simonc

Car was running fine & i decided to fit a new Grp A coil, took it out after fitting & it ran perfectly & also cured a slight missfire i had at about 5500rpm, excellent i thought. Went to use it this afternoon & its now running like a dog, won't tickover on its own & is so lumpy i couldn't even get it out of the garage as it just kept stalling. Its stinking of fuel, took the plugs out & their soaked in petrol. Checked the HT leads,cap & rotor which are all about 18 months old ( blue 909 leads) they looked ok. Tried fitting original coil back & have swapped map sensor over for another 3 bar, still the same. Crank sensor is only 18 months old & so is phase sensor. I had the exact same problem when i bought the car 2 yrs ago,drove it 200 miles,parked it up for 20mins & it did the same thing,garage fixed it that time & said it was the ht leads shorting out.

Iv'e just ordered new leads , cap, rotor ( the later post 92 type as its supposed to be a better design than the earlier ones) & phase sensor,which i will fit tommorrow.

Anyone got any ideas ? Is it possible that my leads could have failed after only 18 months use ? Or has the Grp A coil zapped something ?

Thanks Simon.

I'm now one more step closer to selling my cossie & going back to an M3 again with trouble free motoring & wads of cash in my pocket as i won't be constantly spending on it !



Anyone got

Dave Henshall

does the new coil lead run very close to your MAP sensor, could have arces out and witha bigger badder better spark, may have fried you r map sensor.

simonc

I already tried another map sensor.

Is it possible the coil has finished the ht leads off , someone else i know off fitted a Grp A coil & it melted the king lead where it attaches to the coil.

Simon.

Dave Henshall

could be, as the coil lead will still be a silicone wound type lead, not a copper wire with resistor boot like the rest of the leads are. any old coil lead will do just to try.

Alvyn

iTrader: (1)

coolant temp sender gone up the pan, it's telling the ecu to send in more fuel than it needs would be MY guess m8.
check both the wires (are actually connected to the switch) if u get wat I mean passenger side back of head(blue one)

ps new switch is Ł12 plus a deep socket easiest way to get it off if that's what it is

simonc

Will have a look at that as well, i'm sure iv'e got a spare coolant temp sensor as i changed it when i bought the car & it made no difference, worth checking though.

Simon.

abdr500

iTrader: (1)

check you fuel presure regulator as they can burst and fuel comes up in to the vacume pipe and into the inlet take the vacume pipe off and see if thats wet with fuel as mine did that replaced it now off i go

simonc

Fitted new ht leads,cap,rotor & phase sensor, still the same

Checked vacuum pipe on regulator,was dry.

Tried my spare ecu also.

When you start it up sometimes it will start & run as normal then after a few seconds it will start running like its either got a weak spark or too much fuel as black smoke out of exhaust & spark plugs are black & soaked in fuel.

I had the exact same symtoms 2 yrs ago & managed to limp it to a local garage & they fixed it, but they didn't really tell me what they did, said they fiddled with the ht leads & fuel pressure was too high.

Iv'e noticed when it happens the rev counter jumps about like its got some ignition/elec fault.

ANYMORE SUGGESTIONS PLEASE

Think i'll be taking it to the garage that managed to sort it before.

CosKev3

Engine earths??????
Clean them up or add extra earth wires from battery to inlet/body etc.
Did you try eng coolant sensor m8?????

Rev counter is something to do with coil/ignition amplifier IIRC

simonc

Changed the coolant temp sensor which made no difference.

When turning the ignition on & off normally you can hear the fuel pump click into action, i normally hear a click & slight buzz as it gets juice to it when the ignition lights come on but when i switched it on this morning a couple of times it seems a lot more louder than normal ( i mean the donk or sort of click noise as it gets power to the pump) It was so violent when i turned the ign on that it made the whole car judder & i felt it through the drivers seat, it was as though the fuel pump got a massive bolt of juice, thought the whole lot was going to go up !

Maybe its to do with fuel pressure or something , what fuel pressure do you normally run on a stage 3, t34 , 803's etc.

How do you tell if the regulator is knackered, when they go faulty do they normally flow less or just not regulate & flow too much fuel ?

Simon.

simonc

Ok tried to start car to limp it to a local garage & after about a minute or so the misfire cured itself ! Took it down the dual carrage way for a blast & it was spot on. Parked it up for 20 mins or so & it was misfiring again & blowing out black smoke from the exh, started to run ok after about 10 seconds or so. Restarted it 2 mins later & it was fine, left it for another 20 mins & it ran like a bag of shite for the 1st 10 secs or so. Could it be a leaking injector & how would i tell ? Seems to be worse to start the longer you leave it.


Please please please help.

Thanks Simon.

CosKev3

Think you need to take it to a pro with diagnostic equipment

simonc

I have just dropped it off at a local garage who has quite a bit of diagnostic gear their a BMW/MERC specialist but have cured a fault on the cossie before, trouble is their is nowhere near me that really specialises in cossies

Simon.

I'll post up the outcome.

Tim_H

Could be a broken cable somewhere in the loom. not good, as really difficult to diagnose. Sounds like the engine temp sensor to the ECU to me, (not to the temp gauge, which is a different one), or the cable / connector for it. Could try disconnecting it and see if it makes any difference. (it's under the inlet manifold by #4 cylinder btw).

Tim

2001ode

iTrader: (1)

Hi,

May be regulator fuel pressure, or reservoir plug pb.
Try to run without reservoir plug.
Try another regulator.

