P1103 fault code

[Landy7]

Hello,

Defender 110 puma 2.4TDCI (2008). Out of the blue the MIL light comes on but no loss of power or any other effects for that matter. Hooked up the scangauge, P1103, "Mass air flow sensor in range but higher than expected".  I like the words "in range". I've reset the fault code and went on my may. Few days later, P1103 pops up again. I've changed the MAF sensor for a new one and reset the fault code. Few days later, P1103 pops up again..

Any idea's on what to check next? It has a snorkel fitted and somewhere I've read that it could cause this because of the higher airflow but I'm not that sure, they could be delivered stock with a snorkel so would be weird if they came stock with P1103.

[pat_pending]

Intake air leak, EGR valve not fully closing.

[Landy7]

On 2/19/2021 at 8:30 PM, pat_pending said:

Intake air leak, EGR valve not fully closing.

Thanks, I did not find any air leaks after a visual check. Would it be sufficient to remove the EGR valve and clean it? Or does it need a new one?

[Landy7]

Well, removed the EGR valve and the previous owner apparently had installed a blanking plate, which results in P1103 codes because of the fact the valve is closed generating more air flow at idle.

[Snagger]

Thanks for the feedback.

[simonpelly]

4 hours ago, Landy7 said:

Well, removed the EGR valve and the previous owner apparently had installed a blanking plate, which results in P1103 codes because of the fact the valve is closed generating more air flow at idle.

Interesting. Perhaps an error code you might want to live with? IMHO having the EGR blanked off is a good thing. Not sure what the ECU makes of it though and if it in turn behaves and reacts differently?

[Landy7]

Yes I've read about it a lot and when the first TDCI Defenders were released, people were looking for ways to disable the EGR. The EGR only has 1 function, to reduce NOx in the exhaust gasses by returning (parts of) the exhaust gasses into the engine again before releasing them into the wild  Unfortunately this comes with a lot of downsides: reduced engine performance, increased consumption, more internal engine pollution and after a few years the EGR valve is completely choked up with carbon build up. So what did people do the minute the first TDCI's were released? Installing a blanking plate! One side result was that the check engine light was on with P1103 fault code, air flow higher then expected. The ECU assumes at idle some of the exhaust gasses go back in the engine again but they cannot, since the EGR valve is shut, and thus creating a higher air flow/pressure. Nothing to worry about, it's still in range, but the light is on.. Yes you can live with it, but it's not that clean. 

A few people tried to drill a small hole in the blanking plate to fool the ECU and it worked, result vary, for some a 8mm hole was sufficient, for others it needed to be at least 12mm. But this was a partial solution, yes you have blanked the EGR but drilled a small hole in the blanking plate so some exhaust gasses will re-enter the engine. Later on, there were remaps available that disabled the P1103 fault code so you could install a blanking plate without getting the check engine light. And even more later, remaps were available were the EGR valve was disabled programmatically so you didn't need a blanking plate.

The previous owner of my defender apparently installed a full blanking plate, without hole in it, but never did a remap, resulting in the P1103 fault code. Just to make it a stock defender, I installed a new EGR valve, without blanking plate and went for a test drive. At idle the engine seems to run a little more 'rough' which is to be expected since the engine is not getting 100% clean air but more like 70% clean air and 30% exhaust gasses. No performance impact in my opinion, when you slam the throttle, the EGR valve gets shut so no change for that matter. In the long run, yes I would advice to remap the ECU to disable the EGR valve, prolonging your engine's life and eliminating the need to replace the EGR valve every x-years.