Corsa GSi every problem u can think of
Discussion
I have a 94 corsa gsi 16v - and am having major problems with it. I have just paid out to have a new ignition coil and starter motor as my car was miss firing and not having any engine power above 20mph. aparantly it was only firing off one spark plug and it is susposed to fire off two.
so anyway I had all this fixed - pick it up yesterday drove five mins round the corner and bang it starts to mis fire again and has exactly the same problems as before!!!!
My mehcanic thinks that my car is burning out the ignition coils - please can anyone tell me why it is doing this?? Am I looking in the wrong place could it be my ecu?? Is the car ready to be scrapped?? I am at my witts end so all comments would be greatly appreciated.
so anyway I had all this fixed - pick it up yesterday drove five mins round the corner and bang it starts to mis fire again and has exactly the same problems as before!!!!
My mehcanic thinks that my car is burning out the ignition coils - please can anyone tell me why it is doing this?? Am I looking in the wrong place could it be my ecu?? Is the car ready to be scrapped?? I am at my witts end so all comments would be greatly appreciated.
I know my plugs are right and the wiring loom was all replaced about a month ago - I havent had anybody look at the ecu though - so will check.
before all this started I had an idling problem being that my car would sit at 2000 revs, now with this other problem my car can barely reach 1000 revs and when I force it it doesnt sound too good !!! (sorry for the descriptions - u'll have to bare with me - I'm female !!!!)
I gather to find out if I have cam/crank faults I need to conect it to that machine??
I have just found on another site something about TDC sensors - do you think it could be this?
before all this started I had an idling problem being that my car would sit at 2000 revs, now with this other problem my car can barely reach 1000 revs and when I force it it doesnt sound too good !!! (sorry for the descriptions - u'll have to bare with me - I'm female !!!!)
I gather to find out if I have cam/crank faults I need to conect it to that machine??
I have just found on another site something about TDC sensors - do you think it could be this?
TDC (top dead center) would be determined by the crank shaft position sensor, so yes i'd say it's the same.
I'd recommend the car is scanned for trouble codes, any vxl dealer can do it with their TEC2 before spending any more cash on random parts.
Did the garage who fitted the coil pack check the plug leads?
How does the car run from cold?
I'd recommend the car is scanned for trouble codes, any vxl dealer can do it with their TEC2 before spending any more cash on random parts.
Did the garage who fitted the coil pack check the plug leads?
How does the car run from cold?
yep he checked the plug leads - he is checking the ecu this week.
It used to be fine on cold mornings till a few weeks ago when it refused to start so I had to jump it. Since then on cold mornings it sometimes took longer to turn over and drove a bit 'jerky' for a few mins and then it was fine.
It used to be fine on cold mornings till a few weeks ago when it refused to start so I had to jump it. Since then on cold mornings it sometimes took longer to turn over and drove a bit 'jerky' for a few mins and then it was fine.
poor starting in the cold could be caused by either poor quality ignition sparks or an incorrect fuel charge within the cylinder.
we've established the coil pack has been replaced and i'm guessing it was with a new part, so that should be ok,the plugs and leads also.
On the ignition side, that only leaves us with the switching circuits, a fault in this area will be found with the ecu code scan, as the sensors used also provide information for the engines fuelling and control.
if it was a vehicle I was looking at, i'd be making sure that
Basic timing is OK
filters/ht components are good
No diagnostic trouble codes within the management system
no blockages within the exhaust (especially the cat...if a failed cat is found..make sure they look at why it failed, it's usually down to un burnt fuel getting to it)
If nothing springs to light after those quick checks, it's time to look deeper at fuel pressure and whats happening when it is running, poor injector performance, incorrect readings from sensors which may still be within self test limits.
Good luck with it.
we've established the coil pack has been replaced and i'm guessing it was with a new part, so that should be ok,the plugs and leads also.