Regards.

simonc

Had the fuel pressure checked its 3.2 bar but yes i may well try a new one anyway, got a few other things to change 1st. Going to fit my level1 ecu & stage 1 chip, yellows & 2 bar & 2wd tps back on & see what happens ( as its got greens L8 3 bar etc 4wd tps at the mo) if that doesn't work then a new regulator, if that lot doesn't work maybe i have a fault in the loom. The only bits i haven't changed are air temp sensor & ign module, is it worth trying these?

simon.

simonc

Changed the injectors back to yellows, refited 2 bar map sensor, refited level 1 ecu with stage 1 chip & also 2wd tps & swapped wires back over. Still the same fault

Simon.

Daveyraveygravy

To be honest mate, that fuel pressure looks ok, the way to test it is to first disconnect the Water temp sensor (WTS), then turn the ignition on and check the fuel pressure, i think it should be between 3.2 - 3.8bar.

Then you put the WTS plug back on and start it up, it should run between 2.8-3.5 ish bar.

Then you turn it off and you should have no more than 0.2bar pressure drop in 10mins if you have you may need a new regulator because it's not holding the pressure.

In my personal experience it is a lot cheaper to give it to a specialist and let them look at it rather than go buying bits and trying them out. Even if you have to travel to them and leave it with them.

simonc

I know what your saying re take it to a specialist but their really is nobody within 120 mile or so who specialises in cossies, i took it to a local place with some diagnostic gear & they had it for 2 days whilst they scratched their bollocks & then it was only when i contacted them they said they didn't have a clue & could i take it away. If i can't sort it then i will have to take it to a specialist but then thats a day off work Ł170 + drive the cossie to specialist & my wife to drive our car to collect me + the same again to collect, so i'm probably looking at Ł400 just to get it their & pick it up,2 days off work etc. If their was someone i could take it to in Kent then i would. Oh well at least iv'e got lots of spares now anyway for next time because their will be a next time. Got a regulator,air charge sensor,coolant temp sens (as the one i tried was a spare which i'm sure is good but you never know) & tdc sensor coming tomorrow to try.

The only bits after that that haven't been tried will be a loom & ignition module which i'm told if goes wrong normally the engine won't start.

Simon.

CosKev3

So have you tried a NEW temp sensor??????

First thing that was recommended you should try

Could have wasted all that money and time with using a used sensor m8

simonc

Err no it was one i had laying around that worked ok when it was used last, i have a new one coming tommorrow from MSD, if that sorts it i will be over the moon but i am not hopefull . i did a check on the coolant temp circuit from the pins on the ecu with the ign on & it was between 1&3 volts on my meter which is what it should be according to tech testing info.

Simon.

Daveyraveygravy

This sensor is of the NTC resistor type, its resistance decreases as tempera*tures increase.

The ECT is screwed into the cylinder head. At 0° C, the resistance is 9.75 kOhm and at 70° C the reading is 0.53 kOhm.
It plays a big part of the fueling, so i'd double check this mate.

My guess is the plug has a dodgy connection or something, pull it off and have a good look at the plug mate

Next time you start it try wiggling the plug a bit to see if it makes a difference

simonc

Hey a big thanks to all of you who helped me out on this thread with my running fault. I have fixed it but i am not sure whether it was the coolant temp sensor or fuel reg as when i changed the coolant sensor & tried to restart but the battery went flat & by this time the car had run out of petrol ! Changed the reg & charged the battery, put some petrol in & after a bit of cranking she came into life & took it out for a drive. Have re started it a couple of times & it seems ok.

The only thing is now my local garage adjusted the co screw when they tried to sort it & now it surges when off throttle coming up to junctions, which way do you turn the co pot on level 8 to richen it up a bit, oh &what pressure do fuel regs come set at.

I will take it back to paul hills in the new year to get the fueling re checked anyway.

ONCE AGAIN THANKS PEOPLE, IF IT WASN'T YOU IT WOULDN'T BE UP & RUNNING.

Simon

CosKev3

Glad your sorted m8

Pretty sure fuel pressure will be ok left standard running greens

I would'nt touch Co without a meter m8,also it is easy to over adjust screw and fook the pot up in the ECU,like mine was when I bought it

Daveyraveygravy

Pukka mate glad it's sorted

I believe fuel pressure should be set to the same pressure as standard which is about 3.2 bar i think.

CO can be set up at an MOT garage and should be around 1-2% I'd still get it checked out proper though

With reguard to helping you out thats what passionford is all about mate

simonc

Thought i had sorted it the other day with new fuel reg but the next time i started it it was the same,ran like a bag of crap for 1/2 min when cold.
Ok i have sorted it now ( thanks to Danny Fiestacossie who lent me a loom,ign amp & coil to try ) IT IS DEFINATELY MY IGNITION AMPLIFIER THAT IS AT FAULT , swapped it over for another one & it has been fine, swapped it back to the old one & it ran rough for a while when cold. Also this was the cause of what i thought was a dodgy starter motor as well as when cranking it sounded as though the starter motor wasn't always engaging properly , with another ign amp this has gone aswell. I have swapped them over a couple of times & it plays up everytime with my old one, also noticed that my one is not a webber marelli one its a copy. Explains why i only had this problem after fitting a grp A coil, it must of killed something in the ign amp.

Thanks Danny for lending me the bits, i'll get them back to you soon as mate

Simon

Daveyraveygravy

Excellent glad it's sorted, untill next time eh!