TomStarkey

Hi, my ST170 (2003) refuses to rev above 5000rpm when in 1st to 6th. it rises fine to 4,500ish then it just stutters and holds back. It sounds like its running on all 4 cylinders when im idleing so im guessing its not ignition related. Is its likely to be the fuel pump, and if i plugged a code reader in would the car give a code?

Further info
64k on clock
serviced at 59k- planned to service again over easter
runs on shell v-power
no warning lights
has bluefin set up for correct fuel

20fiesta09

duss it rev past 5k when the car is staionary ?
sounds like it could be the fuel pump, it happend on my dads car but hisj ust ran like a bag of shite it wouldnt rev at all but when it was staionary it would rev on too the red. and his was around the same millage too and also he didnt have any warning lights come on.
hope that helps mate

TomStarkey

Yeah when its in neutral it revs fine, but i do feel like abit of a chav reving the engine in the middle of the street
cheers for the input

TomStarkey

also it only seems to happen wen the engines warmed up. Its fine(ish) when cold. What does that mean????

paul xr2

more likely to be the maf sensor up the spout my 1.8 focus was doing the same until i replaced the maf for a new one

TomStarkey

and now today my car seems better. im down to half a tank and its kind of just slowing down after 5000rpm, rather than hitting an un-passable wall. wierd.

About the MAF sensor, can it just be cleaned or reset?

cheers

Dimitris013

Maf sensors cant clean up or reset as you say.
You just by a new one.
Anyway my opinion on the problem you have doesn't seem to me like maf sensor.
Good thing to do try one before you buy it...

TomStarkey

well I carb cleaned the MAF and throttle body and it may be unrelated but the car feels alot better now. It still doesn't feel right though so I think a fuel pump change is needed. I might even treat my car to a sytec uprated fuel pump

Paul_RS

iTrader: (4)

Mates car had a similar propblem and it turned out to be the fuel pump on his. He only had the problem with less than 1/2 a tank of fuel though.

white2lsr

iTrader: (1)

have you even had diagniostics on the car

sounds the same as mine and it turned out to be the fpcm

TomStarkey

The cars showing no error codes at all, its booked in for a looking at next week. I'll have to see what happens from there.

Iktank

had the same - replaced IMRC located on the bulkhead (shiny oblong box)

TomStarkey

So many things that could be wrong with it. Damn these modern cars

TomStarkey

Also if it turns out to be the coil pack or the fuel pump would having uprated ones (actually cheaper???) be bad for the car?

botters

iTrader: (2)

have you checked the oil? when they get really low it can stop the variable valve timing from working causing similar symptoms

TomStarkey

yup the oils good, and the pressure is between 1/2 and 3/4 depending on how fast im going.

daviddunlop83

iTrader: (7)

Mine rev'ed fine, it cut out and then went again at round right right hand corners or round roundabouts with less than 1/2 a tank

~nomad~

iTrader: (4)

almost defo this

Iktank

also check the electrics from the IMRC the cable runs under the headlight, there is sometimes a poor connection under there

TomStarkey

Just checked the IMRC cables and they both look fine from the outside

Iktank

one othe look in the engine bay, top of the rocker cover drivers side, cables enter here onto the variable valve timing solonoid, check these are ok, had these rub through because a monkey many moons ago who serviced my car and changed the plugs did not run lay the cable back properly, also the plug here can work loose.

TomStarkey

the protective shief covering the wires looks abit worn, I might get a new one, but the wires all look good. Thanks for the ideas anyway.

Iktank

most prob the IMRC control unit, but just make sure the cables are OK, the cables that run under the headlamp cant be seen, give them a gentle tug been known to come apart at this point. sorry cant be of more help.

TomStarkey

cable feels like its attached to something when I pull it. Was worth a try

Iktank

hope you sort it, if you decide to replace the IMRC valve I think is costs around Ł120, easy to change yourself. take care Tank

Albino Deano

Had the exact problem with mine mate two weeks ago wouldnt rev checked everything turned out to be imrc box on the bulk head common fault with the st cost me new from ford Ł172 runs like a dream now.

TomStarkey

cheers, I'll make sure the mechanics have a good look at it to see if it definitely is the fault. Can't wait to have her up to full power again.

TomStarkey

I will also post back here with my fix and full list of symptoms if I do get it working again, hopefully, fingers crossed.

TomStarkey

Well today I changed the coil pack and the car now seems alot better. Im still not convinced that the car issue free but it rev's up to 7000rpm with ease now.

Old Coil




New Coil, in lovely yellow :-(

bamba

hi tom.did the coil pack cure the problem you were having.if not have you tried anything else yet
cheers GLYN

TomStarkey

Since I changed the coil pack the car seems fine. I 'cleaned' The MAF with carb cleaner on about 1/4 throttle as well but I think it was the coil pack that cured it in the end.

bamba

was that an uprated coil you put on tom.if so where did you get it from and how much did it cost?pm if you'd prefer.
cheers GLYN

TomStarkey

Ł75 from PumaBuild, No more expensive than the standard coil, and since that's prone to fail I thought I'd get an uprated one. only problem is that its yellow

TomStarkey

Fixed - if people have similar problems

paul 1989

hi tom my st170 has started playing up it runs perfect till its warmed up then shudders if i try to push it past 5000 rpm then it gradutaully dies and gets worse in traffic and sometimes doesn't let me rev at all then i knock it off for 2 mins then it goes fine again

is that the same sort of problems you had

TomStarkey

Massive delayed reply but yes that sounded like how mine was.
Problem is there seems a few things that fix this.

I changed the spark coil and the car was fixed for half a year but then it came back. Changed the fuel pump and it was still iffy, turned out it was the fuel pump sender (or the module what ever its called) the second time.

Both problems only caused issues when the car was warm

telf

Found this via google!

Do you have a part number or anything else more definate about the fuel pump sender/module thing?!

Only thing for can come up with is the sender attached to the pump which only controls the level gauge.