Check Powertrain Warning and Compression Issue

[Wats_in_a_name]

Hi All,

I just got my car back today from my mechanics, I had the dreaded "Check Powertrain" warning come up and my car started sounding rough as guts as though it was missing all the time. The issue happened when I was taking off from lights and accelerating up to 70km/h when the warning chime came on and it started running rough.

My mechanic scanned the car and two error codes came up, can't remember them specifically though however it was misfire on all cylinders and misfire on cylinder one. He replaced the fuel filter which was quite old and did a check of the air flow. Drove it home today including some freeway driving and so far so good so I will take it on a long drive this weekend to test it out. I thought I would post this as a possible solution for someone who gets the dreaded "Check Powertrain". I will keep people posted if there are any updates that might help if someone else encounters the same issue.

 

[wannaeatyourbrains]

He probably plugged something he left unplugged back in as well ha ha.

 

[Wats_in_a_name]

Update on this one, not the fuel filter that was the issue. I was doing 110 on the freeway going up a hill when the warning chime and "Check Powertrain" came on again. My car started running rough as though it was missing and I could smell fuel. I nursed it to a service station and it was running really rough as I came to a stop. I left it for about 10 minutes, restarted it and taking some minor roads and keeping the revs at about 2,000 maximum managed to drive to my mechanics with no problems at all. The fastest I did was about 80km/h that time.

I will check the forum for similar issues and fixes however does anyone have any thoughts on why it would only be an issue at higher speeds (the first time it happened I was accelerating to about 70km/h from a stop at the lights), why there would be a smell of fuel and why the problem would seem to go away after stopping it, leaving it for a bit then restarting it. My mechanic scanned it for error codes the first time I dropped it off and came up with misfire on all cylinders and misfire on cylinder 1.

Another thing I noticed was that the fuel consumption was unusually high. I filled up before I set out and usually the gauge will stay full for about 100km at least. This time it used about 1/8 of a tank to travel about 100km tops. Not sure if this helps but it's something else that does not usually happen.

Also, I had the coils replaced a few years ago. When the coils needed replacing my car would misfire regularly including idle and at low speeds. This time when idling and at lower speeds there is no issue. The issue only seems to be triggered when I go to higher speeds.

 

[wannaeatyourbrains]

Check your injector rack is seated firmly, all injectors plugged in their holes, none leaking first maybe. Cause you can smell fuel and got misfire.

 

[Wats_in_a_name]

^^^^^Hi Wannaeatyourbrains thanks for the response. Any help is appreciated since I had my car looked at and the issue is still there. Can you think of any reason that the issue didn't show up straight away or seemed to go away after I stopped my car and let it sit for a while? Just trying to eliminate all possible causes at the moment.

 

[wannaeatyourbrains]

Yeah. Leaking fuel. Loss of fuel pressure when the injectors are drinking heavily + leaking. Have a look the o-rings haven't buggered out or one of them isn't crooked or got clipped in high out of the hole by accident or something.

Just pull your plenum off. There is the fuel rack. Turn the key enough to get fuel pressure and see if you smell fuel and have leaks.Two bolts it comes out if you want to investigate further.

 

[Wats_in_a_name]

Hi All, further update on this one. My mechanic did a compression test and found the readings were all over the shop. He checked the cylinders a few times and the readings on each cylinder were:
Driver's side front 65, 80, 60
Driver's side second 60, 100, 85
Driver's side nearest to firewall 110, 100, 90

Passenger side front 190, 185, 180
Passenger side second 63, 65, 80
Passenger side nearest to firewall 100, 100, 110

Does anyone know what would cause the compression on the cylinders to vary so much (ie why is one cylinder so much higher than all the rest)? As I mentioned previously the fuel consumption is very high and at higher revs it shows the "Check Powertrain" warning and starts running rough. There was also the smell of fuel. When I switch the car and leave it for a bit my car seems to run okay again.

 

[Wats_in_a_name]

Ok got my car back. My mechanic checked the coils and found 1,3,5 and 4 were faulty so he replaced those and a gasket. I will be taking it very easy with my car and see how it goes. If it plays up I know I can just shut it down and restart it. My mechanic also put some oil in the cylinders and the pressures shot up compared to what they were before. I thought I would post to see if anyone had any ideas on potential running rough causes or if it helps anyone narrow down any issues they might be having. Fingers crossed that it is not the ECU.

 

[lout]

i think you need a new mechanic
pull oil filler cap off with engine running
if rings are that badly worn it will sound like puffing billy (steam train)
coils account for your symptoms, if allowing to cool.
if it is just stop, cycle ignition and keep going then not correct

 

[Wats_in_a_name]

I think the rings were in good condition from memory. For whatever reason I only got the warning at higher revs (the last time I was climbing a big hill on the Calder Freeway, the first time was accelerating from lights). Not sure if this helps narrow down the issue at all.