help before i torch a cav gsi 2000

[ste porter]

recently brought a cav gsi 200 4x4 as a run around and it has been a pain in the backside sinse day 1

i currently have 2 problems i cannot find and resolve

first is it keeps trying to kill me! runs idles perfect when driven normaly but when you put your foot down as soon as you hit 4500 rpm engine manage ment light flicks and it wont let it rev any harder its like a mini rev limit. this is constant and driving me crazy tryed fault coding it and it brings up no codes. it doesent make any difference how you drive it hot or cold it will not rev past about 4500rpm

i have changed

maf sensor
cts
crank sensor
knock sensor
rotor
cap
leads
coil
lamba
tps

basicly every sensor on the engine is either new or 1 that is known to be working and it has made no difference at all any ideas welcomed
this is a lamba equiped c20xe distributer model by the way

the other problem is when left for about 15 hours it completly drains the battery its also had another new battery and still does the same

when i got it it was running spot on and pulled very hard and these problems seam to have just apeared over nite anybody had this before cheers steve

[16v Nova Kev]

what about the sfi to air flow meter rubber. is it ripped

[John]

Have you checked the exhaust/cat for blockages?

[LEWI007]

wait, your brought it or you bought it ? :wtf:

[General Baxter]

Have you checked the exhaust/cat for blockages?

lol :thumb:

[Southie]

Have you checked your timing it may have even jumped a tooth?

For the battery try testing the alternator it may not be charging.

[ste porter]

j reg and has no cat exhaust flows fine but blows a small amount at manifold to mid section timing fine looked at that and as for alternaitor it charges at 14.2 so seems ok there and its fine while its running just when its been left for between 5- 15 hours and sfi pipe is good
checked the most obvious stuff and its starting to drive me mad

it would be a shame to jump up and down on the roof of whats becoming a rare car but if it carries on i can see it happening

[Rich]

Check the crank sensor is getting a good earth to the block, check the earth on the bolt to the starter motor. the cam sensor (hall sensor) could also give the same fault. Its part of the dizzy

edit: not sure if they have an earth srap from gearbox to chassis leg? think they do check that as well make suer its got a good connection

[brucer]

check to to see if theres a discharge (yes i said discharge.lol). disconnect the battery and connect a multi meter between the neg post and the neg terminal. think you have it set on volts.

[bmw156]

for the draining the battery, could it be the same problem people have with novas, when they wire up the stereo wrong and it drains the battery

[Nova_Tek]

recently brought a cav gsi 200 4x4 as a run around and it has been a pain in the backside sinse day 1

i currently have 2 problems i cannot find and resolve

first is it keeps trying to kill me! runs idles perfect when driven normaly but when you put your foot down as soon as you hit 4500 rpm engine manage ment light flicks and it wont let it rev any harder its like a mini rev limit. this is constant and driving me crazy tryed fault coding it and it brings up no codes. it doesent make any difference how you drive it hot or cold it will not rev past about 4500rpm

i have changed

maf sensor
cts
crank sensor
knock sensor
rotor
cap
leads
coil
lamba
tps

basicly every sensor on the engine is either new or 1 that is known to be working and it has made no difference at all any ideas welcomed
this is a lamba equiped c20xe distributer model by the way

the other problem is when left for about 15 hours it completly drains the battery its also had another new battery and still does the same

when i got it it was running spot on and pulled very hard and these problems seam to have just apeared over nite anybody had this before cheers steve

You haven't mentioned Cam sensor they also limit revs to 4k. Is wiring to these sensors in sound condition?

[AlexW]

Im going to agree with rich, dodgy earth?

Battery draining is problery somthing like a interior light (door/boot light?) or somthing that changed recently?

[ste porter]

so what your saying is that its worth trying the whole distributer of the let i.e cam sensor

as for anything changed or fitting stereo its all the same as it always has been

went for a lap tonite with it pluged into a tech 1 machine (live readings from sensors) it came up with nothing and showed all sensors to be working perfectly to there exspected out puts but 1 thing that was strange is that when it cuts back it looses coms with the ecu its almost asif the ecu is looses power or something for a split second at certain revs

[Spudly]

See if you can get hold of another ecu for it mate sounds like your problem may lie in there?

[bmw156]

coil possibly breaking down under pressure....

[craig green]

edit: not sure if they have an earth srap from gearbox to chassis leg? think they do check that as well make suer its got a good connection

Barking up the right tree.

I would create an earth strap from the negative battery terminal to the alternator adjusting bracket. It wont be pretty but should rule out any short coming in the earth circuit.

I had a misfire that was like headbutting the windscreen on a GTE 16v Astra. After replacing many sensors & sorting ever connection on the car. It was just an earthing issue. It will run like a dream when sorted. Even the electric windows went up & down like they were race winners! :thumb:

[Ben]

It definately sounds like an earth, one of the only reasons that it would lose communication when driving.

[craig green]

So much current can be lost through the alternator adjustemt arm which is the alternators earthing route to the block.

XE's are terrible for this.

[Rich]

yeh i had so many problems on my old corsa, all because i had left the earth loose on the starter bolt (didnt have the right sock at the time of putting the loom on and forgot about it)

Diagnostics arent very clever on an xe, If the readings on tech 1 are within a certain range if wont show anything even when it should be reading higher. Has to be out of range for a certain time, hitting 4.5k and letting the revs drop wont always show up as a fault

[ste porter]

all earth cables been changed extra ones added and existing ones cleaned and ect new battery been fitted and this seams to have sorted the charging

its got a new coil ect and have got a different ecu on it and its still the same apart from this morning it started doing it a lot lower down the rev range and wont rev much past 2k! also the rev counter has just started flicking around and doing what it likes now aswell

i think im going to rip it out junk it and bung a v6 in it on the 4x4 running gear if i dont sort it soon as its now nearly un driveable

[Adam]

Have you changed the dizzy, as the hall sensor might be dodgy

[Ben]

Had this on a Calibra once and was the ignition wire on the back of the ignition barrel, if i slapped the cowling would cure it until i took it off and cleaned it up and rewired it.

[ste porter]

yeah have changed dizzy aswell will have a look at the ignition later

[ste porter]

sorted!!

head gasket has been subject to survailence from the day i got it due to water loss and presurising the coolent system this has been on the hit list along with many other jobs for the last month. the hessitation started about a week ago and as a result i passed it of as not beeing connected. any way done the gasket struck it up ran fine left it for a few mins to warm the oil ect for an oil change turned it of droped the oil toped it back up ect turned the ignition on and nothing. it was completly dead lights ect still work but wouldnt even give ignition lights!
pulled the coweling off to find remenace of an imobiliser shorting out traced all this riped it out reconected the ignition how it should be and of it went now has no hesitation its charging properly and runs sweet as thanks for your help guys

[bmw156]

nice one dude, now go rag it and say its a naughty car lol

[Spudly]

Spot on ste glad to hear youve sorted it, btw did you ever solve the 4x4 gremlins?

[ste porter]

oh its been cained alright

as for the 4x4 no i havent mate i havent even bothered looking into it yet been that raped up in getting the t63 and manifold ect sorted for the blue nova turbo and trying to get the cav actualy running its been put to 1 side mate as it drives fine as is when actualy running. it will be 1 to look into on a rainy day me thinks

[Spudly]

Well as i said before, my guess is the 4x4 ecu and my mate suggested the same straight away:thumb:

[let_nova]

sell it to me lol

[Adam]

Cav 4x4 setup is ghey anyway ;)