Cough Splutter just about made it home
Discussion
Hi All, My S2 dare I say it has been reliable engine wise during my 3 year ownership but today she decided to miss behave.
I left home to make the 60 mile trip to the south coast with a full tank of fuel all was going fine until an hour in to my journey when the engine started to cough and splutter.
Whilst cruising at 55-60 mph all was ok but as soon as I tried to accelerate the engine would stutter but as soon as I eased off all was ok again.
On my return journey home I really had to nurse her home and at one point I thought it was going to die completely.
As I slowed down at a mini roundabout the engine stalled but did start first go, when I tried to accelerate hard in second gear it was like my ignition was being turned off and on and at one point I had a backfire. With very gentle acceleration I managed to nurse her back home.
The tick over is now terrible so lumpy plus when I blip the throttle it takes over 10 seconds for my idle speed to drop back down.
Having searched the forum there seems to be so many likely causes.
I have no yellow connector! the ht leads, plugs cap are newish.
The coil was very hot to the touch almost scalding, is this normal?
So has anyone else experienced this?
I have never changed the fuel filter plus I see some owners have had issues with the fuel pickup pipe getting blocked from rust and sediment in the fuel tank, also fuel pump issues.
Fuel injector, MAF, ICV, so many possibles.
If anyone reading this has had the same symptoms I would appreciate your input at to where to start
I left home to make the 60 mile trip to the south coast with a full tank of fuel all was going fine until an hour in to my journey when the engine started to cough and splutter.
Whilst cruising at 55-60 mph all was ok but as soon as I tried to accelerate the engine would stutter but as soon as I eased off all was ok again.
On my return journey home I really had to nurse her home and at one point I thought it was going to die completely.
As I slowed down at a mini roundabout the engine stalled but did start first go, when I tried to accelerate hard in second gear it was like my ignition was being turned off and on and at one point I had a backfire. With very gentle acceleration I managed to nurse her back home.
The tick over is now terrible so lumpy plus when I blip the throttle it takes over 10 seconds for my idle speed to drop back down.
Having searched the forum there seems to be so many likely causes.
I have no yellow connector! the ht leads, plugs cap are newish.
The coil was very hot to the touch almost scalding, is this normal?
So has anyone else experienced this?
I have never changed the fuel filter plus I see some owners have had issues with the fuel pickup pipe getting blocked from rust and sediment in the fuel tank, also fuel pump issues.
Fuel injector, MAF, ICV, so many possibles.
If anyone reading this has had the same symptoms I would appreciate your input at to where to start
Various faults in the ignition system which lead to a weak spark will show up as a harsh misfire when you open the throttle. A problem with the throttle pot or load sensor which caused the engine to lean out when you open the throttle would also introduce a lean misfire. A lean misfire feels as if the engine is running very flat and well down on power even before it actually misfires.
Whatever when you make changes make notes - otherwise you will quickly forgot what you have done. If it makes no difference probably worth putting it back how it was.
Maybe worth leaving it alone and getting hold of the star tester thats floating around somewhere and start from there.
Oh and don't assume your new parts cannot be faulty!
Maybe worth leaving it alone and getting hold of the star tester thats floating around somewhere and start from there.
Oh and don't assume your new parts cannot be faulty!
When I return home tonight I will check pipes for leaks, test the coil, etc.
When I replaced the foam air filter I cleaned the AFM wires very carefully although they weren't to bad.
It was interesting reading a couple of posts regarding the fuel pickup filter being clogged by rust particles although I can rev the engine whilst stationary but not under load.
When I replaced the foam air filter I cleaned the AFM wires very carefully although they weren't to bad.
It was interesting reading a couple of posts regarding the fuel pickup filter being clogged by rust particles although I can rev the engine whilst stationary but not under load.
phillpot said:
When Norman "jumped ship" he entrusted it to me, available to anyone for the cost of postage.