On the ignition side, that only leaves us with the switching circuits, a fault in this area will be found with the ecu code scan, as the sensors used also provide information for the engines fuelling and control.
if it was a vehicle I was looking at, i'd be making sure that
Basic timing is OK
filters/ht components are good
No diagnostic trouble codes within the management system
no blockages within the exhaust (especially the cat...if a failed cat is found..make sure they look at why it failed, it's usually down to un burnt fuel getting to it)
If nothing springs to light after those quick checks, it's time to look deeper at fuel pressure and whats happening when it is running, poor injector performance, incorrect readings from sensors which may still be within self test limits.
Good luck with it.
Nighthawk has covered pretty much everything common.
Notice you said you jumped it? Theres a very minor chance that this could have damaged one or more components within the ECU.
I'd say from the description (poor cold start/start condition, inability to rev cleanly/at all) that the ECU is in limp home/default value mode due to a sensor fault - more than likely a failed CPS (crank posistion sensor) often refered to as TDC sensor (although its not as it supplies information on the actual crank posistion rather than just when it is a TDC).
Idling problem could well have been a sticky ICV which I doubt is linked to your current problem.
If your around Hinckley/Leicester/Coventry drop me a mail and I'll have a butchers at it.
Matt
>> Edited by matt_t16 on Tuesday 15th February 22:13
Notice you said you jumped it? Theres a very minor chance that this could have damaged one or more components within the ECU.
I'd say from the description (poor cold start/start condition, inability to rev cleanly/at all) that the ECU is in limp home/default value mode due to a sensor fault - more than likely a failed CPS (crank posistion sensor) often refered to as TDC sensor (although its not as it supplies information on the actual crank posistion rather than just when it is a TDC).
Idling problem could well have been a sticky ICV which I doubt is linked to your current problem.
If your around Hinckley/Leicester/Coventry drop me a mail and I'll have a butchers at it.
Matt
>> Edited by matt_t16 on Tuesday 15th February 22:13
The wiring loom was replaced due to my engine managment light coming on all the time for no reason, autolec (the car electric company I took it to) said that the wiring loom and the wiring around the ecu was tatty and needed replacing - I paid out nearly £200 for it !!!
It all started when my light came on and the faults read - throttle position sensor. I had this replace and within a week the light came on again and registered the same fault. So my mechanic told me to get the wiring checked, so thats when I took it to autolec.
After they had it it seemed fine, occassionally the light would come on and go straight back off again but autolec siad that this was alright as it needed to be on for at least 2 secs for it to register a fault. So I kept driving it and all was well, untill it started idiling at 2000 revs. A week later my coil pack goes and we are now at the present day !!
It all started when my light came on and the faults read - throttle position sensor. I had this replace and within a week the light came on again and registered the same fault. So my mechanic told me to get the wiring checked, so thats when I took it to autolec.
After they had it it seemed fine, occassionally the light would come on and go straight back off again but autolec siad that this was alright as it needed to be on for at least 2 secs for it to register a fault. So I kept driving it and all was well, untill it started idiling at 2000 revs. A week later my coil pack goes and we are now at the present day !!
ickleady said:
Thanks everyone - I'm off to look into everything you have suggested and will let you know the outcome.
MATT - I am actually in Rugby - would you consider this area?
No problem Rugby is only just up the A5 from our base. Drop me a mail (m(AT)faulksperformance.com (replace (AT) with @)) and we'll sort something out. I'll bring the meter and scope
If its a CPS issue its easy to spot, even without TECH2, by the trace it gives on the scope. Matt
lanciachris said:
Dont rule out components just because they are fresh. My money is on the wiring loom replacement being botched. Why was it replaced?
Im with you on this one. Could well be incorrectly fitted with a chafed wire or two, or maybe some component/earth lead from it not grounded correctly.
When you said 'they checked the plug wires' do you mean they replaced them?
I had a friend at uni with a corsa doing similar stuff. I told him to change the HT leads (plug leads) and he said they'd been "checked".
The problem went on for weeks and many hundreds of pounds till in desparation he finally changed the leads. Hey presto. Worked fine.
It's probably not that simple in this case, but I thought I'd best bring it to your attention just in case...
