₦airaland Forum

bigx: Oga Ikenna I'm having a new issue with my 307 o!
I complained earlier that a rewire connected my fan directly to my alternator without my knowledge to keep the fan on whenever the engine is on.
I reversed the connection 2 weeks back and the temparature guage is now always roughly at the middle as you said, but I just noticed for the last few days that even though the fan turns once in a while when it should, on especially hot days or when I'm in traffic, at times the fluid in the radiator tank just starts boiling and pours out.
This never happened in over 4 years of using the car, what could be wrong?

A lot coud have caused it.

If air is trapped in a cooling system (airlock), it would always overheat the engine when the fluid in the cooling system warms (airpocket). This usually happens when coolant is drained & refilled without properlly bleeding the system.

If the cooling system thermostat is removed or stuck open, the engine would overheat as soon as it warms & stays long in traffic jam.

If the radiator cap or the expansion coolanat bottle/container cap is not well closed or tight, the coolant will over boil. Likewise if there is leak on any of the cooling system hose or the radiator, the same will happen.

Most Peugeots I know do have bleed screws for bleeding the cooling system. Those that dont have the bleed screws are designed in such away that as you are re-filling the system after flushing, air will be going out of the system as well, and there wont be need for bleeding the system.

Ikenna.

cretin: nice answer by ikenna...but i think he shud fix the thermostat n fan together..cos if he connects the fan to the default connection...ie to switch on when the engine is hot..since there is no thermostat in the car..how would the cars onboard computer know that the engine is hot?

Via CTS.

Ikenna.

[quote author=Cruise-z]Thank you Ikenna. One more thing. Is it possible to get the fans working according to factory setting without a thermostat?[/quote]Yes, its possible. You just need to find the original connection.

Ikenna.

Rebuild or replace.

Besides, its an SUV. Not a car or Jeep.

Ikenna.

There is your problem; no thermostat. Dont bother looking elsewhere. Even if the CTS is faulty, the absence of thermostat contributes to the high fuel consumption, because it means that the engine will be running cold for a very long time before it warms, and the cts would always signal to ecu what its sensing: engine cold, making the ecu to always make the injectors spray in excess fuel since its been told by the cts that engine is always cold. So you see that its not cts fault, but the absence of thermostat, worsen by constant spinning of radiator cooling fan, by preventing the fluid in the cooling system to warm. Even if you cant re-connect fans back to factory (to spin only when temp tries to exceed normal engine operating temp.ie.exceed midlle of temp guage), get the correct good thermostat of that your engine & fix it back. Not just for the fuel economy, but for the durability of the engine's sake which is already suffering, with the absence of thermostat & constant spinning of the radiator cooling fans.

Ikenna.

What makes you think your car's thermostat is the culprit for the high fuel consumption, if at all the car still have engine thermostat? How are you even sure that your car consumes excess fuel? Because of the way the fuel guage is acting when engine is cold? Have you considered that it could be an instrument cluster problem, making the fuel guage to drop as temp guage rises? If really, your car is consuming upto that amount of fuel that you said, then it should be giving other symptoms like emitting black smoke from the exhaust tail. Is yours doing that? Does the electric radiator cooling fans still work according to factory connection.ie. only switch on when temp guage reaches the middle of the guage? Do they spin as soon as you switch on the ignition & remain constantly on as long as ignition switch is on? Have you checked to know if the thermostat is still there? Answering all the questions above would help me know if the problem is the thermostat or something else.

A stuck open thermostat would make a car run rich & would delay the electric radiator cooling fan from switching on. But there are ways of checking if the thermostat is still good. Remove the thermostat from the car, boil water in a pot & drop the thermostat into the boiling water. If the t-stat is still good, within seconds of dropping it in, it will open before your very eyes. And to know if it still closes, shut off the fire boiling the water, while the t-stat is still in & allow it to gradually cool. As the water temperature drops, you will see the t-stat gradually closing. That will confirm that the t-stat is still ok. Or you can put the t-stat in cold water in pot & place on it your cooking gas or stove & ignite the gas cooker nozzles. As the water gradually warms, the t-stat will gradually start opening till it opens completely when the water must have started boiling. If you have a thermometer, it would help to know at which temp that the t-stat opens & closes. It will tell you if the t-stat still opens at factory temperature. The factory temp would be engraved on the t-stat. It always pay to conduct this test on t-stat before you replace it, so that it wont be a waste of money replacing what is not faulty.

I dont know how good your CTS (Coolant Temperature Sensor) is. Because faulty cts would make your car run very rich or thirsty when a car engine is cold & hot. Most times, when it fails, it will be signaling "engine cold" to the ECU all the time, making the ECU to make the injectors to spray in excess fuel, thinking that engine is cold all the time, based on info it receives from the CTS.

Ikenna.

Have you checked the car ignition system? That is if you understand what i mean.

