Misfire Diagnosis ?

[Andy JB]

My Chim 500 having passed the MOT last week, it was a bit touch & go whether it would pass the emissions test. Apart from the fact the engine was cold after standing idle for an hour & half, the tester suggested it could be a mis-fire.

The question is how do I know there is an issue? Surely you would tell if you wern't receiving a full compliment of cyliders. The car seems to run fine without any hesitation & plenty of power. So could i have a misfire & not be aware of it & could i be being robbed of an even wider grin while i am blistfully unaware of a potential misfire ?

[touching cloth]

If he was just guessing at a misfire because of your emissions then I would not worry about it - don't imagine that 500's are that emission friendly anyway so always going to be close. If it drives fine and pulls cleanly (especially under load, try it under low revs in a high gear) then doubt you have any probs. All IMHO of course.

Edited by touching cloth on Friday 3rd August 12:27

[350Matt]

One of the best ways to tell if a cylinder hasn't been firing is to take it for a spin then take a look under the bonnet with one of those infra-red temperature guns ( maplins now sell 'em for 40 quid) point it at each of the manifold pipes just as it exits the head which should all be more or less the same temperature ( with the engine running)

any cylinder which isn't running will show up as a lot colder than the rest

Matt