vs manual accelerating problem

[spot-o]

hey guys i have recently acquired a 1996 vs exec manual. the car had been sitting around for so long that she was really dusty and need tome tlc. gave her a clean the other day and kinda washed the engine bay because she was dirty as.

anyways after washing the engine bay and engine i have since had a problem with accelerating were it looses power sometimes. if i put my foot on the accelerator to much she kinda losses power. its hard to explain. especially on 3 gear and onwards and going up a hill. like i could be cruising on 3rd or 4th gear doing 70 if my foot is not hard or the pedal its alright but as soon as i go to press any harder she kinda looses power and feels like i have not reved enough or back fire.

before i washed the engine it was going great. i have washed a lot of my engines in commodores as i have had my fair share of them and this has never happened before.

could it be a cat converter or the plugs and leads? even the fuel pump or fuel filter as i have not changed them. i used one of them petrol injjector cleaners the other week could that have something to do with it?

any help and suggestions would be much appreciated thanks.

[Commo_Carl]

If it were me i'd replace all the reasonably cheap stuff, plugs, leads, fuel filter etc. I know you've probably checked, but how are all the plugs in the loom and vacuum lines? Don't know of any definite ideas to help but i'd start with the basics as a first. Sounds like something has just been bumped or maybe connectors corroded or unplugged a bit.

[hako]

Probably got the coils and/or the DFI module wet - they take time to dry out. Also check there is no water in the opil pressure switch as this can cause problems after pressure cleaning (fuel pump is part of circuit).
If it was a wet dfi/coils, driving can destroy them as it causes carbon tracks in the coils and dfi....

[tezza]

Mine did a similar thing. First it was a lead that was not tight enough. The problem then came back and I changed the plugs and leads and its been great since.

[spot-o]

thanks guys for quick replay. will be changing one thing at a time to see were the problem is coming from. i think i might change the leads and plugs first as they may have gotten wet. will keep you posted to see if that fixes it.

[spot-o]

so i just changed the leads and plugs and took it for a test drive and she still does the same thing. when i put my foot down to far it seems like the car looses power or takes ages to rev up and seems like it is missing some kick. its hard to explain. i think it feels like its back firing a bit when i put my foot down.

[304runner]

Its definitely missing, from what? I'm not sure.....

Make sure the leads are on properly...

The best way to test this is to start the car and pull each lead off (one at a time)and listen for a change in engine activity. Make sure you place the lead onto the plug before you take the next one off. If you take a lead off and the engine doesn't react differently then you have found the suspect lead/plug.

I have never owned a V6, do they have a dizzy or coil packs? If so make sure their isn't water in the dizzy.

[Cracka]

+1 for checking each one individually as 304 has said, however by the sounds of it though it's only happening when the car is under load so it may not present itself at idle.

Do you have a multimeter and a workshop manual like a gregorys or haynes?

Oh and a tiny vacume leak can cause similar symptoms.

[hako]

I'd still reckon of the DFI module and/or one of the coils. If you have a mate with a VS, try swapping the DFI module and coil packs - only takes a few minutes to swap them over.
Also try for fault codes: Checking error codes VR/VS (Revised)

[Commo_Carl]

Thinking about it more, sounds like a fuel problem maybe. Do you know if it blows black smoke? I had a very similar problem in my girlfriends mx5, was ok on idle and easy driving then wen u put foot down it is severely lacking and backfired a bit. Ended up being this stupid apexi A/F mixer running off the ecu. So translating back to a commodore, could be something to do with injection or even the ecu. Not really too sure though.

[spot-o]

Thinking about it more, sounds like a fuel problem maybe. Do you know if it blows black smoke? I had a very similar problem in my girlfriends mx5, was ok on idle and easy driving then wen u put foot down it is severely lacking and backfired a bit. Ended up being this stupid apexi A/F mixer running off the ecu. So translating back to a commodore, could be something to do with injection or even the ecu. Not really too sure though.

yea carl that is excatly wat is happining. it is fine when idling and easy driving but when i put my foot down about half way it is severly lacking and feels like it is backfiring while trying to go harder.

any ideas on how to get it fixed or suggestions on what i should do. thanks guys for your replys

[Commo_Carl]

Hmmm. Firstly have you reset the ecu? Best way to do this is to pull the 20amp engine fuse in the fuse box under bonnet. Should say exactly what one on the lid. Just pull it for 10 sec then put it back, upon first start after doing so, hold car on about 3000rpm for 5 or so secs so the iac can be set.

Check your oxygen sensor/s, guessing there are two prob one up on one of the headers and one down near the cat. make sure it's got clean connectors and plug it in very tight (I thought I had mine all way in once, and it still wasn't all the way was giving my A/F gauges wacky readings)

Check all of your fuel lines are tight just as a check (i'm sure they are)

Other than that nothing I can really think of. Is most prob an ecu related issue or maybe something in fuel line like regulator or something (i'm not sure what exactly the setup is on a vs)