What type of ignition system your engine has? Distributor or Distributorless? If its distributorless, check the working of the 4 individual coil packs, including their leads. It will be easier to do this by pulling out the spark plugs. The condition of the spark plugs will tell you if all are working fine or one which is not working. If you find any that is not working, check the lead for leak. How to check lead for leak is by putting back the spark plugs in the cylinder head & start the car. While engine is idling, spray water mixed with detergent (little) on the leads. If any is leaking, it will produce a visible spark on the lead for you to see. Or you can run/rub your bare hands/palms on the spark plug leads while engine is running/idling. If you get an electric shock while touching any of the leads, there is your problem. Replace the lead or leads that electric shocks you. Though, i know no one wants to get an electric shock, even for the sake of fixing his car. So the former method could be your option. Meanwhile, if there is sign that a spark plug is not working, transfer a working coil pack to that non-working spark plug and see if it would work on that cylinder and the other not working on the other too. If it indicates that the coil pack is dead, replace the dead one.

If your engine has a Distributor, check for cracks on the distributor cap. If you cant find one, run your hands on the distributor cap, while engine is running, to know if you would get an electric shock.

TPS (Throttle Position sensor), if failed, cam make an auto transmission difficult to select gears or enter higher gears. Can you check the TPS with DMM to know the resistance and voltage values of the sensor when throttle butterfly is WOT (Wide Open Throttle) & closed?

The problem is, I dont know how many of our rewires in Nigeria that can troubleshoot a car with elimination method, like i have explained in all my posts here. So, am afraid, i cant recommend nightmares to you. Its high time you started fixing your car yourself. Its called INTEREST.

I wouldnt know where IAC is located on your engine, since i dont drive Japmobile like yours. But generally, IACs are located or mounted on Intake manifold or close to it.

Ikenna.

Carwahala: Ikenna good day. Yes it rough idles,stall and quits when I brake or quits even while moving. Brake won't hold nd I'v been lucky not to hit car in front. Cant this affect the tranny?I want to know if you have an electrician that understands these problems and can rectify them. Please give me the person's number. Thanks

Relaible electrician?

First, I stay in Abuja, not in Lagos. Second, I fix my car electric issues by myself. I dont trust and rely on Abuja rewires.

Ikenna.

Idle erractically? I dont understand. Do you mean it rough idles?

Ikenna.

Carwahala: Help! My camry 2.2 98 model CHECK ENGINE light is on. It idles erratically,stalls and quits at stop signs. If I brake the RPM starts fluctuatin. I changed 02 sensors no way. Changed coil, plug wires, brainbox and injector no way. Two days ago I was told two valves(cylinders) are not firing. I gave them money to it,came back and no change in performance. Any advice guys

Am not sure this is the right thread to post your car issue. But since you have done that, lets sort it out.

First, for someone to suggest to you to replace the engine is wrong, for the problem is not with the engine, but the electrics. So even if you replace the engine, the problem would or might still be there.

The best way to deal & fix that car now is by "eliminantion" method/diagnosis. Dont bother to waste your money anymore on scanning, since you are not getting any result from that.

Now, have you tried to find out the resistance values of the CTS (coolant temp sensor), both when engine is cold & warm? With a DMM (Digital Multimeter), you can find out the resistance & voltage values of the cts, to know if the sensor is still good. The CTS should be located on Thermostat Housing. A faulty cts can give such symptoms. But usually, your car would be running very thirsty & maybe emiting black smoke, hard starting every morning or when engine is hot/warm, when cts is faulty. Have you been having the symptoms i just mentioned?

A faulty cts can make a car hunt ( RPM fluctuation or engine revving up & down when its idling). But there is something else that usually makes a car/engine to be hunting at rpm when it fails. The component is IAC (Idle Air Control valve). The valve regulates & supplies air to intake manifold, for enough air for the air/fuel mixture, to stop engine from stalling while idling, since the throttle body butterfly closes when engine is idling. It also prevent engine from stalling at idle when a heavy load, like switching on A/C, is added to the engine. The IAC can be fixed by simply by pulling it out, cleaning it with carburetor cleaner & lubricating the valve inside, after the carb cleaner has dried. Depending on the system, a faulty cts can as well make an IAC to malfunction.

Have you checked to be sure you are not having vacuum leak? If any of the vacuum lines is leaking, it will throw off the proper working of ecu/ecm/pcm (so called brainbox by uninformed Nigerians).

Have you tried swapping in another AFM (Air flow meter)? I believe thats what Camry uses. Except yours is MAF or MAP system. Faulty AFM, MAF, IAT or MAP could give such symptoms.

But, except IAC, all other components mentioned above have one common symptom when they fail & its rich running (your car will be very thirsty). And the exhaust tail, usually, will be emitting black smoke at heavy acceleration.

Ikenna.

Central Area? Hmm! Your vehicle is really guzzling fuel. I believe is not just because of the absence of caty, nut absence of o2 sensor too.

My house is at Area 1, while my office is at zone 1, Wuse. I drive my daily driver to work every day, from Monday to Friday, which has never cost me more than 2k (20 litres)to fuel for 5 days of driving to work & driving back home every week ( Area 1 to zone 1). And its also a V6, though manual transmission.

The problem shouldnt be if you can get a matching caty, but if the caty you will get will have a matching o2 sensor. But you need to acertain if the missing one has o2 sensor. If it has, the sensor harness (wire) should be dangling or folded around where the cary was removed. So please, check first for the 02 sensor before you go to purchase the caty. But the high fuel consumption of your vehicle has made it obvious that something is wrong with the injection system. The MIL (engine check light) on the instrument cluster should even be indicating that something is wrong.

Ikenna.

indomie indeed!

