hi

So i am quite new to this forum and am quite clueless about cars, i know bits and bobs but i do not regularly get dirty.. theory v practise

Got a petrol x type from the uk to italy, it covered 1500km
engine management light came on with around 60km to go

since then i have done maybe 250km with this light on
100km ago, i was 80km from home, restarted car, and engine was in limp mode.. (Which worried me greatly!) i did a quick U turn back into the car park, waited around 5 minutes (Giving dogs water) then restarted and it worked fine, drove 80km no issues.

Parked it for 2 days
Today drove to supermarket 6km away, no problems
Leaving, limp mode again, so i figure, switch it off wait and turn on...

nope, still in limp mode, i drove back in limp mode and then here we are!

This is a blow by blow account so hopefully any replies will have all the info i have

I am not sure there is any dealership within 100km of me


thanks


Is the car safe to drive in limp mode?

 

Step 1, Read or have the codes read and write them down.
Step 2, Report back here with the codes.

You problems could have hundreds of possible causes. The codes will narrow it down to just a few.

 

Gotta agree with Bud here. Codes will significantly narrow it down and point everyone in the right direction to help.

In reading your description, without know the codes being stored, my first thought is the wires and/or plug connectors to the Throttle Body. Maybe I mention this because I chased this intermittent issue for months until it became a constant. It just rings familiar the way you describe it.

The pins in the Throttle Body plug on the harness can get loose and not tightly connect to the receptor on the TB that the plug connects to. The Throttle Bodies are different from 2001-2004 (I believe) in which they had two plugs and the TPS (throttle position sensor) was on one side while the valve gears regulating how much the throttle value opened or closed was on the other side. Both had plugs. This changed in 2005 and newer to a single plug where the TPS and Gears were enclosed in the same unit on one side of the Throttle Body. You don't mention what year your X is so I'm not sure which you have. The other issue is over time the wires can get damaged and exposed. So check the wires into the plug(s), make sure they are not frayed or damaged and re-tape them with black electrical tape so they don't get damaged later. If they are damaged you'll need to fix them whether that is re-soldering them or taking it somewhere to fix them. Wires can't be exposed or damaged because it will inevitably short or cause problems leading to limp mode issues.

Hope this leads you in some direction, but definitely get the codes. We'll all know more and give you better more accurate diagnosis.