F
finarfin
Guest
Recently my VP developed an annoying problem where after a few minutes of running it would carry on spluttering and stuffing around and eventually stop dead.
The problem became very bad after one trip home late one night in the local towing company's tilt tray so i thought it might need fixing.
This type of fault seems to spend time firstly showing up as a problem when motor is hot and you place the motor under load -it dies for a moment and then picks up , it then gets worse until ....
Firstly when cold the car idles fine, gets to operating temp and just dies. No error codes from the ECU so it discounts MAP sensor etc.
I had just recently replaced the Leads, Cap, Rotor and ECU as it looks a bit dodgy.
(MARK the number one position on the cap - very important, firing order is cast into the intake manifold)
That left really only the Distrib, Coil or fuel pump. This is where you can go astray, but after getting sprayed with fuel from the rail ( depressurise fuel system first!) I was reasonably certain it wasnt fuel.
I tested the various componetnts of the ignition system and all checked out and heres the possible trap. The coil tests perfectly when cold and i tested it twice, but its a pain to get at when hot.
The clincher is to check for a spark when the bullshit starts, ie remove a lead and stuck a spark plug and earth it when you can see it when cranking. Dont look directly at plug gap, its quite bright! If the engines hot, you will have no spark, wet plugs in the engine and a strong fuel smell. Replace the Coil and suprise suprise the car will work perfectly.
The replacemnet bosch coil is about $75 and is a smaller epoxy style so you can fit it much easiler than the oil filled type. I hope this saves someone the fun and games i had.
The problem became very bad after one trip home late one night in the local towing company's tilt tray so i thought it might need fixing.
This type of fault seems to spend time firstly showing up as a problem when motor is hot and you place the motor under load -it dies for a moment and then picks up , it then gets worse until ....
Firstly when cold the car idles fine, gets to operating temp and just dies. No error codes from the ECU so it discounts MAP sensor etc.
I had just recently replaced the Leads, Cap, Rotor and ECU as it looks a bit dodgy.
(MARK the number one position on the cap - very important, firing order is cast into the intake manifold)
That left really only the Distrib, Coil or fuel pump. This is where you can go astray, but after getting sprayed with fuel from the rail ( depressurise fuel system first!) I was reasonably certain it wasnt fuel.
I tested the various componetnts of the ignition system and all checked out and heres the possible trap. The coil tests perfectly when cold and i tested it twice, but its a pain to get at when hot.
The clincher is to check for a spark when the bullshit starts, ie remove a lead and stuck a spark plug and earth it when you can see it when cranking. Dont look directly at plug gap, its quite bright! If the engines hot, you will have no spark, wet plugs in the engine and a strong fuel smell. Replace the Coil and suprise suprise the car will work perfectly.
The replacemnet bosch coil is about $75 and is a smaller epoxy style so you can fit it much easiler than the oil filled type. I hope this saves someone the fun and games i had.