Before I start, the missing device is called " Catalytic Converter". Dont mind that clown.

Yes, if the cat converter is missing or removed, the fuel consumption will increase. Why? To start with, oxygen sensor is bolted on caty converter. Oxygen sensor fine tunes fuel mixture with air in intake manifold before it goes into combustion chambers via injectors. So if the caty is missing, probably the o2 sensor is missing too. So, your ECU wont be receiving any signal from o2 sensor, therefore excessive fueling results. Besides, your SUV should have more than one caty converter. The caty looks like a mini exhaust pot, depending on the location of the exhaust pipe where the caty is bolted on the exhaust pipe. I believe the engine would be a V6 or V8. In most modern V6, each exhaust manifold, on each of the 2 cylinder banks, has mini sized caty converter. And there may be another one, a big sized one, in the middle. Some vehicles do have another caty at the rear, making it 4. You should also know that each caty has o2 sensor screwed on it. So you need to check by yourself to know how many caty your SUV have & how many is still remaining.

Yes, caty converter is an expensive device & its been stolen on daily basis, most especially in the western world. In Europe & North America, stolen of caty converters are even higher than the stollen of vehicles. The high cost led to it. And its very easy to remove. Its just a bolt-in device. So its still fortunate that Nigerians thieves dont know yet about the caty. The moment they do, na another wahala go be that. You could park your car in a street, walk into a store, walk out, jump into your car, start your car & your engine would start sounding like it has no exhaust at all. We pray that it doesnt come to that.

Do you trust that mechanic that much to believe that the caty was removed before he went under to check the cause of the leak?

Ikenna.

Women drivers? Hm!

I have taught about 10 persons how to drive & most were women. At a point, I started thinking that only God would be patient enough to teach women how to drive. Am serious. Every moment i had spent on the passengers seat when they take over the steering, I would be having cycle of nightmares till i would take over. Sometimes i wonder where some men that teach their wives how to drive borrow all those patience & calmness to go through all that high blood pressure. The worst part is that while they would be raising your blood pressure with their wonderful driving, they would still be asking you "How are my doing?". I remembered when mom told me what happened during her own time of learning how to drive. Mistakenly, dad decided to be the one to teach her to drive with his BRAND NEW car. A mistake indeed! The first few days they went out for practise, they would come back nagging at each others. At a point, mom realised that she wasnt making any progress & they would always come back unhappy with each other. The 4th day or so, dad realised his mistake & sent her to driving school, for peace sake. I was teaching a female neighbor with her car how to drive then, & mom was telling me the story that I must be special then to be doing this without the woman complaining, instead singing praises to her how good & patient i was while i was teaching her driving. But mom didnt realise that dad wasnt different. Maybe, i would have done worse than dad to that lady if it was my car. I could remember the day one of my younger sister asked me to teach her how to drive with dad's car i was using then. I didnt even utter a word to her in reply. Make she come carry me!

Dont get me wrong, am not saying all women are slow learners in driving. Some men are worst than most women in learning how to drive.

Whenever am driving in the city, I dont like women driving behind me. Once i notice that, I would quickly steer into the other lane. Make dem carry their wahala dey go! Most women, when they are reversing, they will only apply brake when they hear noise behind or when the car suddenly stopped on its own. God have mercy on you if your car was the wage or the source of noise. A woman will drive & hit you behind, when you have calculated, smartly applied brake & stopped your car before a traffic light. When you walk up to her car & asked her "why me?", she would reply "But why did you brake like that?". As if it was wrong for you to know how to apply brake. Before you know it, she would pull her phone & start calling her husband or boyfriend. Expecting you to do what? Call your wife or girfriend(s) too?

Notwithstanding, there are very few that are very good in driving, very few. Some are even rough riders! But we are looking at 10 - 15%.

Yes, some men are like that too. You will see some men sitting so close to the steering wheel, holding the steering wheel so firm, like women, as if they driving accross graveyard! How do you expect to drive properly when you are so nervous, not relaxed? Even some instructors in some driving schools drive the same way. What do you expect them to produce then? Expert drivers?

Ikenna.

Seun: You have every right to be blunt. Afterall, it's your keyboard. But you also need to be informative and tell me what I can do to improve your experience. For example, you're saying the site is difficult to see and read, but I'm seeing and reading it just fine on my laptop, so I really don't know what to do with that criticism. It's as if you just wasted your time by typing it. Which mobile phone do you use? The site looks different on every mobile phone and browser. Can you tell me which phone and browser you use? I've also noticed that people who complain about font-size tend to be those who read with glasses. Do you read with glasses? The criticism about mods not encouraging discussion is unfair because we still have the same moderators. But I'm glad you've shared your feelings.

Bros no vex. Na transfer aggression!

I can now see a lot of improvement, much better than the old one. I dey apologise!

Meanwhile, i dont wear glasses o!

Ikenna.

To help you appreciate 406 better, check the link below:

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/peugeot/406/

They are reviews of previous & present 406 owners all over the world. All models included. You can start from 1999, since thats when the phase 2 production started.

Ikenna.

doofanc: Pegeout ke? That brand of car is a total disaster.
Almost everyone i know of who used one complained bitterly about its unending issues.

