Next Problm = misfire/misfuel ?
Discussion
My saga continues... Diff done so decided to go to work this morning in the Tiv... 150 miles of mixed A road and Motorway
80 miles into it and at outside lane speeds (ahem...) it chuffed. then again a mile or so later, then a loss of power, like as if one or more cylinders was not getting sparks/fuel. Stopped at Wetherby to investigate and it ticked over but roughly. I switched off and pondered for 15 mins or so while everything cooled (nothing untoward on gauges or under the bonnet though)
Started her up and tickover fine, so I though maybe dirty fuel (?) and decided to press on. 5 miles down the M1 and past the roadworks thankfully it did it again so I stopped again - same thing. This time I decided to continue on the back roads and the speed was down to 40-50 until I got into Wakefield town centre and snagged at lights etc and the problem returned. I managed to limp the rest of the way to work...
Lunchtime check revealed nothing. Sparks appear OK (plugs/leads/cap/rotor all good)tickover not bad but does have a slight "miss" from time to time. pick-up on throttle good, TP removal makes no difference,
cleaned connections on pump but they were clean anyway.
So what is it ???
any suggestions please ...
My dream is gradually turning into a nightmare...
K
80 miles into it and at outside lane speeds (ahem...) it chuffed. then again a mile or so later, then a loss of power, like as if one or more cylinders was not getting sparks/fuel. Stopped at Wetherby to investigate and it ticked over but roughly. I switched off and pondered for 15 mins or so while everything cooled (nothing untoward on gauges or under the bonnet though)
Started her up and tickover fine, so I though maybe dirty fuel (?) and decided to press on. 5 miles down the M1 and past the roadworks thankfully it did it again so I stopped again - same thing. This time I decided to continue on the back roads and the speed was down to 40-50 until I got into Wakefield town centre and snagged at lights etc and the problem returned. I managed to limp the rest of the way to work...
Lunchtime check revealed nothing. Sparks appear OK (plugs/leads/cap/rotor all good)tickover not bad but does have a slight "miss" from time to time. pick-up on throttle good, TP removal makes no difference,
cleaned connections on pump but they were clean anyway.
So what is it ???
any suggestions please ...
My dream is gradually turning into a nightmare...
K
Hi Kev
Sorry to hear of your woes.
I'm wondering if your problem is the same as I the one that I have.
To summarise: After running for about an hour(normally)I occasionally find that there is a "limit" to the revs ~ it's like I've hit a ceiling. If I push the clutch in I can rev as high as I like but as soon as I let the clutch out it splutters again. I find that if I stop the engine and start up again the problem goes. The engine only has to be turned off momentarily.
When the problem first arose I thought it was dirty fuel. The car had just had a repair to the fuel tank and there was a fair bit of loose rust in it. I cleaned the fuel line to the pump many times and eventually fitted an inline filter ~ however it didn't sort it.
The problem is nowhere near as bad as it was last summer.
One thing that did make a big difference was to start her up from cold and leave idling 'till the fan cut in. This tip was from TVRGit who says it resets various electrical gizmos. This is especially relevant if you disconnected the battery on the weekend.
Since I saw you on Sunday I fitted the new throttle pot but am unsure if it has made a difference. I have only travelled from here to Henshaw garage and back. ( Also changed light switch ~ ta for that)
This gets me thinking ~ I rarely use any petrol other than that from Henshaw ~ I bet you filled up there too. It's a long shot but may be relevant.
I don't want to steal your thread ~ but if anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate it.
My next step is to clean the AFM's but am not sure what is best for you. Going on the principle that the thing that recently broke is linked to the thing you most recently changed it shouldn't be the fuel, but then again what do I know?
If I can be of any help you know where I am.
(Bear in mind ~ you won't need the car when you're backpacking in Morocco!)
Cheers
Tim
Sorry to hear of your woes.
I'm wondering if your problem is the same as I the one that I have.
To summarise: After running for about an hour(normally)I occasionally find that there is a "limit" to the revs ~ it's like I've hit a ceiling. If I push the clutch in I can rev as high as I like but as soon as I let the clutch out it splutters again. I find that if I stop the engine and start up again the problem goes. The engine only has to be turned off momentarily.
