K. It started yesterday - I went out to my car after work and it was dead. No big deal, got a jump start.
It died on the entrance to the highway. No good. Managed to get a jump, and kept the RPMs above 2k for the entire trip to the auto parts store by my house, where I took the battery in and discovered it was *toast* - dropped to 1-2v under load. Replaced battery. When I was driving it, it lacked some power, but generally drove fine. Today, it started fine, got me to work fine, and I needed to run a computer somewhere. Died on me getting onto the highway (same damn ramp). It wouldn't start - I'd turn the key, hear the starter click, voltmeter would drop to 8V or so, and not enough power to turn things over. It finally got back enough juice to start, and I was able to get it back to my office. Unfortunately, this time, it had *no* power - idle below 1000 RPM is very lumpy, and it took slipping the clutch at 3000 RPM to get me going, wide open throttle at 4k RPM kept me at 30mph or so. Not good. Not good at all. The exhaust at idle is very "pulsing" and there's clearly a lot of fuel getting sent out the exhaust - the afterburning was just horrid while I was driving. It gets smooth over 2000 RPM, but still has no power. I came back, pulled the plugs, and found the rear leading plug was fouled. I replaced all 4 plugs. Still the same thing - terrible idle, no power at all. It's also hesitating when I stomp on the throttle - it dies for a second, then begins winding up slowly. I suspected the leading coil wasn't firing well, so I tried starting it on the trailing plugs only. It ran, but not quite as well. Also, the leading coils arc with the wire disconnected, so they're at least generating something. I also tried regrounding the engine with a set of jumper cables, from a bolt on the engine to the frame. It didn't help, and the existing grounding wire still looks fine (I know it sucks, but that's a problem for a later date). I haven't checked compression, but from my understanding, an engine with a blown apex seal still runs once the RPMs get up - and still has some amount of power. Mine has no power. At this point, I'm out of ideas other than "limp to an auto shop, pay more than the car is worth for them to fix it." Unfortunately, I need a car for work, or I'd just bike to work while I was screwing with it. Help? I'd really like to go home, with my car if possible. -=Russ=- |
Sounds like the alternator is done bro.
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Alternator or plug wires. Easy fix, and not too time consuming.
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Hm. Alternator seems to work, though I'm not 100% sure. Would a bad alternator seriously cause severe problems running? Also, is there an easy way to test it?
I tried running it on the leading & trailing plugs - it runs on both, so apparently both are at least firing. However, it's pretty clear that not a lot of gas is burning based on the exhaust smell. I also tried resetting the ECU by cutting power & hitting the brake pedal a few times, no joy. -=Russ=- |
Originally Posted by 1gendreemer' date='Jun 9 2004, 05:00 PM
Sounds like the alternator is done bro.
Seems like the alternator is fine. :-/ The plug wires are only 3 months old, and I can't imagine all 4 would be bad. I'm getting a ride home & leaving the car at a local car shop my coworker's brother works at. *sigh* Hopefully it can be fixed for under $1000. Hopefully it's not a blown apex seal. -=Russ=- |
Originally Posted by Syonyk' date='Jun 9 2004, 09:21 PM
12.7v battery voltage when idle, 14.1v when running.
Seems like the alternator is fine. :-/ The plug wires are only 3 months old, and I can't imagine all 4 would be bad. I'm getting a ride home & leaving the car at a local car shop my coworker's brother works at. *sigh* Hopefully it can be fixed for under $1000. Hopefully it's not a blown apex seal. -=Russ=- Are you losing power if you turn on your headlights, or use turn signals, turn on interior lights, change the track on a cd, or change the radio station? |
Erm... never mind. Rebuild time.
Pull front plug & turn over: "Chuff Chuff Chuff" Pull rear plug & turn over: "... ... ..pip" *sigh* -=Russ=- |
That really sucks Russ... I hope you get your stuff working again.
P.S. I saw that car for sale and I'm glad I didn't buy it:doh: I do feel your pain though... my truck was out of commission for about a month, and having no transportation sucks. Hope the seven gets well soon! |
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wow, an n/a with a blown apex seal...how many miles on it? |
Wow, that's terrible. It really sounded like just something electrical at first, but reading back over it, that's exactly what happened when I blew my motor too... It does happen on NA's! Seriously sorry man... https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub..._DIR#>/sad.png
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Originally Posted by Baldy' date='Jun 10 2004, 04:37 AM
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wow, an n/a with a blown apex seal...how many miles on it? It had just over 120k on it. However, the first two owners were women. So, I doubt it ever saw redline. Both 6th port actuators were completely seized. The air pump was seized up too, and the belt had been removed (as well as the A/C belt - though replacing the belt & logicon led to the AC working perfectly). *sigh* $2k for a new engine, $1k or so for the install... more than I paid for the damn car in the first place. Ouch. I'd rebuild it myself if I had the time/tools, but I have only the first, but I need the car working soon. Living in a basement for the summer on an internship. -=Russ=- |
Damn, that really sucks. If you were still in Ames I'd offer to pull the engine for you...maybe there's someone in your area that could help with that.
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AFter seeing first hand how my female friends drive/take care of their cars, I would never buy a car from a chick again, although I guess lots of guys have this problem as well.
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my first n/a only made it to 81k miles, but it was an automatic with a 50 year old woman owner. the 2nd one is running great at 88k
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