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Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:40 pm

Hi,

Hope someone is the forum can help me with this one, its quite a specific area, EGR on a 1975 automatic.

After much work and a long time away I have got my bus back, chuffed to bits.

Fair old drive back home, about 2.5 hours. Drove great but about an hour to go a light popped up on my dash, EGR warning light. Didn't notice any major performance drop but I've got a 2.0L so its always been good.

Now even though I have had some bits done around my accelerator I'm inclined to rule this out because it has run a lot of miles before the light came on.

Was not any noticeable change in performance, possibly revving a bit higher at idle than I expect but I put this down to accelerator changes made month or so back that need to bed in - maybe the spring at the back is a bit tired, I just felt it was not returning properly down to idle (which may be a slack spring and EGR). If I lift the accelerator pedal with my foot it 'seems' to be ok.

Idling isn't smooth, sort of up and down a bit but its always been this way when warm, sort of drops off a bit then perks up.

About 1/2 mile from home, doing about 30 to 40 mph the engine died. hazards on I scratched my head, restarted and fired into life again (light still on).
Then it died again as I tried to pull away. I figured a slight incline so must be lack of fuel (fuel gauge lying).

Fired up again, got going and made it home, light still on.

But I'm not convinced its fuel related now as as I know my fuel gauge didn't work but now its cleaned up it 'appears' to work, i.e ignition off, needle goes down a bit, on and needle moves up. I was/am low on fuel though.

My Q is are these more than likely related - light and engine dying (and I admit now I need to fill up with fuel to eliminate no petrol as I've not been in long but then why did it take another 40, maybe 60 odd miles before it suddenly died, so I'm back to fuel starvation maybe.

If its the EGR whats the best place to start fault finding?. Googling it I've come up with carbon deposits could be an issue and clean the valve.

This is a new area for me so I want to tread it carefully as I have a feeling it could be a difficult to replace part and may just be a case of tightening something up first before I go headlong into disassembling parts and more time off the road.

I have a 1975 US import Bay Window camper automatic (and i believe EGR on autos and manuals are different.) Its always idled up and down so I'm at the stage of, OK EGR lights on, what first.

Many thanks, sorry that was a bit long but I wanted to get as much info across as poss. From what i have read auto EGR is different to manual, and injected different again.

Thanks
Kevin

Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:43 pm

That light is kicked on by a mileage counter in a box on the speedo cable. Trace your cable from the speedo to the box. On the box there's a reset button in a "snout". Use a thin screwdriver to depress the button into the snout until you hear a "click". Now drive with no light.

Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:45 pm

The EGR light is turned on by a geared box in the speedo cable, remove the LH kick panel and poke something into the reset hole to turn it off.

Sounds like a vacuum leak or fuel starvation, carbs or FI?

Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:49 pm

Thanks Tram,

My milometer doesn't work, although its been apart twice to try and fix, nothing obvious so just going to get a new one.

Even though it doesn't work (speedo is fine, just milometer) would that still be right (to reset)

So i guess that could solve my cut out problem as simply being fuel.

Thanks for your answer, that's what i wanted to hear, nice and easy. But why does the light come on in the first place?.

Thanks again
Kevin

Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:50 pm

Its FI

Thanks to all for super quick replies.

I'll locate and try the reset in the morning.

Is this a "reset every x number of miles" thing and how does it actually work, the speedo cable isn't joined or broken inside this box, is it ? I always imagined it went straight to the stub axle. (I'm upgrading from T1 knowledge)

Whats the point of it, just seems like a pain in the a"$£

K

Thu Nov 19, 2009 5:24 pm

For anyone else (as initially I did not know what I was looking for) here is ratwells very useful info on the EGR

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/EGRBox.html

Essentially its got nothing to do with the mileometer/speedo end, its 'counted' by the box attached to the speedo cable. And its just a warning lamp, not a 'somethings gone wrong lamp.

Thanks again for responses to orig Q.

Thu Nov 19, 2009 5:29 pm

Yep, just a reminder to service it.

The odometer doesn't work because the gear inside the speedo that drives it is split, there was someone here on the Samba selling replacment gears a while ago.

Thu Nov 19, 2009 5:33 pm

or I've read you can get a long one piece speedo cable and remove the bulb and EGR box.

Thu Nov 19, 2009 5:44 pm

Yes a full length cable would eliminate the problem of the light coming on.

Back to this fuel issue, have you changed the fuel filter?, What was in the old one when you dismantled it? Do you have a spare temp sensor 2?, how about a fuel pressure gauge?, any recent activity back there that could have disturbed a vacuum hose or two?

Thu Nov 19, 2009 5:57 pm

You know what really works to get rid of that EGR light? Take the bulb out. Most people block of the EGR system at the intake plenum. It's purely for smog and will not harm your engine to block it, but will cause harm if it leaks.

Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:10 pm

busdaddy wrote:
Back to this fuel issue, have you changed the fuel filter?, What was in the old one when you dismantled it? Do you have a spare temp sensor 2?, how about a fuel pressure gauge?, any recent activity back there that could have disturbed a vacuum hose or two?

I need to spend some more time on this, I'm quite relieved the EGR and cut out are non related and I do suspect I could have simply run out of fuel. I don't have a temp sensor, and I was in traffic for quite a lot of the journey but when it cut out I was chipping along quite nicely so it should have been cooler.

Tomorrow I am going to do some basic checks. Once (3rd time) I got started and moving it got me back ok so I'm thinking hoses must be connected or it would have stayed dead. Fingers crossed my fuel gauge is not right since I 'fixed' it and maybe it is empty even though it reads some fuel in it.

I'm hoping thats it, although it doesn't explain why the gauge rises slightly when i turned the ignition on but it might need recalibrating. I'll recheck fuel filter too, good point as it may give me some clues.

Thanks again everyone for the quick and very knowledgeable replies, really great.

Kevin

Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:14 pm

actually (thinking) if I've not set the plunger correctly it will rise when i turn it on and of course it will go down when off as theres no power.

If I've run empty then this is a good time to reset the plunger/gauge. Mines the type that runs up and down thin wires.

K

Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:58 am

EGR warning light reset and thats ok.

Need to find time over weekend to fully investigate fuel but pleased I've eliminated one and separated the two issues.

thanks again.