When the problem first arose I thought it was dirty fuel. The car had just had a repair to the fuel tank and there was a fair bit of loose rust in it. I cleaned the fuel line to the pump many times and eventually fitted an inline filter ~ however it didn't sort it.
The problem is nowhere near as bad as it was last summer.
One thing that did make a big difference was to start her up from cold and leave idling 'till the fan cut in. This tip was from TVRGit who says it resets various electrical gizmos. This is especially relevant if you disconnected the battery on the weekend.
Since I saw you on Sunday I fitted the new throttle pot but am unsure if it has made a difference. I have only travelled from here to Henshaw garage and back. ( Also changed light switch ~ ta for that)
This gets me thinking ~ I rarely use any petrol other than that from Henshaw ~ I bet you filled up there too. It's a long shot but may be relevant.
I don't want to steal your thread ~ but if anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate it.
My next step is to clean the AFM's but am not sure what is best for you. Going on the principle that the thing that recently broke is linked to the thing you most recently changed it shouldn't be the fuel, but then again what do I know?
If I can be of any help you know where I am.
(Bear in mind ~ you won't need the car when you're backpacking in Morocco!)
Cheers
Tim
There is a fuel strainer in the bottom of the fuel tank. Mine was knackered and I replaced it with a strainer from a paint gun ( Bowmans).
There is also a small filter just inside the fuel pump. It's a fine gauze and looks like a thimble. If you take the pipe off the fuel pump you will see it sitting inside the inlet to the pump.
There is also a small filter just inside the fuel pump. It's a fine gauze and looks like a thimble. If you take the pipe off the fuel pump you will see it sitting inside the inlet to the pump.
Edited by Elfit on Tuesday 22 July 14:45
Sounds very similar indeed to one of the (several!) problems I had when re-commissioning mine. I found quite a bit of debris in the small filter in the end of the fuel pump, surprised just how much came out. As you say there might have been some dislodged while you were working on the car. There was a noticeable increase in flow after I cleaned it out BUT; these pumps apparently do suffer if they have to work over hard (eg with a blocked filter) and the pump may not develop full pressure afterwards. I am not sure if this is quite as critical on the S3 with the later fuel injection but pressure is very critical on the S1. With the pump clean it ran for a great deal longer then gave fuel starvation problems, eventually we did a pressure test at the cold start injector and found it was way down (didnt need the meter to test it, as we found it didnt have enough pressure to atomise out of the injector), it was a new pump I am afraid. (I did a posting about the source of the pump I used).
I agree with a previous posting that the filter in the tank could be blocked enough to restrict flow, and this could also cause pump and pressure problems. I am a bit puzzled by this tank filter however as the debris in my pump included some quite big bits of silicone from sealant someone had used round the gauge sender unit, so either there isnt one or it is pretty big mesh!
It has been suggested that an in line filter would be valuable, I agree but the problem I had was that I couldn't find one with big enough pipe diameters, the fuel pipe upstream of the pump is 5/8".
Another problem that has been suggested is fuel starvation caused by vapourization in the fuel supply pipes near the engine (and they can certainly get hot)but that doesn't seem likely unless you have changed something at the front. I cannot see vapourisation on the M way either, although it can be an issue in traffic.
I agree with a previous posting that the filter in the tank could be blocked enough to restrict flow, and this could also cause pump and pressure problems. I am a bit puzzled by this tank filter however as the debris in my pump included some quite big bits of silicone from sealant someone had used round the gauge sender unit, so either there isnt one or it is pretty big mesh!
It has been suggested that an in line filter would be valuable, I agree but the problem I had was that I couldn't find one with big enough pipe diameters, the fuel pipe upstream of the pump is 5/8".
Another problem that has been suggested is fuel starvation caused by vapourization in the fuel supply pipes near the engine (and they can certainly get hot)but that doesn't seem likely unless you have changed something at the front. I cannot see vapourisation on the M way either, although it can be an issue in traffic.