If I have no luck with my basic tests tonight then I would like to take you up on the use of this tester, might need a pointer as to where you plug it in and how to translate the codes etc.I had a pretty similar probelm to this a couple of years ago. Mine would be fine on idle, just on acceleration, and often would drive ok for a short period. Towards the end though it did it all the time when accelerating and as a last resort the fuel pump would run continuosly. The star tester didn't come up with anything except a potential electrical probelm when doing the waggle test. In the end it turned out to be a combination of factors (both electrical). The yellow connector under the steering column (which I was told had been removed) was burnt through and some wiring had worn where the loom enters the bulkhead into the passenger compartment causing issues with the fuel pump relay. It was very hard to sort out but in the end all was fine. It required a lot of waggling of wires to find the culprits.
In my garage now and decided to start with testing the coil the resistance on the primary winding is 0.7 Steve Heath quotes 1.1 to 1.3 ohms
The secondary measured 4600 and Steve Heath quotes 7500 to 9590 ohms so is it possible this is the culprit especially as it gets very very hot?
I checked again but no yellow connector all has been hard wired and soldered. About to check fuel pump relay condition now
Just remembered I have Haynes Ford Sierra V6 Manual and the coil resistance values are not the same as Steve Heath. Haynes states Primary 0.72 to 0.86 ohms mine was 0.7 and secondary as 4.5 to 7.0 k ohms and nine was 4.6!!!!
Fuel pump relay diode wire looks ok too will post a photo later
The secondary measured 4600 and Steve Heath quotes 7500 to 9590 ohms so is it possible this is the culprit especially as it gets very very hot?
I checked again but no yellow connector all has been hard wired and soldered. About to check fuel pump relay condition now
Just remembered I have Haynes Ford Sierra V6 Manual and the coil resistance values are not the same as Steve Heath. Haynes states Primary 0.72 to 0.86 ohms mine was 0.7 and secondary as 4.5 to 7.0 k ohms and nine was 4.6!!!!
Fuel pump relay diode wire looks ok too will post a photo later
Edited by swimmer27 on Monday 26th March 18:24
My back dictates how long I can work on the car so in for the night. Not sure about the coil as the resistance readings are within limits of my Sierra V6 Haynes book, this is the one on the car
The fuel pump relay resister thing looked ok, wasn't loose and no corrosion.
So after checking the above I then pulled the large connector apart that sits underneath the coil laying against the o.s. rocker cover and although not bad there was some slight corrosion on the pins a powder like substance so I gave both sides a squirt of WD40.
I then went for a 15 drive even stopping in a lay-by to wait for the cooling fan to cut in and all seemed fine but and this is the big but all was fine on Sunday until 50 mile in to my journey so will have to wait until Sunday before I can go for a decent blast.
When I returned home I did lay down so I could touch the fuel pump and apart from a very slight hum / small vibration all seemed ok but I did notice the large fuel filter looks like it hasn't been changed in a very long time.
I'm sure I will be back to this post next Sunday. Coil was red hot again.
The fuel pump relay resister thing looked ok, wasn't loose and no corrosion.
So after checking the above I then pulled the large connector apart that sits underneath the coil laying against the o.s. rocker cover and although not bad there was some slight corrosion on the pins a powder like substance so I gave both sides a squirt of WD40.
I then went for a 15 drive even stopping in a lay-by to wait for the cooling fan to cut in and all seemed fine but and this is the big but all was fine on Sunday until 50 mile in to my journey so will have to wait until Sunday before I can go for a decent blast.
When I returned home I did lay down so I could touch the fuel pump and apart from a very slight hum / small vibration all seemed ok but I did notice the large fuel filter looks like it hasn't been changed in a very long time.
I'm sure I will be back to this post next Sunday. Coil was red hot again.
Any reputable motor factor (not corner car accessory shop)should be able to help, all parts common to 2.9i Granada.
After hundreds of trouble free miles around Europe and Scotland my fuel pump failed while making the two mile journey to the bodyshop few weeks ago. £93.17 with the Vat, fitted it then found out I'd got a brand new spare tucked away in the garage
No, its not for sale, bought cheap off Ebay, not tried or tested and its still my spare
phillpot said:
No, its not for sale, bought cheap off Ebay, not tried or tested and its still my spare
I had one of those. When I tried to use it, I found the electrics were wired back to front. And when I took it off to see what the 
was going on, the plastic hose tail snapped off. In hindsight, I guess there was probably a reason why it was on ebay and cheap. 
Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff