Hello all
Probably a stupid question but here we go!
Can anyone think why my tdci mondeo loses
Power when the cold damp weather kicks in it happened last year aswell
And was told to check the pipes to the intercooler/ turbo
But couldnt find any visable splits and when the weather improved
the problem disapeared,
Only to rear its ugly head yesterday on a long motorway drive
All power seemed to drop suddenly and hasnt comeback since
It seems as if theres no turbo working
I really think its the damp and wet causing this.
Any ideas where to look?

 

Well its contrary to normal physics as it would dictate engines should run better in the cold when they get up to temperature as the colder air provides for a more energetic combustion and also the engines run slightly cooler on the move.

Is it the COLD or the DAMP/WETNESS that is effecting performance? If its the cold I would think that maybe the engine isn't warming up properly or it is running far far too rich so if it is absolutely fogging the air behind with black smoke then this may be the cause. If the problem is caused by moisture or wetness, it can't be anything ignition related as diesels don't have ignition like petrol engines. May be something to do with moisture in the induction system or moisture effecting a sensor. One thing to try may be to get it up on a live sensor scanner to see if any outputs seem dodgy.

 

I suppose that makes sense,its probably more likely that its the dampness
Causing this,would moisture on the airflow sensor affect the turbo?

 

Also meant to say theres no black smoke even under hard acceleration

 

dicky airflow meter? is it a hot-wire type? air temp sensor?

 

Ya just pulled it out and it is the hot wire type
I shined a torch into the pipe and it looked kind off damp in there

 

As I suspected then you've got some moisture in the induction system. Need to find how it is making its way in there.

 

Will start ripping tomorrow
This time im taking the bumper off and havin a good look in there cause this is wrecking my head,thanks for the help!!

 

My focus Rs all be it standard...pulled well hard the other morning with it being cold and the charge temps being low.

 

Right just pulled out the air filter and its fallin apart some of the paper
In it is ripped apart,it was only put in a couple of months ago! What the hell.
It seems a tiny bit damp alright

 

Its ripped apart from being damp, now theres holes in it the damp has settled in the piping

 

Do you think there is any permenant damage done to the turbo or anything else for that matter?

 

if you were to take the piping of to the housing of the turbo you can see the blades, if theyre not chipped or broken then it should be ok, but i dont know if yours has the variable vane turbo or not.

Could there be paper filter in the intercooler blocking it up, air not being cooled then power being reduced because of the heat?

im not entirley sure on how the power is reduced on a tdci compared to a petrol engine turbo, but maybe worth a look.