Its second value is non existent. On this auto board its common to see 2001 406 going 4 as low as 400k (most likely due to its issues and d owner cant wait to get rid of it). You can google search if u doubt.

Am one of those that dont give a damn about resale value when choosing a car to purchase. Why? Because i dont buy cars to resale the next day. I buy to use till it falls apart. Am not the type that gets carried away with new cars or new things. Because that something is new doesnt make it better than the older ones. I can only go for a new when actually its an improvement on reliability & durability sake, not the design or looks. Because the day that new thing starts its wahala, you will forget all the fine looks & wished you had kept the old reliable one you threw away. Mind you, a newer a car, the less reliable it is. Days were gone when cars were damn reliable, during the carburetor days. Only N500 will bring life back to the car, as soon as you finished washing/cleaning the carburetor & mount it back. But now, series of headaches: sensor this, sensor that; wire this, wire that; ECU this, Ecu that;etc. In fact, time will come when Cars will start suffering from Virus infections too, if it has not even started.

Before I bought my two Lions, I carried out a series of studies on the two. How reliable & durable they were? How powerful their engines were? To me, mpg is secondary when choosing a car to buy. Knowing that i love long distance driving, the only car that can suite that is a good road handler with a powerful accelerating engine, which the two passed. Considering how GOOD our highways are, one needs a fast accelerating & torquey engine to be able overtake fast & manueuvre the car on potholes on our good deathtraps on top speed. Besides, am the speed type. So i need a car or an engine that withstand my driving style on highways & still last longer that one would expect. I need a car that i needed not to depress throttle pedal deeply to gain speed or or accelerate hard to speed beyond 120km/h. If you have driven a torquey car, you would understand. The only Naturally aspirated I4 engine that is very torquey is Diesels. Yes, they are so good with overtaking. And very durable, more than petrol engines. The HDI engines (Diesels) in 406s can be so damn good with mpg. They are smooth & smokeless, unlike the conventional diesels that usually sound like grinding machines. In 2002, a Peugeot 406 HDI set the world record for the longest distance driven on a single tank of fuel, with a covering distance of 2,348 km on a single tank. Having such a car would mean a full tank could last more than 2 months. Unfortunately, Nigerians dont drive diesel cars. If you buy one, you are on your own. Why? Unavailability of parts, no technical know-how mechanics with diesel cars in Nigeria. And mind you, diesel engine parts cost very very high, even in Europe. Though, they have less electrics & engine components or sensors, but the little they have cost more than you can ever imagine. And to clown it all, they are serviced more frequently than the petrol engines. A simple air leak in a Diesel fuel system will disrupt the whole engine system until the air is bled out, which is not an easy task. The glow plugs can be very hard to pull out. It needs a special tool to do so which is expensive. If the diesel injection pump fails, the price of a new one might even buy a small car for you in Nigeria. But all these notwithstanding, diesel engines are more durable than the petrol ones & consume as if the fuel in the tank is static. But do remember that adulterated diesel in Nigerian filing stations are more than the good ones. So Diesel vs Petrol cars in Nigeria: which is better & more economical? I leave you to answer that.

Ikenna.

alasibanz: @Ikenna
Do you have any advice on 307 2.0 automatic gear transmission problem.
At times I do experince sudden sound and display of abnormal gear.
What I do is offing the engine and restarting again. This occurs once in week.
Will appreciate your advice.

I am the wrong person to ask anything about auto tranny. No clue at all with their wahala. And I dont like wasting my time studying that unreliable thing. So, sorry for not knowing how to help you on this.

Ikenna.

Dont get me wrong, am not saying that facelifted 406 I4s are not good too. The 2.0 (EW 10) & 2.2 (EW 12) engines are good too. They are improvements of the phase 1 I4 engines. They pull fine, but not as good as the V6 though.

Their advantage over the V6 here in Nigeria is that all their engine parts are available in both new & used, unlike the V6 parts you will mostly find only used parts available here.

Just want to place all the cards before you.

Ikenna.

Also, I want to add that the phase 2 406 V6 manual trans has been the car i have long plan to buy next, whenever i am ready to change my 605 V6. I havent done that yet because the cash isnt ready & its killing me. So, OP, no be only you like & want beta thing!

Ikenna.

BlueDiva: Nice one Ikenna. Always love reading your posts.
Please how and where can i fix my 206 a/c in Lagos?

I usually refill the a/c gas every 2weeks because of a leakage that has been there for more than a year.
Different a/c repairers have diagnosed and failed.

Some have said they want to dismantle the dashboard to check if the leakage is from there.
I have refused but will only allow a certified Peugeot expert to do that. For now, i just refill the gas.

Looking forward to your response.
@OP, sorry to derail your thread.

If really they have checked all A/C components in the engine bay & didnt find any leak, the next possible component to check that usually leak gas, when weak, is the Evaporator. Its usually located under the dashboard. Unfortunately, the dash will have to come down before it can be reached. It looks like a mini radiator, I mean the evaporator.

Bringing down dash is not the problem, but mounting it back properly is another case all together. If not properly done, some of the switches on the dashboard will seize to work. There are numerous sizes & colors of connectors under the dash you do not want to mess with. It has to be done with someone that knows what he is doing, not someone "that thinks" he knows what he is doing. Goodluck!

Ikenna.

