Ford Ka intermittently losing power?

[hessodreamy]

1999 1.3l ford Ka. Recently it's started to intermittently be a bit sluggish delivering power to the engine. I put my foot down, and you can feel that it's holding back. Then, after a while, it kicks back in with a lurch forward.

When idling, it frequently comes close to stalling, sometimes it does stall.

Also it used to do nearly 300 miles on it's 30 litre tank. Now it's more like 250.

Any suggestions? Blocked fuel line, maybe? Or perhaps related to colder weather over the last few months?

Edited by hessodreamy on Sunday 23 October 16:40

[Zad]

Might be worth taking the plugs out and having a look to see what colour they are, because it sounds like the mixture is out for some reason and it is running rich. Personally, I would take it to the local independent garage and get them to look at it. Chances area that they have seen the fault before.

My thoughts are: oxygen sensor, catalyst, coolant sensor making the ECU think it is cold(not the one on the instrument panel, the one that feeds the engine management) maybe throttle position sensor potentiometer. Stalling sounds like the Idle Control Valve is sticking too, it needs removing and cleaning with carb cleaner (Google for it - lots of instructions about doing this).

[hessodreamy]

Well I took it to a local garage who, at first, replaced the Idle Control Valve. When it still wasn't working I took it back but they couldn't find anything and even said they couldn't see that there was a problem.

Then I took it for a service, so that rules out plugs & filters.

One thing I noticed about the stalling is that it most often happens when I'm cruising up to junctions with my clutch down. Is it odd that it'll have a tenancy to stall when the clutch is down?

[Bat Fastard]

clutch down and in gear = very little fuel going in to the engine

Possibly some bad fuel? Do you always buy fuel from the same place? ( Just a thought, I'm far from being a mechanic)

[hessodreamy]

Bat Fastard said:

clutch down and in gear = very little fuel going in to the engine

Possibly some bad fuel? Do you always buy fuel from the same place? ( Just a thought, I'm far from being a mechanic)

Would it be pushing Less fuel than when in neutral? I'm probably further from being a mechanic! I buy my fuel all over the place, really.

[Bat Fastard]

hessodreamy said:

Would it be pushing Less fuel than when in neutral? I'm probably further from being a mechanic! I buy my fuel all over the place, really.

Generally yes, as in neutral, and when coasting, a little fuel is injected in to the engine to stop it stalling. I'd imagine if you buy fuel all over the place it won't be a fuel issue, but as I say, I'm far from an expert