Here's a picture of the strainer that came from my tank.
It's fairly fine mesh but is made of nylon ( or something like that) and is not very strong.
After much searching for a cheap filter (with no joy) I used a Sytec Bullet filter with 15mm unions.
I got mine from a chap called Anthony at www.fastroadcars.co.uk. He was very helpful on the phone and made sure that I got what I wanted. 01495244362.
After paying for a spare paper filter and postage it came to just under £60.
( Last October)
Edit ~ no picture!
Uncle Dave's link didn't work and my attempt didn't either!
It's fairly fine mesh but is made of nylon ( or something like that) and is not very strong.
After much searching for a cheap filter (with no joy) I used a Sytec Bullet filter with 15mm unions.
I got mine from a chap called Anthony at www.fastroadcars.co.uk. He was very helpful on the phone and made sure that I got what I wanted. 01495244362.
After paying for a spare paper filter and postage it came to just under £60.
( Last October)
Edit ~ no picture!
Uncle Dave's link didn't work and my attempt didn't either!
Edited by Elfit on Tuesday 22 July 16:48
Edited by Elfit on Tuesday 22 July 16:50
Cheers chaps
some answers to questions above:
Tank was filled last night at Shell garage in corbridge (so its not Henshaws BP fuel)
Tank was filled again at Wetherby when I stopped the first time (so the tank is still almost full)
No change to fuel line and an inspection at lunchtime revealed no external damage to the pipes or connections.
From what has been suggested so far it is likely that i have dislodged some sh*te and clogged a filter. if its the one at the bottom of the tank, I'm buggered as the tank is full.
If its the main filter I could maybe disconnect it to back-flush it (or fit a new one if I can find one tomorrow) but would need to nip the fuel line to prevent serious loss (full tank)
How would I get rid of air in the system upstream of that ? is there a bleed valve somewhere or does the air just get blown out of the injectors ?
there is a metal "thing" between the tank outlet and the main filter... you can see it just to the left of the prop-shaft flange in this pic... what is it ?
http://ketvrin.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set...
Oh and dont forget my barn is 150 miles away in Northumberland and I'm at a B&B in Yorkshire tonight
K
some answers to questions above:
Tank was filled last night at Shell garage in corbridge (so its not Henshaws BP fuel)
Tank was filled again at Wetherby when I stopped the first time (so the tank is still almost full)
No change to fuel line and an inspection at lunchtime revealed no external damage to the pipes or connections.
From what has been suggested so far it is likely that i have dislodged some sh*te and clogged a filter. if its the one at the bottom of the tank, I'm buggered as the tank is full.
If its the main filter I could maybe disconnect it to back-flush it (or fit a new one if I can find one tomorrow) but would need to nip the fuel line to prevent serious loss (full tank)
How would I get rid of air in the system upstream of that ? is there a bleed valve somewhere or does the air just get blown out of the injectors ?
there is a metal "thing" between the tank outlet and the main filter... you can see it just to the left of the prop-shaft flange in this pic... what is it ?
http://ketvrin.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set...
Oh and dont forget my barn is 150 miles away in Northumberland and I'm at a B&B in Yorkshire tonight
K
Kevin, maybe a stupid idea but could you extend the fuel pipe with a bit of the clear(ish) reinforced type so you could see whats passing down the pipe? (maybe even a loop up the windscreen!!?? 
)
You may laugh but I had an old Viva that had a really bizarre problem - it would run fine but when you tried to unleash all 1159cc (if you dare) it died - turned out it was a dodgy rubber petrol hose conection off the tank - when you booted it it sucked air into the fuel line through the dodgy connection before the fuel pump.
God I miss that car.
Not.
OK probably way off but thinking of you mate.
Chris
)You may laugh but I had an old Viva that had a really bizarre problem - it would run fine but when you tried to unleash all 1159cc (if you dare) it died - turned out it was a dodgy rubber petrol hose conection off the tank - when you booted it it sucked air into the fuel line through the dodgy connection before the fuel pump.
God I miss that car.
Not.
OK probably way off but thinking of you mate.
Chris
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