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE: 406 V6

1. TIMING BELT: The worst thing that will happen to V6 owner is to allow the engine timing belt (if yours uses so) to brake on you (while the engine is on).. In fact, not just V6 engines, everyother engine that use timing belt. But for V6, its as good as kissing the engine goodbye, if that happens. The lifespan of V6 engine timing belt in 406 V6 is 80,000 km or 10 years (whichever comes first). Its always adviseable to replace engine timing belt when one purchase a used car, unless the new owner got the car history from the previous owner. Some would label a sticker on the belt cover, indicating the date the belt was last replaced. You might not be that lucky. Unfortunatly, am not sure you can get a new timing belt of 406 V6 in Nigeria. You will have to source it outside, which is very much available online. A 406 V6 timing belt kit (the timing belt, tensioners & water pump) cost $250 - $300 USD. Both the item & shipping shouldnt cost more than $400. At least, we are looking at 60 - 80 K NGN. I dont think it cost too much to spend that amount once in 10 years in keeping your car running. Because, thats is the only major service that is done on ES9J4(S). They are indestructible engines. You can get the engine sensors in Nigeria, if they fail. If I were you, i would also be working on purchasing & replacing the timing belt as soon as i make the purchase, whether V6 or I4. Though, the I4 timing belt kits are available new in Nigeria. How superior or original they are is what I cant vouch for.

2. BSI UNIT (Body System Interface). All facelifted 406 have the BSI. The unit controls all car's systems, radio, cruise control, electric windows, lighting, climate control, central locking,etc. Its the "brain" of the whole body system of phase 2 406s. So if it fails or starts malfunctioning, na wahala! Its separate from the conventional ECU for engines & auto transmissons. As usual, what kills it is water. Its located above pedals, under the steering wheel. It looks like engine ecu, but bigger. So always make sure that the car doesnt leak water from that side, especially when its raining. Though the D8s (phase 1 406s) dont have this BSI. Only the D9s have them, both I4 & V6.

3. COIL PACKS: The facelifted 406 V6 has 6 individual coil packs, while the phase 1 406 V6 has single coil pack. None of them have distributor. The advantage the 6 individual coil packs in phase 2 V6 has over phase 1 single coil pack is that if one or two coil packs suddenly fails, you can still drive the car home on 5 or 4 spark plugs, pending when you replace the 1 or 2 failed coils or even all the 6. But if the single coil pack in D8 dies, the car will stop & wont start again until you get an new coil pack & replace the dead one. You wont find it funny if such a thing strand you on highway (no man's land!). So now, you see the advantage the D9 has over D8.


Now, you can see that no particular 406 issue is peculiar to V6, especially, the type that cant be fixed. The only problem with the V6 406 is when you want to replace the timing belt. You will have to source for it online & it has to be done by a good Peugeot workshop. Aside the belt, everyother thing there is like everyother V6 engine. Besides, the On-Board-computer is there to tell you or point at what is amiss. Mind you, some of the early/phase 1 I4 406 engines were oil burners. Steer clear! Never go for the phase 1. The issues the phase 1 had were fixed in phase 2. The phase 2 was an improvement of the phase 1.

Before I go, Please, whatever you do, whichever engine you decide to go for, DO NOT go for auto trans. They are not as reliable as everyother auto tranny of other brands. Most previous owners of 406 auto trans complained that theirs failed before the cars clocked 100,000 km. So, steer clear!

If i remember anyother thing, i will post it here. Feel free to ask for clairification or how to fix some issues peculiar to 406. Happy hunting & goodluck!

Ikenna.

GOODIES:

1. D9 ON-BOARD-COMPUTER: one interesting thing in 406 V6, especially the facelifted ones, is the D9 OBC. It means that you need not to waste your hard earn money scanning the car. Yes, its OBD II compliant. But the car has an internal computer or unit that diagnose the car for you & display the fault on the screen, under the A/C control panel. OBD II scanner will only pull the error codes for you. But the screen in the 406 V6, at any point in time sometime is about to fail or fails, would read out or display the name of the sensor or what has failed or making the car to misbehave. Now, point at me a Japmobile that has such facility? I thought someone said here that Peugeots are crap! Hmm! Anyway, the socket for the OBD II scanner is still there, incase you want to confirm what the On-Board-Computer tells you is wrong with the car. Oh! I forgot to add that the computer also displays on the same screen, the mpg or L/100km you are doing at every point in time the car is in motion.


2. MPG/FUEL CONSUMPTION: From records, it shows that the mpg of 406 V6, especially the manual trans, is close to I4 406. Even though there is difference, but its insignificant. Below is the breakdown, gotten from owners of 406 both I4s & V6s:

I4 (2.0) auto trans:
10L/100km: City/town
6/100km: Highway

V6, auto trans:
14/100km: city/town
8.4/100km: highway

V6, Manual trans:
11/100km: city/town
7/100km: highway

Someone in Australia once said that he covered 648 km with only 48 litres, with his 406 V6 manual trans. Mind you, Abuja to Enugu town is about 500 km. Not even upto what this guy covered with only 48 litres in his V6. Go figure!



