuum lines. Dont rule out vacuum leak until you eliminate it.

But like i noted earlier, I dont know much about Toyota electrics, but Siena is the Guru we have here & would guild you more & better on how to fix your car for whatever problem, anytime. Iam where Iam now with cars because of him. Tap his knowledge like i did, when you have the opportunity

Ikenna.

@ Siena, Sultaan and Ikenna i appreciate your contribution.

The car has three O2 sensors two on each of the manifold and one by the catalist pot. Those on the manifold are connected, the third one on the catalist is the one that is loose. I have tried to locate the socket i wouldnt find it. I will confirm with my brother's 99 Avalon later today i learnt they have most things in common.

The sensors have two black wires,one blue and one white.

I am in Wuse Zone 1 Sir, can you drop your no here i will like to get to know u and lear more, mine is 08034221250.
cheers.

Mine is 08052811236.

Make sure you eliminate other things noted in earlier posts, while you are searching for the o2 sensor wiring connector. At what point did it start to emit black smoke, run very thirsty and sluggishly? Was it after you changed the oil recently/last week? Have you ever replaced the Cat converter? If it was after the oil change that the car started to run rich, then the mechanic that did the job should be the one that removed/unplugged the 02 sensor wiring connector and should tell you where he hid the connector in the engine bay. On the other hand, if the cat converter has been replaced before, it could be that the old/removed cat converter did not have 02 sensor. This is the more reason why you should have the wiring diagram by now. It tells and shows all the electrical components of the car, both their locations. But if the model of your Camry V6 should have 3 02 sensors and one of them on the cat converter, then the wiring connector, with the harness, is somewhere in that engine bay. Good luck.

Ikenna.

@poster- abeg carry your car go mechanic and forget all this longthings. Haba u no wan mk mechanic chop and u go buy tokumbo car. Lol just kidding
I like the experience u guys are sharing, I drive thesame kinda car but V4 and I don't even know where all these things you guys are talking about are located in d car.
And its going well just dat I changed my engine a month after I got the car. The one that came with it show me pepe for express rd lol

shakers:

@poster- abeg carry your car go mechanic and forget all this longthings. Haba u no wan mk mechanic chop and u go buy tokumbo car. Lol just kidding
I like the experience u guys are sharing, I drive thesame kinda car but V4 and I don't even know where all these things you guys are talking about are located in d car.
And its going well just dat I changed my engine a month after I got the car. The one that came with it show me pepe for express rd lol

Mechanic! Hm! If you do not want that your newly purchased I4 engine to be sent to its early grave, you better start taking care of your car by yourself, at least, the basics. You never bothered to ask why that engine never died all the years it was driven in foreign land, only for it to give up as soon as Nigerian mechanics started to touch the engine. Anyway, goodluck with your faith in Nigerian mechanics. But dont come back to complain when eventually "they" kill the new engine, again.

Ikenna.

shakers:

And its going well just dat I changed my engine a month after I got the car. The one that came with it show me pepe for express rd lol

why e no go show u pepper, u n ur big mouth. lmao. no diss intended though.
well, i guess u guys r talking about the tiny light huh? i drive the bigger rear light version(2000-1) and the car is great. my aunty uses the thin light also and the car has been cool for more than 2 years now. no issue or whatsoever with lights, smokes, bla bla.
anyway, with my own car, it emitted white smoke after 2nd service and my friends were like its cos of the change of oil from mobil oil to total oil . n oops, my car's been great for some months nw as i stick to buying total oil gallons.

@poster, abeg take car to mechanic village. these r the cars mechanics are good at. i wouldnt recommend the expensive diagnosis unless you really wanna try it. cos the way i c it, u diagnose ur car like 10times straight and r as good as buying another one. (99camry)

Ikenna351:



Mechanic! Hm! If you do not want that your newly purchased I4 engine to be sent to its early grave, you better start taking care of your car by yourself, at least, the basics. You never bothered to ask why that engine never died all the years it was driven in foreign land, only for it to give up as soon as Nigerian mechanics started to touch the engine. Anyway, goodluck with your faith in Nigerian mechanics. But dont come back to complain when eventually "they" kill the new engine, again.

Ikenna.

sorry o, the ones at the so called "diagnosis centres", are they american accountants? cos the last time i checked, mechanics still fixed cars.

@ Ikenna,
Thank you my brother i will get in touch with you soon. I actually changed my oil by myself the car has been some how sluggish before that the oil change. I thought there would be a better performance after the oil change.

You know what happened today, i warmed the car in the morning for about 5-8 minutes in preparation to visit a brother in Karu and another one in Kuje. Before i got to AYA at Asokoro, the car started to respond like the first time i drove it, on my way to Kuje, you cant believe the performance i got to 160-170 and it could do more.

I will still get the sensor fixed and check vacuum hoses as well as the Air Mass Meter.

Pls, could it be that i need to warm it for some minutes every morning, you know on a working day, most people like me just jump into the car and drive off.