I had a friend at uni with a corsa doing similar stuff. I told him to change the HT leads (plug leads) and he said they'd been "checked".
The problem went on for weeks and many hundreds of pounds till in desparation he finally changed the leads. Hey presto. Worked fine.
It's probably not that simple in this case, but I thought I'd best bring it to your attention just in case...
hello everyone
Well my little car still isnt working. Since I last posted it has been to vauxhall on their engine analiser thingy and it told me sweet f a !! They told me could be a number of things - timing belt (checked), Cylinders/pistons sticking (checked) still nothing someone reckons it might be taking in air from somewhere - Any suggestions
Vauxhall want to take the head off ??
Well my little car still isnt working. Since I last posted it has been to vauxhall on their engine analiser thingy and it told me sweet f a !! They told me could be a number of things - timing belt (checked), Cylinders/pistons sticking (checked) still nothing someone reckons it might be taking in air from somewhere - Any suggestions
Vauxhall want to take the head off ??
I'd still say wiring loom or failed CPS - especialy as a failing CPS usualy works fine for a few mins until its gets temperature into it - then it breaks down and the signal goes to pot.
Do you know why they want to take the head off? Compression test and/or endoscope down the plug holes would tell them pretty much all they needed to know.
Matt
Do you know why they want to take the head off? Compression test and/or endoscope down the plug holes would tell them pretty much all they needed to know.
Matt
Got to agree with Matt here
You say the cylinders/pistons have been checked.
If they carried out a cylinder leakage test with the engine both cold and hot, I'm sure it'll turn up with little more than a clean bill of health on the base engine front.
I'm still thinking along the lines of something electronic getting hot and breaking down, do you know if the secondary ignition components have been checked on a scope?
Proper plug Kv figures during the misfire period would be handy.
An air leak after the throttle plate can usually be detected by spraying either wd40 or a *little* easi start around the inlet manifold, if it's drawing air it'll increase the RPM as it burns this extra fuel.......take care not spray flammable substances on to hot engine parts...it's not good for the eyebrows
If it were timing be it caused by a slack belt or a jumped tooth, the mis would be there all the time and i'd suspect the cam sensor would have shown a fault code because it wouldn't be syncronised with the crank.
You say the cylinders/pistons have been checked.
If they carried out a cylinder leakage test with the engine both cold and hot, I'm sure it'll turn up with little more than a clean bill of health on the base engine front.
I'm still thinking along the lines of something electronic getting hot and breaking down, do you know if the secondary ignition components have been checked on a scope?
Proper plug Kv figures during the misfire period would be handy.
An air leak after the throttle plate can usually be detected by spraying either wd40 or a *little* easi start around the inlet manifold, if it's drawing air it'll increase the RPM as it burns this extra fuel.......take care not spray flammable substances on to hot engine parts...it's not good for the eyebrows
If it were timing be it caused by a slack belt or a jumped tooth, the mis would be there all the time and i'd suspect the cam sensor would have shown a fault code because it wouldn't be syncronised with the crank.
I think I'm being made a fool of by my mechanic - at the moment he has stripped my engine down and is telling me that me that me inlet manifold (I think ) is sucking air and this is causing my engine to misfire. This is costing another £200 !!!
Please - If i take it to a car electritian what do I tell him to look for??
Or shall I just srap the car.
Please - If i take it to a car electritian what do I tell him to look for??
Or shall I just srap the car.
Hello again
well its costing me £250 because he has changed all my gaskets, valves, seals, and manifold. He says it was definatly sucking air. I cant tell you if this has fixed the problem cause he hasn't managed to put it back together yet!
My engine compressions are 160 to 170. And vauxhall managed to get my idle revs down to 1000 where as before it was 2000 - 2500.
well its costing me £250 because he has changed all my gaskets, valves, seals, and manifold. He says it was definatly sucking air. I cant tell you if this has fixed the problem cause he hasn't managed to put it back together yet!
My engine compressions are 160 to 170. And vauxhall managed to get my idle revs down to 1000 where as before it was 2000 - 2500.
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