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Whats wrong with this picture - Fuming!

2.9K views 29 replies 14 participants last post by  Pritchard  
#1 ·
As title.
i'll let you spot the problem while i type out my mult-page rant !!!
 

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#8 ·
Wheres my blooming ECU warning light ??


i wont bore you too much. but a little rant - because im ****ed off !


So i bought the car 18 months ago, from a dealer.
sent it back - head gasket went.
couple week later - sent it back, it had a problem with chug chugging when the engine was luke warm (just switched off / on again).
they couldnt find the fault. nor could they reproduce it - which to be fair, at the time nor could i !!

anyway. time has passed. warranty's have expired.

still have the chug chugging issue. which i CAN now reproduce on demand.... assuming engine temp is within a threshold. taken it to another garage, they cant find the fault either, but they do agree there is an issue.

Also, since owning the car i have had a 'varying level' expansion tank. its one of a kind. you cant find one anywhere else.
after some journeys i would have no coolant !!! literally gone. after some journys of twice the distance, the level would be unchanged.

well i have now confirmed - my chug chugging where the car runs on 3 cylinders / misfiring happens at the same time as i have a leak of coolant, coming from behind the cam cover.
head gasket has been done. water pump has been done.

now - i have a fantastic misfire at around 4k rpm, which is now spreading throughout the rev range !!

I put on OBD reader on the car last week - reading misfires, cars running VERY lean, according to output, readout says sensors are working fine.
so i am thinking... i wonder how dying your car has to be before the ECU light comes on. and then, aha. whats this. blown bulb??? doubt it !!!


so, seems the car had a problem before i got it....and someone has either removed the ECU warning bulb, or the connection to it. really ****ed off.


stuff i have replaced to fix my misfiring issues:

HT leads
spark plugs
Lambda
new ECu
IACV
TPS
MAP

but its getting progressively worse.
i think my engine is on its last legs. due to 'the' sensor has failure, whihever one it is. Whatever the problem, im sure the physical health of the engine is now suffering.
time for an engine swap i think. that will quite simply, rule out 'everything' by default.
had enough. i just want a sweet engine.


Next question - is there a how-to on swapping dash LEDs?
 
#9 ·
does your obd tool tell you the light is on? I used a software program to turn mine off?

The dash bulb is just screwed into the rear of the cluster, easy to change but not so easy to find as they are nla! There is a similar one available from Halfords that can be made to fit! They offered to fit it for ÂŁ2.49!!
 
#11 ·
I erm.. had to change a few of mine recently. I decided to test them and my psu was slightly too high on voltage and fried 2 or 3 :-(

It's actually not too difficult.

Take out the instrument panel (there's a how to), remove all the screws from the part where the odometer is and you end up with a pcb with odometer, led's etc.

You can check the led's with a 1.5v battery + a resistor - I suggest trying around 500 ohms so the led glows but not brightly (this was my failure)!

If you need to change any then there is a white plastic shroud that they all fit into - unscrew this and then you can cut the old led's out from the side of the led - cut the lead flat with the pcb then de-solder the remaining bits of leads from the back - this is easier from the back as the ends of the leds are bent over so won't go through the holes. It's a bit fiddly to do but you can do it with long nosed pliers, a fine soldering iron and solder sucker.

Replace one at a time, making sure they are the correct way around!

Check them before re-assembly.

Assembling is the reverse of dissembly.
 
#15 ·
You say your running rough is related to your coolant leak. And that it's coming from behind the cam cover, which side ? If it's inlet is it near cylinder 1 ? The coolant passes through the Inlet Manifold, is it possible the gaskets damaged here, drawing coolant into the cylinder? Running lean would normally indicate the fuelling isn't delivering enough fuel, or an air leak.( Coolant leak perhaps ).
 
#20 ·
sounds like this has been an ongoing for a while
first things first , check the compression of the cylinders , this will give an indication of cylinder health , i would say that one of the cylinders is getting a bit too rich a mixture, possibly injector clean or burnt inlet valve seat, this in turn sends a message to lean the mixture of slightly, which in turn would cause the chugging
if all this is ok , could be the fuel pressure regulator at the end of the fuel rail, this could now be weak giving a week or lean mixture, change it for a known good one or new and go about half a bar pressure up
just a bit for you to try
Paul D
 
#22 ·
Chugging could be caused by warped or crack head and coolant getting onto plugs and causing mis/ intermittent fire, had this happen through letting my mk6 escort overheat thru a stuck thermostat, result was warped head needing skimming and top end gaskets,
Years ago my Firenza had a similar problem, which turned to a result of the head having a hair line crack between the valves, that was a stage 4 big valve head, which were common I found out later, as to much porting and too bigger valves
 
#23 ·
thanks for the comments Gents.

I think youv confirmed - new engine it is. im not playing around with sensors anymore. i'll just swap it out with new/used/replacement sensors fitted.
While doing the swap will be a darn sight easier to spot any broken or split pipes too.
 
#24 ·
thanks for the comments Gents.

I think youv confirmed - new engine it is. im not playing around with sensors anymore. i'll just swap it out with new/used/replacement sensors fitted.
While doing the swap will be a darn sight easier to spot any broken or split pipes too.
You must be pretty confident its knackered then. I would be doing a few more diagnostics before going down that route.

Just another small point. The main purpose of the check engine light is to let you know the engine emissions are out of spec.
 
#27 ·
at least with another engine fitted you can then get at other jobs , paint subframe, refurb new engine , head gasket , timing belt , all of which are easier with engine dropped, and if it still does the same then at least you know its a sensor or electrical gremlin

car fault finding is like deciphering a crime , the facts are there , it getting to the conclusion that takes time

Paul d
 
#28 ·
My money on the injectors being at fault, or a bad coil pack which is causing said chugging.

d also really,really think of having a compression test done. Sometimes liners can fail or even drop when a head fails, which can result in lack of compression under certain conditions. It could be your gasket was replaced without a proper seal around all four pots - ive come across that on a friends run around corsa - which let go big time.