@ poster, u didnt explain further in full details of ur problem sha.
Havin said dat,i had a similar issue with my 97camry tiny lite some time ago,black smoke,heavy fuel consumption,slow response on high way etc and I tabled it here to.I was advised to change d brain box,I did that and boom d problem was over till date. so i will advice u to do d same.
Note: i changed the O2 sensor and it was still d same issue.
d brain box could be d main culprit bro.
goodluck.

A while back when Seal777 had problem with his trans, I posted a link with toyota service manual, adviced owners to download/save the manual some may have.

The site has been shut down so try PM seal777 just in case he did download the service manual

Octar06 advice will still be the wrong way to go Iwill post a pic for a corolla it might help with your camry

I think he should fix the broken stuff first, if it ain't broken don't touch it.

@sultaan, my advice may sound wrong but dont forget dat seal777 had a similar problem.It was was seal777 and one onwan dat advised me to change the brain box of my car.Infact seal777 advised me to change it and get a new 1,while onwan said  i could do a rewire if i had a gud auto electrician.I didnt take chances considering d amount of money I had spent in changin some parts like d O2 sensor,fuel filter etc.Immediately my mechanic put in a new brain box and start d car,d black smoke immediately stopped in front of me,and d car drives well till date.

l had same issue with my 98 accord in 2007. i changed the fuel filter, plugs and SENSOR

[b][/b] sure say na camry model be that oo. Check d engine number.

sultaan:

Your check engine light is on, pull the diagnostic code and paste it here in the sequence they occur.

P0300, P0100, P0420 etc


That will be the car telling you what is wrong

We should not ignore the check engine light. Am sure in this case it was on. Don't wait till you see a black smoke or the car cannot start before you diagnose
Also don't depend everything 100% on your mechanic with our simple kit connected to your laptop you can know most of the faults in your car and some tips on how to fix them especially before they become major, so you can plan and budget for them.

Get your car diagnostic kit today and start diagnosing cars immediately

Mr Paul

Contact 0706 357 8028

On your own Laptop N22K only.


You can then diagnose all cars from 1998+ Bulk sales also available

pls neva try to start ur car and drive immediately, D engine needs to warm up for abt 2mins for it to have a uniform gradual heat up. Also car diagnostics tool are cheap enough for car owners.
U can get for as cheap as 25k to save from stress and disappointment each tgime u get d check engine or service engine soon mil

Hi,.
 1st what colour is the smoke, if its blue  greyish, you flooded engine with oil, if its black smoke , your engine is  4ked.  i am  a bit dissappointed on what you said that  you dont care what smoke your car produces, do you know with that kind of attitude is whats killing us in Africa (pollution), we dont give 2 4ks about our environment or mother nature as long as i get your own creature comfort. I suggest you get the engine changed or rebuilt better still scrap the 4ked up car.

No two ways about it, black smoke, high fuel consumption, idling and erractic speed means dead engine. In the UK, you dare not stick the car on the road if you still value your license and i would imagine its the same for US. How does Nigerians can adopt this mentality of caring for our environment.

Stop killing our ozone layer with that junk. Please try and dispose the junk properly because the catalytic converter is obviously bad ; look for a junk yard that can effectively crush that vehicle with minimal emission and go buy yourself a newer vehicle. No wonder Nigeria is very hot.

Hmmm Go to you village and sow seed with the car and see How God will give another 2011 model with wite smoke

Mordern day cars doesnt need to warm up b4 moving them

ba_aliyah:

@ Ikenna,
Thank you my brother i will get in touch with you soon. I actually changed my oil by myself the car has been some how sluggish before that the oil change. I thought there would be a better performance after the oil change.

You know what happened today, i warmed the car in the morning for about 5-8 minutes in preparation to visit a brother in Karu and another one in Kuje. Before i got to AYA at Asokoro, the car started to respond like the first time i drove it, on my way to Kuje, you cant believe the performance i got to 160-170 and it could do more.

I will still get the sensor fixed and check vacuum hoses as well as the Air Mass Meter.

Pls, could it be that i need to warm it for some minutes every morning, you know on a working day, most people like me just jump into the car and drive off.