3. 406 V6 ENGINE MANAGEMENT: The D9 V6 engine management is reliable & durable, unlike some of the I4 406 engine management that suffers ECU failures in the early phase. In fact, the V6 engine in D9 has less engine sensors, compared to some of the I4 counterpart, except the Diesels that have simple electrics & easy to fix ( if parts are available). Less electrics, less headache!


4. 406 V6 PERFORMANCE: hmm! I dont really have much to say here. Google it & see for yourself.

The next to post is the things to look out for in the V6 & the V6 parts availability issue.

Ikenna.

ANNOYANCES:

1. SPEEDOMETER: All Peugeot 406s do have issues with their speedometers. Unfortunately, the speedo in 406s are electrically controlled/driven. Not the conventional cable driven type. Of course, Peugeots are known for electric issues. The speedo, at a point in time, would start failing intermittently. Fixing it is very easy. The speedo is controlled by 2 sensors: one is on gearbox (usually known as transducer), while the 2nd one is inside the car, behind glove box, known as speed sensor, which also controls the variable ratio steering (speed sensitive steering) in V6s. You start troubleshooting from the transducer on gearbox, which usually stops working when the connector is corroded. Check & clean the connector, if corroded, & connect back. If not solved the problem, then check the speed sensor inside the car. Usually, when the speedo starts acting up, the Power assisted steering (PAS), which is speed sensitive, will start acting up too. The problem usually lies between the 2 sensors. And most times, cleaning the connectors usually fix the problem.

2. BRAKE DISC: this is a major problem with all 406, not just the V6. Their brake rotors (disk) get hot quicker & wears off, most especially with the auto trannies. To reduce the wears, use the engine brake more often (since you are going for manual trans) & brake when necessary. But expect it as something you will be replacing sooner than you would want to. Its one of the flaws in 406.

3. AIRBAG LITE: The airbag indicator (bulb) on the instrument cluster may at some point will lit or come on & would remain constantly on, anytime ignition is switched on. Donot worry when that happens. To fix it, simply look under the drivers seat, there is a 2 or 3 wire connector there. Cut out the connector & solder the wires. It will fix the problem permamnently. The problem is with the connector. If you have a 406 and it hasnt happened, expect it anytime soon. In fact, either its yet to happen or that the previous owner has done the soldering work (if its an imported 406). If its a Nigerian used, it could be that the rewires have disconnected or removed the bulb, to deceive you that it has been fixed. But mind you, dont play with Airbag. It could go off when the car is in motion & result to severe accident.

Will post the good side of 406 V6 soon.

Ikenna.

Before I proceed, pls note that Peugeot 607 V6 actually had the same V6 engine in the facelifted 406. So the mechanic that said that was correct. But considering the weight of 607, the engine performs better in 406.

The facelfted 406 ('99 - 2004) was the last Peugeot product designed by Pininfarina, an Italian company that also designed Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, etc. The popular Peugeot 404, 504 & 505 were also designed by Pininfarina. Thats why those cars were all over the world massively sold, due to their ruggedness, good road handling & good looking in their era. Of course, Ferrari is not left behind. Likewise, the 406 had the same qualities of the ones it succeeded.

There were 2 different types of V6 engine in 406: ES9J4 & ES9J4S. The phase 1 406 V6 , D8, had the ES9J4, while the phase 2 (D9) had the ES94S which was the V6 engine that 607 had. The D8 V6 develops maximum of 190 hp at 5,500 rpm. While the D9 V6 engine develops 210 hp at 6000 rpm, with maximum torque of 285 Nm at 4000 rpm. So the ES9J4S was an improvement of the V6 engine in phase 1 406 V6. And remember, 406 was facelifted in 1999, when the production of ES9J4S started.

The two V6 engines in the two phases of 406 had quad-cam set up, with 24 valves, superior to my PRVs (V6 engine) in my two Lions: 505 V6 & 605 V6 (both are sticks).

I will enlighten you on good sides & annoyances of 406 V6 in my next post, which will be posted soon.

Ikenna.

Please, who are these guys making noise here? Please if you know nothing about Lions,please stay cleer off this thread. How could someone condemn phase 2 406 V6, & a stick for that matter! Please get serious guys!

Please, OP, I just saw this thread. Sorry for coming in late. Give me sometime, for i want to arrange my dinner & will come back as soon as am done. I will tell you all you need to know about D9, also known as the 2nd series 406 V6. Just know that you are on the right cause.

Will get back to you.

Ikenna.

iyatrustee: i drive a honda accord v6 and must confess dat d car dey fire! even as a lady i dey enjoy am wella cos i be ruff rider. but then, is it true dat v6 cars are cheaper to buy cos dey are expensive to maintain?

They are cheaper to buy because of low demand from Nigerians. The low demand of V6 in Nigeria is because clowns here scare Nigerians away from V6s, with their foolish & upsetting reasons, making Nigerian used V6s not to have resale values.

The used good/fairly used/tokunbo V6 engines dont sale in Nigeria becuase there is low demand of them. There is low demand of V6 engines in the used car spare markets in Nigeria becuase the V6 engines are "NEVER SAY DIE" engines. They are everlasting, most durable engine you can ever imagine, if properly cared for (especially the timing belt, water pump & tensioners replaced as when due). Thats the reason why the V6 engines sale less, cost less or cheaper than I4 engines.

