93 Esprit loses power
Discussion
My 93 Esprit suddenly lost power when driving on the highway. Suddenly, it wouldn't rev up and was hard to get moving from a stop. The turbo no longer appeared to be engaging and the boost gauge showed relatively little movement regardless of gas pedal position or engine revs. The car has always run well and has about 40K kilometers on it. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Just adding to the list...
A clogged fuel filter will produce a similar lack of performance. It's easily accessible and inexpensive.
If the fuel pump quits, the engine won't run. If the pump just loses efficiency and the pressure is down, the ECU will go to safe mode. The engine will idle, but it won't make much power. There's a Schrader Valve (looks like a tire valve stem) at the back of the fuel rail. Connect a fuel pressure gauge there and switch the fuel pump on. There should be 45psi. A small loss of pressure will trigger safe mode.
The flex hose that connects the turbo outlet to the chargecooler can blow off if the hose clamp is loose. That's an easy check.
The inner lining of the inlet flex duct from the airbox to the turbo can delaminate. The engine will idle just fine, but as the airflow picks up off idle, the lining sucks inward, choking off the duct. I've seen that happen a few times. The first time it stopped a friend's Esprit cold during a track day. It stopped a lot of knowledgeable people for a couple of days before someone noticed the duct twitch just a little as the throttle was opened.
Does the engine idle smoothly? If so, that rules out a dead coil pack or fuel injector. Lose one coil or one injector and the engine runs on just two cylinders. In that case it chugs and runs very rough.
If it does seem to be running on two cylinders, then pull the spark plug wires off one at a time, noting changes in how the engine runs. If the engine runs worse or quits, then that plug was working until you disconnected it. If there's no significant change in how the engine runs, then that plug wasn't firing. If only one plug isn't firing, then suspect the plug itself or the high-tension wire. If plug pairs 1 & 4, or 2 & 3 are both not firing, then suspect the coil pack.
Similarly pull the electrical connections off the fuel injectors one at a time. If the engine runs worse, that injector was function until you unplugged it. If the engine actually runs better, then that injector is fried. The injectors are wired in pairs (1-4 and 2-3), and when one burns out it takes it's partner offline with it. Unplug the bad one and that frees it's partner to start working again, so the engine runs better. Still down one cylinder, but better.
Do you have access to Freescan. A trouble code print-out would be very helpful. A relatively minor glitch can cause the ECU to go into safe mode.
Good luck,
Tim Engel
A clogged fuel filter will produce a similar lack of performance. It's easily accessible and inexpensive.
If the fuel pump quits, the engine won't run. If the pump just loses efficiency and the pressure is down, the ECU will go to safe mode. The engine will idle, but it won't make much power. There's a Schrader Valve (looks like a tire valve stem) at the back of the fuel rail. Connect a fuel pressure gauge there and switch the fuel pump on. There should be 45psi. A small loss of pressure will trigger safe mode.
The flex hose that connects the turbo outlet to the chargecooler can blow off if the hose clamp is loose. That's an easy check.
The inner lining of the inlet flex duct from the airbox to the turbo can delaminate. The engine will idle just fine, but as the airflow picks up off idle, the lining sucks inward, choking off the duct. I've seen that happen a few times. The first time it stopped a friend's Esprit cold during a track day. It stopped a lot of knowledgeable people for a couple of days before someone noticed the duct twitch just a little as the throttle was opened.
Does the engine idle smoothly? If so, that rules out a dead coil pack or fuel injector. Lose one coil or one injector and the engine runs on just two cylinders. In that case it chugs and runs very rough.
If it does seem to be running on two cylinders, then pull the spark plug wires off one at a time, noting changes in how the engine runs. If the engine runs worse or quits, then that plug was working until you disconnected it. If there's no significant change in how the engine runs, then that plug wasn't firing. If only one plug isn't firing, then suspect the plug itself or the high-tension wire. If plug pairs 1 & 4, or 2 & 3 are both not firing, then suspect the coil pack.
Similarly pull the electrical connections off the fuel injectors one at a time. If the engine runs worse, that injector was function until you unplugged it. If the engine actually runs better, then that injector is fried. The injectors are wired in pairs (1-4 and 2-3), and when one burns out it takes it's partner offline with it. Unplug the bad one and that frees it's partner to start working again, so the engine runs better. Still down one cylinder, but better.
Do you have access to Freescan. A trouble code print-out would be very helpful. A relatively minor glitch can cause the ECU to go into safe mode.
Good luck,
Tim Engel
Edited by Esprit2 on Saturday 31st May 19:12
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