I bought my 505 V6 as tokunbo which arrived January this year. People around were calling me nuts for purchasing a 505 in this era. But I knew what i wanted and why i wanted it. I bought it for 800k. When the car first arrived., it had severe injection issue. It was emiting thick black smoke from the exhaust. I requested  for a 505 V6 5-speed manual, instead i got a convert (originally I4 converted to V6). Because i desperately wanted  a V6 model of 505, i decided not to reject it (knowing how long and what it took me to get such a rare car in immaculate condition, except the butchered electrics). I took the car to APO mechanic village here in Abuja to get it fixed at all cost. Nearlly all Peugeot and Renault mechanics mechanics wasted my money on the car; none of them had a clue on what was wrong with the engine, they were just doing trying and error,  worsening the condition of the engine. I took the car to Peugeot outlet/Dealership (ASD motors) at Area 10, Garki Abuja. They couldnt help. With someone recommendation, i took the car to the so called best Rewire in Abuja, since the issue was Electrical. I dropped the car with him and left for work at early hour in the morning. I  went back in the evening to pick the car and met/was faced with the greatest frustration that ever happened in my life. The car i drove to the place, could no longer start.  Whatever the guy did in that engine bay, only God knows till today. To cut the  story short, the car slept in his workshop for 5 days, no longer starting. I spent 20k on the 5th day to replace all the electrical components he burnt that was making the car no longer starting. They were: the MAF (Mass Airflow sensor), the Amplifier module and Ignition coil. All these were happening because i was too scared to do job myself, and also i was listening to peoples advice to give the car to "competent"mechanics and rewires to fix for me. I decided enough was enough. Before then, I had help with online friends that own 505 in USA, especially the turbo and V6 models. One of the 505 V6 owners in USA took the pain, scanned his workshop manual, uploaded it and forwarded it to me via email. Another 505 owner in USA linked me to a web site where i found all workshop manuals of different 505 models. I downloaded the V6 model workshop manual, both with the wiring diagram.  With the encouragement & guild  from Siena and some other online friends 505 owners in Australia, i went into work one Saturday morning. I exposed the engine harness(all wires in the engine bay) leading to the two ECUs ( Injection and Ignition ECUs). I studied the wiring diagram, traced all the wires from the 2 ECUs to the sensors on the engine and saw what was all along the fault. The people that did the engine swap did good job but fail to connect the wires/engine harness correctly. It was wrongly connected. Almost all the sensors were wrongly connected. I then reverse all the wrong connections on the sensors, testing the sensors with my Multimeter to ensure that they still read what the workshop manual showed they should read. While I was doing that, i realised thet 4 sensors were missing in the engine bay. Oxygen sensor was one of them. So, it dawn on me that the sensors swapped during the powertrain conversion was not complete. Meaning that the engine would never run 100% until it gets it full sensors. Anyway, i continued with the work till around 9pm day that  Saturday night when i finished reversing/ correcting the connections. I started the car and WOORAH! The problems were gone. The engine was running smoothly as never before, the higher the rev/acceleration, the smoother the engine sound. Damn, I love V6! All what the Nigerian mechanics and rewires couldnt fix, i was able to fix the issues with car by myself. Few weeks later i installed tghe Oxygen sensor. Last September, I was on annual Leave. I traveled/drove the car to East from Abuja to East. I left my house, at Area 1, at 6:30am and got to Lokoja few minutes before 8am. Less than 2 hrs drive! I was amazed .I refilled the fuel tank and continued on the Journey to Enugu. I arrived Enugu city exactly 1:30pm! This was a car that people had asked me to get rid of. This was a car Abuja Mechanics have advised that i convert it back to fuel carbureted I4 engine, since they couldnt fix it!  Few days later, i drove back to Abuja and got to Gwagwalada at 12:30pm on the dot! The car didnot even cough on the whole trip. I was doing 140 - 150kph on the whole trip. V6 is really an amazing engine! Even at low rev, when i was barely accelerating, at the 5th gear, it was doing 150kph, at full A/C on the whole trip!

Yes, am a living testimony to what Nigerian mechanics and rewires can do to cars. Am a living testimony  on how one can fix his or her car better than the mechanics, if the interest is there. Since the day i drove off from the workshop where my 505 slept for days without starting, no mechanic or rewire has ever touch my car, not even the bonnet again. Yes, there may be some tedious job that one may have to give them to do someday, but for me, it most be under my supervision and instruction. If he dosent like it, i find someone who does. Since the day i started working on my car, i have learnt a lot of things i couldnt have about cars. I use to blame myself for ending up with such a converted car, but now, i knew it was a blessing. If i had gotten a proper 505 V6, i wouldnt know much about fixing cars by now. V6 engine is a very simply technology. And also happens to be the most durable, when compared to I4,  Which was the reason why i purchased my 2nd car last month from Lagos: Peugeot 605 V6 5-speed manual. Though it can be thirsty when used in cities, but conserve fuel or consume less than I4 on high ways at high great speed.

At poster, take your time, you can fix your car issue.  Am happy that at least you can change oil and filter yourself. Its a good start. With time, you can know more than i do. It feels good when one diagnoses and fixes his car himself. You will also have the confidence to travel with your car to any part of the country anytime, knowing that you will never be stranded. That you can always fix it and continue your journey. You wont be at the mercy of the mechanics telling you what to do with your car, even if he is killing it.

Replacing ECU should be the last thing you should do. ECU works with signals it gets from sensors. If any of the sensors becomes faulty or have loose contact on the wiring connectors/plus, the ECU will be getting wrong signals and will start guess work and would wrongly command the injectors on amount of fuel to inject into the combustion chambers. Like Siena noted, you dont need to warm an EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) engine before you drive off. The ECU has already been programmed. The amount of fuel that goes into the cylinders has been programmed as long as the sensors send correct signals to the ECU. You can drive your car to APO mechanic village, negotiate with an ECU seller there, swap the ECU in your car with his for sale. If it corrects the black smoke issue, you pay him for the ECU. If it doesnt correct the issue or you donot see any change, give him back his ECU. You can try with at least 4 ECUs of the same model or part number, if the first one doesnt work. At least, that will help you in elimiting ECU.

Final word. ITS YOUR CAR. OWN IT!

Attached is the pic of my 505 V6 5-speed manual.