Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing ecu trouble

A unsolvable problem.
I own a 2013 4/4 sport , 1,6 ltr. 25000 miles on it. The engine management light keeps coming up after about 60 miles. Replacing the coil, cords and the spark plugs doesn’t seem to help.
The ecu keeps giving error code P0300, (misfire in one of the cylinders).
After resetting the code, light goes out. After about 60-70 miles it on again.
The engine keeps running flawless after the light is on.
On a ten days trip through Europe I had to reset the Ecu every day to get the annoying light out and at three occasions the eco went into “protect mode” and the engine gave no power. After restarting the engine al is well.

any clues???

thx’s in advance.

Paul.

Air leak, blocked fuel filter, or battery. If your battery is original, that's where I'd check first, especially as the car has only done 25k miles.

Does it make any difference if you use 98 octane fuel?

Yes...try the higher octane petrol. My car runs well on it. I used to get an occasional MIL light due to “random intermittent misfire” being detected. I cleared it with the Maxiscan. The only time it has returned is after using 95 octane and under harder acceleration. I sense the engine runs better and possibly a fraction better mpg.

Thx's for your advice, Although I did try 98 octane and put some engine cleaner in the tank. Doesn't seem to work. And I forgot to mention I changed the air filter for a K&N filter. Didn't seem to help either.
I wil try the battery and look for air leaks.
Fingers crossed.

When did you change to a K&N filter - was it before this issue arose? (oiled paper/foam filters can put a film on the air mass sensor and give running issues)

changed the filter after the problems arose. Seems a good replacement. No specific reason to be honest.

I was thinking, could the ecu itself be the problem?

Could be but unlikely. If your dealer can’t help try ringing Mark Baldwin at the Factory.

If you googled Ford 1.6 VCT P 0300 you see among others horrible Odyssians up to the replacement of VCT units, exhaust valve seals etc.

What I mean by this is that it requires a truly experienced specialist who knows these engines. Otherwise you might be lost and someone will repair the engine without a plan.

But sometimes the little things that you can do yourself at no cost can help with such a mistake.
E.g. I would carefully remove the contact plugs from the relevant visible parts, e.g. the camshaft sensors and the VCT hydraulics, I would also keep an eye on the coolant sensor via OBD2. The two oxygen sensors should also show good values when monitoring
Anything that could draw in wrong air I would check mechanically.

These engines are very sensitive to oil. If thicker than 5w30 the VCT may not work anymore properly.

I'm Not familiar with this engine but in general terms
1) Does it have a knock sensor - faulty transducer/ connection
2) 60 miles is well past the the engine getting warmed up , so it may be something effected by heat/vibration/air flow under the bonnets
3) Check the earth connections