Ford Fiesta Jerky Acceleration/Idling...

[Comacchio]

Hi folks, quick question about the health of my car. Its a 57 plate fiesta zetec 1.25. Last week i ran the petrol to almost empty (skint) then filled up again when i got paid. Just recently the car has started shuddering and almost cutting out when trying to accelerate (mostly in 1st 2nd and 3rd gears) and the engine management light comes on and flashes for a few seconds and then goes off again. Also, when i started the engine earlier on i had to rev before it cut out and it didnt sound too good (almost as if it was misfiring).

I have changed the air filter just incase it was too clogged up, this seems to have helped a little, but not a great deal. Im assuming something may have gotten stuck in the fuel filter as the tank was run so low?

Any help appreciated, thanks

-Allan

[Comacchio]

Anybody? Kinda urgent.

-Allan

[Taita]

Could have picked up some st from the bottom of the fuel tank? Only a 57 plate car though?

Throw another fuel filter on to eliminate this.

[TheEnd]

go to the air filter, look at the pipes behind it, and you should see an black tube which is the air mass meter.
Look around these pipes to see of one is loose or torn, and letting air in without it being measured

[Comacchio]

Thanks, i jacked the car up today and took the fuel filter off, gave it a blow-through and the circulation was fine. So its not that, However the petrol that ran out of it was cloudy, so it could just be a bad load? Better off running it to empty and filling up with premium from shell?

Ill have a look for that air mass meter, do you have experience with this engine and could tell me where exactly it is? I couldnt see anything like that when i was changing the filter yesterday.

Ill take it into Ford and get a diagnostic ran on it anyway. They claim i wont be seen till tuesday thanks to a public holiday in scotland. Not happy.

-Allan

[TheEnd]

Comacchio said:

Thanks, i jacked the car up today and took the fuel filter off, gave it a blow-through and the circulation was fine. So its not that, However the petrol that ran out of it was cloudy, so it could just be a bad load? Better off running it to empty and filling up with premium from shell?

Ill have a look for that air mass meter, do you have experience with this engine and could tell me where exactly it is? I couldnt see anything like that when i was changing the filter yesterday.

Ill take it into Ford and get a diagnostic ran on it anyway. They claim i wont be seen till tuesday thanks to a public holiday in scotland. Not happy.

-Allan

I don't have experience, so i can't be sure it even has one, but jerky acceleration is often down to airleaks, you floor the car, the vacuum sucks in air through a leak, and the air mass meter doesn't see any air coming in at all, and doesn't put the right amount of fuel in.



I found this pic, granted, it's been played with, but the major components are there.
Behind the driver's headlight there is an airfilter, this is some cone one, i guess you'd have a black airbox with the air filter in.
just behind the filter is the Air flow meter (aka MAF), and then a long rubber air hose.

This looks like a prime target for torn rubber, so have a look around the rubber hose for any cracks or splits, especially in the folds of the corrugated bits to allow movement.
If you find something, you can tape it up with gaffer tape for now, and get a new hose when you have time.

I can't say this is the problem, but it sounds likely.

[Comacchio]

Update:

Air and fuel filters fine, no leaks in rubber tubing. Checked the spark plugs, also fine if a bit sooty, nothing major though. Took my dad for a run down the street to see if he could work out what it was, got onto the slight uphill in 2nd gear, tried half acceleration and the car just gave nothing at all. Engine management light flashing at me. Trip to ford?

Out of warranty. Going to be expensive. Joys of being a student..

-Allan

[TheEnd]

Try any garage, the management light will have recorded a fault, and all garages should be able to read it and find the problem.

[Zad]

Possibly a sensor failure _or_ an oxidised connector. I would try a local back street garage before you go to Ford. Ford will just charge a small fortune to have a look at it on their computer, without even checking anything.

Coil packs are known to go on Festers though, a back street garage with a simple analyser would be able to tell if it had gone.

[Comacchio]

Phoned up the Fraud Stealer and asked if i was still under warranty 'Of course Sir, 3 years or 60k miles'. Left it with them today. Outcome - Coil pack had ... packed in, excuse the pun. Replacement coil pack and leads on the house. Sorted.

Cheers for the help!

-Allan