Almo

Thanks for your reply and sorry bout slow response. I'm understanding what your saying and I'll ask my friend if can access that info. I'll have a closer look at the wiring too. The previous owner wont communicate with me any longer, I asked him too many questions when I bought the van initially lol! I'm going to pull the blanking plate out and see if it has a hole in it as a matter of interest and whether its blocked over partially or fully with soot.

Back again guys.... So I ended up replacing the stepper motor then got my friend to clear the historical error code. The light stayed off for about the first 3 trips around town then came back on again. It's been back on pretty much all the time since apart from one morning I started it up and it was off but came on within the first 10 miles. Today I got my friend to scan it again and its the same code as before - P0490 EXHAUST GAS RETICULATION 'A' CONTROL CIRCUIT HIGH. Does anyone know what this code actually means? What's the 'A' control circuit? TIA.

Gratefully received! Thank you.

Hi guys, I've just received some new rear bearing assemblies from the UK (the freight and taxes was more than the bearings!) and was wondering what the tightening spec on the main nut was as I dont have a workshop manual. Cheers.

Hey great, thanks very much for this info. My auto electrician friend will be able to decipher all of what you said about the six terminals and which does what. Yes I was thinking same about just purchasing a new stepper motor (I know the correct name now!) but I hadn't looked into yet. I'll have a look on UK e-bay as that's where I get most of my bits from. Luckily it will be a small package as freight has gone nuts since covid. Thanks again for your help, I'll update this thread as I progress.

Yes I did get my auto electrician friend to scan it. It came up: P0490 EXHAUST GAS RETICULATION 'A' CONTROL CIRCUIT HIGH. I must ask him if it is possible for him to remove/clear the alert using the machine he has. I'm guessing though that until I sort the electrical issue it wont be able to be removed.

Back again... So today I pulled the EGR assembly apart and all is well and clean inside as you would expect due to being blanked off. The electric motor spindle and toothed gear turn freely and smoothly and so does the valve actuator (correct name?)that the motor spindle slips over. So mechanically all seems well so now I'm suspecting its electrical. I started the engine when i had it apart (its been blanked off remember) and got my buddy to watch the EGR motor spindle and it didnt move once, same when I gave it some revs. So is that a fair test to prove that its not working? I have a multi meter but I'm not sure how to test the connector lead that goes to the motor for power? Or is there a resistance value I should look for across the terminals of the motors plug? There's nothing in my Haynes manual on how to test the EGR. All I'm trying to achieve here is to get the Check Engine Light off. Thanks for any advice offered.

Very nice! What year is that?

Hi Guys, I haven't been on here for some time as the vans been going good until recently when the check engine light came on. I got my mate who's an auto electrician to scan it and on the screen it said EXHAUST GAS RETICULATION 'A' CONTROL CIRCUIT HIGH. Anyone got any ideas what this means? Looking at the EGR valve it looks like a previous owner has put a blanking plate in where the exhaust gases enter the valve. Which leads me to think they must have done something else as well to fool the ECM to think that the EGR valve was operating as per normal to prevent the CEL from coming on? This is not my area of expertise so any help really appreciated. BTW the van is running as per normal. Cheers.

I'm replying to my own thread nearly 3 years on incase anyone has a similar issue and wondered what the final outcome was. So the whole problem started when I replaced the fuel filter. With most issues it generally your own intervention that has created it lol. When I got the new fuel filter the threaded hole on the bottom of it for the water trap was not the same thread size as the old filter so the moisture trap would not screw on. So I just got a regular hex head engineers bolt and screwed it in there with a washer and some sealant on the bottom of the filter. This seal was not 100% air tight and that was where the air was getting in. So after all the shenanigans listed in the above posts (which resulted in me prematurely wearing out the brushes in my starter motor!) I re-installed the original fuel filter and drove round for about half a year before I was brave enough to swap it out for another new filter, but this time I had the correct thread on the bottom and was able to fit the water trap. I haven't had any bother since. Amen.

Passed the 48hr test tonite... ?

It passed the 24hr test... but I'm not counting my chickens yet, done that before When I replaced the last plastic connector pipe with rubber I also put the original fuel filter back on. Luckily i dont throw things away. Can be replaced in a couple of months time once I'm happy I've cracked it.

The three connections on the top of the filter are: Line in from tank/line out to injector pump and a third line that tees off the return line to the tank. Regarding the lift pump business I did find this response in another forum after i did some googling. It suggests there is no lift pump: I had starting problems with my Mk 3 Galaxy and just found a fix. The Mk 3 and a few other fords have no lift pump. Fuel is drawn in using the high pressure pump beside the engine. My galaxy turned over fine and started for a few seconds and then stopped. I found that the fuel line was empty. When I primed the line there were bubbles visible in the line. The problem was that there was a pin hole in the flexible line connecting the fuel filter to the rigid line running back to the tank. The hole had been caused by wear from the flexible line rubbing against a loom of wires (i.e. bad design:mad: ). If there had been a lift pump it would have been evident because there would have been a diesel leak but because there is no lift pump air was being drawn in causing the line to empty back to the tank when stopped and bubbles in the line when running. It was a tough one to diagnose and the normal 'fix' of installing a check (a.k.a. non-return) valve near the high pressure pump did not work. I discovered the hole when I heard a quiet hiss when priming the line using a hand diesel primer pump. Find a quiet spot to do this. The fix in my case was simply to install a fresh piece of tubing between the filter and the hard line but make sure you find the leak first. The same issue could be caused by a leaking filter housing or a bad o-ring seal in one of the filter connectors. I know of at least one case where a guy sold his S-Max because of a similar problem that could not be fixed. Hopefully this will be of help to someone. Ive replaced the third and last plastic line/connection (the one from the end of the steel fuel line coming from tank to the filter) so will leave it 24 hrs and see how it goes....

Well would you believe this issue has raised it's head again and it's got me scratching mine! I dont have many regrets in life but one is replacing that fuel filter! I'd like to go with a more simple after market fuel filter set up with one line in and one out. Does anyone know why the OEM filter has the third connection for the tee in off the return line? I'm guessing it is to balance out the fuel pressure or circulate fuel in the system? I've replace two of the three plastic connectors with rubber fuel line and hose clamps now. The last one to do is the line in to fuel filter from the tank. I hope that is the one that is letting air in or I really will be stumped. If anyone else has had this starting then dying issue I would love to hear from you!

Unfortunately GBL I was premature with that comment. A week or two later the issue was back but worse than before. But... there is a happy ending to this story. Last weekend I did some investigating and noticed the plastic outlet pipe connection coming off the top of the fuel filter was on the loose side. Kinda ironic considering it was a bitch to get off when I changed the filter recently. My hunch was the two O rings inside the connector were now damaged/worn from the removal process. So I cut the plastic fuel line with a craft knife removing about six inches of line and the offending connector. Then I cut a piece of 10mm I.D. rubber fuel line the same length and fitted it in place using hose clamps. This gave me a good seal around the filter outlet pipe and the cut end of the plastic fuel line. I also used Heldite on the fuel line end. I picked the O rings out of the connector and the lower one appeared to be damaged slightly. Not badly but probably enough for air to sneak past. So far after a week and about 5 cold starts I haven't had a hint of bother. So hopefully that's the end of the saga.