Bry Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I changed the sparks plugs yesterday (stock items) and did a coolant change this morning. I thought I'd drive the car to make sure all was well and after 20 minutes I decided I'd give it some welly in 3rd gear which was fine but as soon as I went into 4th the car started to die(badly missing with lots of pops out of the exhaust) almost as if it had run out of fuel. I coasted to the side of the road and popped the bonnet to see if there was anything obviously wrong but all looked ok so I tried to start it and it fired up instantly, it then drove home absolutley fine . I can only guess that when I opened the bleed valve when I was bleeding the system coolant was spraying all over the place and that maybe some coolant has got into some electrial connection ? Anyway I've driven the car hard since it conked out and have had no problems so would anyone else have any thoughts on my diagnosis ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 How tight did you do the spark plugs up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 How tight did you do the spark plugs up? 20ft lbs. What are you thinking ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Overtightened or not tight enough, could be a dodgy seal and under heavy acceleration you end up with an air leak. If the specs were 20ft lbs and you used a torque wrench then you should be fine, probably just a bit of errant coolant like you say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael robinson Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I had a loose earth cable which caused this fault so check these connections also . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 Surely that would only affect one cylinder and cause the car to drop to 5 cylinders not actually cut out? Appreciate the suggestion though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael robinson Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Surely that would only affect one cylinder and cause the car to drop to 5 cylinders not actually cut out? Appreciate the suggestion though A loose earth cable ( ground cable ) can shut the hole car down . It's happened to me twice mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Are the leads connected to the spark plugs in the right order...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 Yes leads are correct as I changed the plugs one by one and if I had the leads wrong the car would run badly all the time, my car ran fine on saturday after changing the plugs (although I never floored the car when I drove it) it then ran fine today after changing the coolant for the 1st 20 minutes, it was only after hitting about 6k rpm in 3rd and then changing to 4th did it lose power and die but then as I said earlier it started straight back up and no matter how hard I drove it I couldn't get it to miss a beat. The loose earth strap is a possibility as the road I was on when it died was very bumpy ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 Just to find out how many earth cables there are now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 Went to a mates garage today and got to him to check for fault codes, there were none. I then told him what happened and asked me if i'd put fuel in recently and if so from what garage. As it happened I had put fuel in it on saturday from a garage I never use but was very low on fuel so had no choice. He then told me that he'd had quite a few cars in recently with the same symptoms and all of them had clogged up fuel filters and they'd been using the same garage for fuel that I'd just used. Thankfully I'd only used that the garage once so hopefully my filter isn't too bad. I'll see if the car stays running as it is (perfect) but if it has the fault again it'll be new filter time and I'm guessing it's not going to be an easy job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Erm... i think i'd be getting that diagnosed further an possibly have the tank drained and filter changed now! And then i'd be taking the bill for that round to that garage... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 My car has done this twice, once when I test drove it and again while I was leathering round Donington the other day. Its down to the throttle pedal position sensor getting out of sync with the engine throttle position sensor, its fine after turning the ignition off and back on again. If it was plugs then it would only affect one cylinder, if its bad fuel then its unlikely it would make the car shut down but then be perfect immediately afterwards. Ground strap is a possibility but its unusual for them to magically reattach themselves ........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 What's the remedy for the throttle position sensor going out of sync ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Turn the ignition off ......... then turn it back on again AFAIK there isnt any long term resolution and Ive only had it twice in 5 years of owning the car Apparently you can do it while on the move but its not advised Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 Turn the ignition off ......... then turn it back on again AFAIK there isnt any long term resolution and Ive only had it twice in 5 years of owning the car Apparently you can do it while on the move but its not advised Ok , I'll get back to you in 5 years to let you know if that was the fault Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.