Ikenna.

iykay4455: The only problem I have with a V6 engine is the fuel consumption

Have you ever owned a V6? Or you are just saying what clowns that call themselves mechanics in Nigeria told you? Or are you basing your belief on complain from people who abused their V6s, with lack of proper maintenance & come back to blame their innocent cars? Dont always believe what you read!

Like i said in my previous post here, if V6 isnt that good, durable & fuel efficient, then my present 2 cars wouldnt have been V6s. This last Easter break, I travelled with one of them to East from Abuja. On coming back, I left Enugu at 6am & got to Area 1, Garki, Abuja at 12.30pm on the dot, with only one full tank (less than 7 hrs drive) . For those that complain that V6s are gas guzzelers, go figure!

Ever listened to a V6 engine song while you rev it? Oh! It can be so sweet! Most V6s i know are torquey engines. They are very good for overtaking; design for hiways or long distance trips. With a V6 on highway, to overtake a car on a single lane, all it needs is a small flex of throttle pedal & the car will shoot out like rocket & you will be so amazed how the vehicle you just overtook will be fading away behind you. Unlike I4s that you will have accelerate hard, to gain high hp before you could sluggishly overtake a car before you. What it takes to overtake a vehicle on highway faster is engine torque, not hp, which most I4s lack (though some newer I4s have improved on the torques). The only I4 that are as torquey as V6s, sometimes better, are Diesels. Yes, they can so good. But Nigerians dont drive Diesels. Reasons? Long strory for another thread.

The only time you would know how underpowered most I4s are is when loads are added to the engine, especially, when you switch on A/C. You would start & keep wondering where all the oomph or power has gone.

But the fact remains, some V6s consume fuel more than the others. First, auto transmission V6s will consume more fuel than the manual trans V6s counterparts. Some V6s models of some brands consume fuel more than the others. A faulty V6 engine management would guzzle fuel, if not fixed, likewise the I4 counterparts. When out of spec or non-factory tyre sizes are mounted in a V6 or I4, it increases the car's fuel consumption. If the tyre is under-inflated, it will increase the fuel consumption, be it V6 or I4. If you drive aggressively with V6 in the cities, it will guzzle fuel like Hell.

I drive gently with my V6 when am in the city. I always try not to rev beyond 3k rpm, even though it can be very tempting to push beyond that, knowing there are so much power left unused. But it helps with the economy when driven in cities. With my driving style in the cites, i average almost the same mpg with the I4s. But once i hit expressway or highway, I would push it for the Hell of it.

V6s are fun cars, especially the manual trans ones that give room for stunts to be put on those wheels (when in the mood) with aggressive gears shifting & smart clutch engagements, getting the full power of V6 on the wheels (which is why my 2 V6s are manual trans) . V6s are designed to give one driving them some driving pleasures one could ever imagine. The thing is, once you experience the power & driving pleasures a clean V6 gives, you will swear never to go back to I4.

Ikenna.

Am not hear to talk about how good, durable & fuel efficient a V6 can be. If its not that good, i wouldnt have gone for another V6 as my second car. Am not saying Inline 4 engine is not good, it depends on what you want out of a car, which am not here to discuss, since its not what this thread is all about.

That clown that told you to convert your car to I4 or swap in I4 engine to your V6 engine bay should not have any business with spanners. Or at least, should not have any business with modern cars with EFI engines like yours. Does he really know what it takes to do such a conversion? So he thinks it ends only with the engine swap? Interesting!

To swap in an I4 engine into that your car, that particluar I4 engine harness/wires, not just any Camry I4 harness, will also be swapped in, including that engine complete sensors, relays & ECU/PCM, which must be done with that I4 engine wiring diagram, which I bet you dont have. First, you need to know the paritcular I4 engine model number to get the exact diagram. Also, you should note that the transmission maynot match. So you will need to buy a complete I4 engine with tansmission bolted to it, including the tansmission sensors, harness & ECU too. The radiator maynot match as well, due to different positioning of the water pumps & thermostat housing on both the V6 & I4 engines. So you may need to swap in the I4 radiator too. The best way to do such conversion is to get a donor car & transfer what you need from the donor car to the car been converted. Remember, any wrong connection of the engine harness will result to a lot of issues. Either the car wont start at all or even if it starts, it will never run properly.

Its your call.

Ikenna.

patlead: Hi Ikenna,

Thanks a bunch, what i have observed is that once the engine is up and running, the temp. increases till it gets to the middle. when it hits middle it remains there all the way till i put off the engine,even if i start the engine immediately after i had switched it off, the temp will just jump back to the middle again. what can i do?

Then about the smoke from the exhaust, when i start the engine in the morning it just smokes heavily afterwards the smoke stops and the exhaust do o emit any smoke, the engine sounds fine but what i can do to stop the early morning smoke?

You dont expect the temperature of the engine to go down immediately when you switch off the engine, do you? It takes a whole lot of a time for a warm or hot engine to cool off. So it should take more than 20 - 30 mins for the temp guage to drop a little, when you switch off a hot engine that has its temp guage needle pointing at the middle of the guage.

Its normal for a car to emit whitish color smoke, like steam, when the engine is started for the first time in the morning or when weather is very cold. So, it depends on what color of smoke yours is emitting. If your engine is burning oil, the oil dipstick will be showing low oil more often.

Ikenna.

