HELP!! Engine troubles

[nicolaw]

Hi

I need some advice.

I have a 1.8 1999 MX5 and my engine has recently started to play up. When i go to start the engine the car starts to shake and it feels like there is no power and there is a strong smell of petrol. After a few miles all the power returns and the care drives fine.

I took the car to my garage and they could find nothing on the diagnostic test. I have just paid for a new camshaft sensor in the hope that this would solve the problem, but this has not worked.

My garage now think that it's my valves sticking and suggested an oil change etc. But i would like to see if anyone else has had this happen to them, before i decide to take it back in.

[youngsyr]

nicolaw said:

Hi

I need some advice.

I have a 1.8 1999 MX5 and my engine has recently started to play up. When i go to start the engine the car starts to shake and it feels like there is no power and there is a strong smell of petrol. After a few miles all the power returns and the care drives fine.

I took the car to my garage and they could find nothing on the diagnostic test. I have just paid for a new camshaft sensor in the hope that this would solve the problem, but this has not worked.

My garage now think that it's my valves sticking and suggested an oil change etc. But i would like to see if anyone else has had this happen to them, before i decide to take it back in.

I've only had my 10 AE (a 1999 1.8L) for a few months, but about a day after I changed the plugs and ignition leads I started the car to find that it ran rough and was down on power. I checked the ignition leads and sure enough one had worked loose. Pushed it back on properly and the car ran fine again.

I assume that if you've taken it to a garage they've ruled out the spark plugs, ignition leads and all connections as being the problem?

If so, then I believe the coil packs can often go on these cars, especially if the key is left in the pre-ignition stage for too long, so this would be my next target. Not sure if the ECU will log a fault code if you lose a coil pack, or whether you can actually test the coil pack itself to see if it's functioning properly, but you can certainly swap one out to see if that solves it.

It certainly sounds to my primitive brain as though your car isn't running on all four cylinders (hence the vibrations and loss of power) and that it's an ignition fault as you can smell the unburnt fuel coming out of the exhaust.

Edited by youngsyr on Tuesday 17th August 16:21

[MX-5 Lazza]

Sounds like plug leads might be knackered - it's a common failing on these cars.

[snotrag]

HT Leads.

My cars eaten 2 sets in 24'000 miles.

[MX-5 Lazza]

snotrag said:

HT Leads.

My cars eaten 2 sets in 24'000 miles.

Change your plugs at the same time and they should last a bit longer I would say change your coils too but it gets very expensive that way

Plugs, leads & coils all cause each other to fail. When there is a problem with one it soon causes problems in the others i.e. a problem with a lead or plug puts extra effort through the coils which it doesn't like. A problem with a plug or coil can cause the leads to break down...

[snotrag]

Plugs are so cheap that they get changed way more often than they need to... your probably right though it will be the coil pack, its IS pretty old after all.

[Odie]

Hmm, might check my plugs this weekend they have been in about 20000 miles.

[youngsyr]

snotrag said:

Plugs are so cheap that they get changed way more often than they need to... your probably right though it will be the coil pack, its IS pretty old after all.

Just a thought, but the problem seems to be intermittent - would a coil pack either work or be permanently broken?

That's certainly been the case on other cars that I have had a coil pack failure on.

[NeoVR]

Does it only do it when the engine is cold??

Could be the ecu temp sensor on the back of the engine?