Engine probs....

[pickle2000]

I have a 1.2 and it has just started to run really badly. It currently doesn't seem to 'tick over' properly at all. When I start it from cold it judders and doesn't fire properly (as you would expect). When I start driving there isn't any power at all, it just slowly (and I mean slowly) accelerates.... with an occasional judder forward when the engine appears to fire. It never actually fires properly as it always seems to mis-fire, even on long journeys. It takes me about 30mins to get into work, driving about 60-70mph most of the way, and it used to sort itself out after about 5 mins - now it is still just as bad when I get to work.
I have checked the standard things, oil, air filter and also changed the spark plugs for some champion ones.... can anyone tell me what is wrong with it? Should I just take it to a garage and get them to look over it?
The strange thing is... I left it for about 10mins the other day before starting it up and it ran fine... but then after about 5-10mins worth of driving it started to judder and mis-fire again......

I am pretty confused.... need some help....
Cheers
Pickle

[MattyWoo]

I'd take it to a garage mate unless anyone here has any ideas. I took mine in when it was being funny he instantly told me what he thought was wrong, sorted it out, cushti, i was off home 20 mins later :)

[Aragorn]

u checked the usual?

dizzy cap, rotor, leads etc?

[Stuart]

service it, failing that take it to bassingbourne garage. they are decent there

[mrtim]

If its a carb it might be dirty jets.

Take them out and blow through them and clean where they came out from before putting them back in.

Had a foam filter which started droppin bits into the carb barrels as it died and the bits blocked the jets. Just carb cleaner didnt fix it tho but takin them out did.

good luck

[pickle2000]

don't really think that I would be capable of cleaning the carb... (not sure where it is or how to clean it... I would probably make things worse)... :oops:
I think that I will just take it to a garage and get them to take a butchers over it.... its probably something really simple.... or at least I hope it is.

Cheers lads

[joeczucha]

MINE IS DOING EXACTLY THAT TOO MATE, YOU SORTED IT YET? WHAT WAS IT? JOE

[Aragorn]

hrm

joe - have u read the sticky about misfiring n shit? most of the sstuff is covered in there

and pickle - u said it misfires when cold then say as expected

why would u expect it to misfire when cold? mine doesn't

its a bitty hesitant for the first few mins if its freezing or really damp but i'd put that down to over-rich mixture when its in cold-start mode rather than misfiring

most of the time it fires up and idles smoothly like i'd expect it to

[pickle2000]

It has never really started that well since the summer ended - it always used to take 5 mins for it to start running smoothly when it is cold/wet. I thought that was pretty standard for the age of the car.....
It used to mis-fired before on startup and had a distinct lack of power, but then when it warmed itself up (after a few mins driving) it would kick in and there would be full power.

Now there isn't any power at all when driving - it just steadily accelerates with occasional judders. If it is put in 4th at 30-40mph it judders a lot, especially when I accelerate, and I need to drop it down a gear to stop the judders.

[hutton]

happened to my mates 1.2i merit whenever the car was in low revs, he changed the spark plugs and put some redex in the fuel and its ALMOST normal

[ade]

mine did this before the engine let rip (and I had to get a new one!) - like aragorn says, check the usual - spray wd40 into the dizzy cap, take it to a reputable garage in yer area (even a vaux garage) and ask them to tune it - explaining yer probs - prob is the carb (blocked jets or just worn out) - or even the dizzy unit - I found I couldnt accelerate at all and it was really slow when I hit about 60.

If its juddering when you pull away, it could be the engine not getting fuel (carb)

If its not going over 60mph then it could be the timing being out (retarded) or the weights ion the dizzy not doing their jobs properly (they adjust the timing at greater speeds - I think). If theyre knackered/rusted up then it wont work.

Expect to pay ?200+ for new carb inc fitting and arounf ?150 for dizzy unit including fitting/tuning up - for that amount you could get a 1/2 decent new engine.

As for bad starting, try an addative in yer oil - if yer oil is dark and sticky looking, it will take yer engine lomnger to turn over/run smoothly coz the oil needs to warm up and break down - the engine will be like trying to turn over in syrup at 1st!

How many miles you done neway?

Ade

[pickle2000]

I hope it ain't that serious....
It has done 66,000 miles.

It was still playing up when I drove it into work this morning, and also when I went to the pub at lunch time...... but on the drive home it was working fine. :?: :?: Tick over was good, it didn't attempt to stall and there was full power....
Gonna take it to a garage over the weekend and get them to see if they can see what the problem is.

[Pan@SW-CC]

2 words...

AUTO CHOKE!

ditch it or get it setup properly by leaving your car with the garage overnight so they can sort it for you when the engine is cold.

been there done that had the t-shirt :wink:

I lived with it for 6 months, got the thing sorted, car was mint for 2 weeks, then I dropped a 1.6i in...typical :x

[ade]

do 1.2's have auto chokes? - my mk2 1.2 was manual?

Speaking to a m8 about the misfiring prob - he reckoned could be sticking valves - especially if its warmed up - try an addative - only aboyt ?6 and if it dont work it aint gonna break the bank

[pickle2000]

As you can see I have been nice and speedy in getting the problem fixed.... :lol:

Well it is now all mended and running as normal.... the problem was - one of the HT leads wasn't working, hence the spark plug wasn't sparking. And also the rotary arm in the distributor was bent and arcing across (?? thats what the garage said anyway ??).

Just in case anyone has similar probs... might want to check these areas out first....

[Aragorn]

and as i said right at the start

its all mentioned in the post about bad running

infact i posted saying have u checked the dizzy cap, rotor and leads and as far as what uve said it was all three that were faulty

[pickle2000]

Yeah sorry aragorn.... you are right.
Its just that I didn't know what I was looking at or for, so I didn't look. If I was more mechanical then I would have checked them all out. But I have got a garage to do it for me this time instead.... You never know, I might pull out the haynes man and take a look at some bits under the bonnet..... :D

[burgessovsalford]

8 times out of ten its sumthing to do with the ignition system, when it happens to mine I always check these over first & its always sorted the prob, If not then i'd start looking at the carb, etc....