Holden Problems

Burnt transmission fluid can definitely cause the problems you’re having. If it’s burnt or contaminated, it might be black or very dark red, rather than the nice, clear, bright red it should be. It’s off the to transmission specialist for this one, as the lack of drive could be caused by many things. An experienced mechanic will know this transmission and should be able to diagnose it swiftly.

The bad news is that you might have avoided serious damage if you’d had the transmission inspected when it first started to behave erratically. But continuing to drive it with a problem can often cause further and more serious damage. You may now find that the cost of repairs is greater than the value of the vehicle.

It could be the fuel filter that’s allowing the car to start, then not allowing enough fuel past to keep the engine running. But, equally, it could be a failing fuel pump or fuel pressure regulator that’s causing the issue. Even an air (vacuum) leak somewhere in the intake system can cause problems like this one.

You may even find the problem is electrical and once the engine has run for a short time, something like a sensor is getting hot enough to shut things down. An electronic scan of the vehicle at a workshop would likely throw some useful light on what’s going on, including a check of the fuel system’s operating pressure and its delivery rate.

It’s very likely you have at least two distinct things going on here. While it’s not uncommon for the contents of a car’s radiator to appear murky or dirty, that’s not usually something that would trigger a check engine light. If the radiator is filled with tap water (not a good thing) then it can soon become rusty and dirty to the eye. It will still cool the engine, but you’re much better off with the correct type and grade of coolant to protect the engine from corrosion.

As far as the check engine light goes, you could be looking at literally hundreds of causes for this. The check engine light is telling you that something is not quite right and that you should have the car scanned at a workshop. That way, the computer can tell the mechanic exactly what’s going on and what needs to be checked, repaired or replaced. Until you do that, you’re effectively flying blind.

People often complain about the complexities of modern cars, but the ability to plug a diagnostic probe into a car and have the vehicle tell you what’s wrong with it is, indeed, worthwhile progress.

In most cars, a red dashboard light suggests a serious problem that needs addressing now. An orange light, meanwhile, is trying to tell you that something slightly less important is going on. But something that still needs attention sooner rather than later. In a Barina, the orange light could be indicating anything from a check-engine warning to low fuel level.

The blue light, meanwhile, is more likely to be indicating that the coolant temperature is still low and you should drive gently until it is warmed up.

Any excess smoke from a diesel engine can mean a too-rich mixture. So are you certain the injectors are the correct ones for that engine? Has a sensor been bumped during the replacement process that is not sending the right signal to the computer that controls the injection on a modern turbo-diesel?

Also, cold-start problems in an engine like this are often traced to the glow-plugs. These are crucial to warming up the cold engine internals so that combustion will take place. So perhaps a check of the glow-plug wiring is in order as this could have been disturbed while the injectors were being replaced.

Has anything else been changed or replaced as part of this process? Has the engine been sitting for an extended time (allowing the fuel to go stale)?

There are plenty of things (like, hundreds) other than the engine oil level that can trigger the check engine light. What the light is telling you is that the computer has noticed that something is not working properly or performing within a set of parameters. These can include everything from the fuel system, ignition system, camshaft timing, cooling system or any number of sensors around the engine that monitor all this stuff.

You could also have a failed catalytic converter or dodgy oxygen sensor in the exhaust system that the computer has noticed and fired the warning light. Take the car to a workshop and have it electronically scanned. Chances are the computer knows exactly what’s wrong and can lead the mechanic to an accurate diagnosis.

This is possibly a very simple problem, caused either by the sensor (or switch) that detects the brakes have been applied, or a blown fuse that protects this electrical circuit. You could also have a broken wire somewhere within the loom, or even a problem with the body computer that controls many of a modern car’s functions. But start with the simple stuff first.

If the problem is an intermittent one, we’d definitely start looking at the switch that links the brake pedal to the brake lights.

Start with the basics and make sure the transmission has fluid in it. Even a small leak can eventually reduce the level of fluid in the transmission to the point where drive is lost. Can you see an oily patch under the car where it’s parked each night? That’s a pretty good sign fluid of some kind is escaping.

But you could also have a mechanical selection problem where the gear selector in the cabin isn’t prodding the transmission into gear as it should. This could be a breakage or even a maladjustment. But you could also be looking at a transmission that has failed internally and would require replacement or rebuilding.

Either way, a transmission specialist is the place to go. Chances are the mechanics there have already seen this exact problem in this exact model and will be able to make a quick diagnosis.

Rather than continuing to replace expensive bits and pieces that aren’t – so far – curing the problem, have the vehicle electronically scanned to see what fault codes are being logged by the on-board computer.

If you’ve completely replaced the ignition system, then you might need to start looking at the fuel system. The V6 engine was a direct-injection unit which means it can start to be affected by a build-up of carbon in the intake system. That alone could be enough to cause your problem.

But don’t rule out a dud injector or failing fuel pump, either, as both these things can an allow the engine to idle properly, but develop a case of the staggers when you put the engine under load. Even a dirty fuel filter can cause this sort of mayhem, but until you interrogate the computer, you’re flying blind.

The two holes near the bottom of the dipstick are your Low and Full markers. If the oil is below the Low marker (the bottom-most hole) then you need to add oil. If the oil level is above the Full marker hole, then the engine has too much oil in it.

It’s pretty important to keep the oil level between the two holes. If you do that, you’ll be doing the engine a big favour. Too little oil can damage internal components, while too much oil can blow seals, contaminate the engine’s intake system or create oil leaks.