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Ikenna.

appleton: Did a scan lately and came up wit d following Codes

P0171
P0125
P0401
P1130
P1300
P1133

O boy! All these from one vehicle! Whats the noise about Toyota being tthe most reliable?!

Whoever was the previous owner of this car doesnt deserve to be a car owner. The fellow ignored issues as they were coming up, until he got tired & got rid of it. Human being!

Anyway, to add to what Lexusgs430 has explained:

1. The no. 1 DTC also indicates that the system is too lean. If I were you, I would start with checking & cleaning air filter element in the air filter box, before you go to AFM,MAF or IAT/MAP depending on the system the car uses. And most importantly, check for vacuum leak. Its one of the cause of lean mixtures too. Vacuum lines comprises of the big rubber tube from air filter box, AFM to throttle body & also small hoses attach to EGR valve, MAP, throttle body, Fuel Pressure Regulator, Cruise control unit, etc. Not the lines/hoses that carry fluid. Vacuum leak also increases fuel consumption. Check if any of them is leaking or not attached somewhere. All hoses must be well clamped or tight where they are plugged in. Some people clean their MAF with carburretor cleaner, but I would advice you use methylated spirit that is not aggressive as carb cleaner. What type does your car uses? AFM, MAF or MAP? If its MAP (Manifold Absolute Pressure), then you should first clean the IAT (Inlet Air Temperature sensor), usually installed on throttle body or on tube from air filter box to throttle body. MAP system has its IAT separately installed, unlike MAF that its IAT is incoporated or part of the MAF sensor. Make sure that the MAP sensor harness & vacuum line is well cleaned & attached tight on the sensor. The sensor should have 3 wires.

2. CTS (Coolant Temperature Sensor) is one of the major determinants of amount of fuel that injectors spray into combustion chambers, together with AFM, MAF or IAT/MAP & o2. So if its faulty or sends wrong signal to ECU/PCM, the car will guzzle fuel like HELL, like yours is doing. Usually it should give symptom on the eshaust tail by emitting black smoke under heavy acceleration. Touch your exhaust tail opening, you should feel/touch black sooth. If the sensor is unplugged or the plug is corroded, it will also send wrong signal or no signal atall to ECU. So you should start by checking if the wiring connector/plug of the sensor is corroded. If its corroded, unplug, clean & plug back. It should fix the problem. You can also check if the sensor is ok by unplugging & checking the resistance of the sensor with DMM (Digital MultiMeter). The resistance value should drop as coolant/engine temperature increases. If this is not happening, then the sensor is faulty, replace. You should also check voltage signal, that is, if the signal wire of the CTS has 5 to 4 volts with DMM, by unplugging the sensor, switch on ignition, set DMM to Volt & test one of the two wires to the sensor with positive lead of DMM & grounding the black lead of the DMM. Test both wires, one of them should give 5 volts (signal wire to ecu), while the 2nd wire should read nothing, since its the sensor ground wire. If none of the sensor 2 wires read 5 volts or less, when the ignition is on, then the problem is with the harness/wires, not the sensor. It means that the signal wire has broken somewhere, disconnected or ECU problem. To know the sensor ground wire, place the positive lead of the DMM on the + battery terminal & probe in the DMM black lead on the 2nd CTS wire that didnt read 5 volts when you checked the signal volts. It should read 12 volts, if the wire still send ground to the sensor. If its not reading 12 volts, then the ground is cut off somewhere. You can re-ground it, not a big deal. See, you need to check the harness & the sensor before you rush to replace the CTS. Because if the problem is with the harness, the problem will remain, nomatter how many times you replace the cts. CTS is usually located/positioned on Thermostat housing. It has only 2 wires attached to it. Dont confuse it with temp sender, which usually have one wire.

3. EGR valve. Not a big deal. Pull out the valve, clean & re-install. Make sure the gasket isnt broken while re-installing. Also check & clean vacuum line attach to the valve.

4. Check no. 6

5. If I understand this DTC (Diagnostic Trouble code), the mixed air/fuel in the no. 1 cylinder is not been ignited (am not sure). But I would check the condition of the spark plug of that cylinder (# 1). I would also check if the plug lead is leaking. If that engine uses coil parks, check the coil of that cylinder, by swapping in another & see what happens. If its Distributor, check spark plug lead of that cylinder & the condition of distributor cap. Check for crack on the cap.

6. O2/oxygen sensor. This sensor, located on exhaust manifold on your engine, fine tunes air/fuel mixture. If faulty or unplugged, it would cause high fuel consumption as well. The sensor can be checked with DMM, if you can find the signal wire to ecu, which is not difficult. I believe the type in your car is the 4 wire type or universal type. Meaning the sensor will have a heater. If the relay that sends 12v feed to the sensor heater fails, the sensor wont send corrent signal to the ecu/pcm, if at all it will send anything. So you need to be sure by testing the wires with DMM to ascertain if the sensor heater relay still work. Even if you change the o2 sensor (which is very expensive) & the sensor heater is not getting + feed from its relay, the sensor will never function. Oxyegen sensor is the sensor screwed in on exhaust manifold very close to the junction where exhaust pipe is bolted on the exhaust manifold.

Issues with your car is purely electrical. Not a big deal, but must be done properly to make them work. Goodluck.

Ikenna.