RayC

Rant about to start!

i paid nearly £600 quid with a supposedly knowledgeable company to fix a mis fire - this included a new MAF sensor, i've put new ignition leads on - genuine Subaru and the poxy car still mis fires

it only appears after maybe 2 hours running and is on light throttle, like when you slow for a bend or are stuck in traffic, the car fells sluggish and starts to mis then picks up and leaps forward, can anyone help me out i have given up with the last company and am fighting the urge to shout down the phone but will not go back, i have the car in with prosport on friday, but no check engine light is on and it takes a while to show up so i'm worried they wont find anything, it was ok again this morning but i only drive a short way to work, this is its last chance before i abandon it for something uninspiring like a golf

please help!!

greasemonkey

As things stand we'd be peeing in the wind Ray, as you've not really given us anything to go on. Simple stuff like the model year of car, list of mods etc. would be a good kickoff.

Best option for you would probably be to get matey with someone local who owns a DeltaDash, and get them in the car for a little run, as this will likely show up any sensor misreads etc.

The obvious suspect, once you've had the MAF sensor done, would be the lambda sensor. Beyond that, throttle position switch, or maybe idle speed control valve. As much information as you have would help us though.

yoza

Ray,
I think Sonic has a deltadash, he lives local, and hes a nice lad, so try giving him a shout.

RayC

Sorry! i'm so angry about it it slipped my mind!

The car is 98MY WRX type R V limited (non sti)33.000 miles

The Fault

After anything over 1 hours driving - not necessarily hard or brutal the car begins to mis fire at anything below 3000 rpm, it is not everytime you slow down but once it starts it only gets worse, it is usually on light throttle, exmaple in traffic 50mph in 4th or 5th very light throttle to keep with the flow, if you hold you foot in the smae place the car pops slows and surges then it will pick up and start to accelerate (even if you dont move your foot)

it is usually in gears 3-5 the car does go through it and feels ok higher up the rev range, it then does seem to occasionally pop and bang when you slow down.(only once it has started to mis fire)

if when it is misfireing and you stop in town the car idles happily at anywhere between 850 - 1000rpm

i have tried switching off the A/C during a mis fire and it makes no difference, if you watch the boost guage there is no fluctuation unless you get a big surge from the engine when you get a spike

I have changed the MAF and the leads, the spark plugs are HKS and less than 5,000 miles old

the next day when the car has been left over night i drove to work about 4 miles with no problems

I always use optimax and warm the car up in the morning, my daily drive is 4 miles to and from work with the occasional longer run on other days

Thanks for you help it is getting very depressing

RayC

anyone know how i can contact sonic?

Krade

click me

LIDDO

When did this start happening???? You say your plugs arnt that old? Did it happen before or after they were fitted??? Cos Ive heard of fault spark plugs, that arc a certain temps or revs! It could be one, ever so slighty faulty plug, or even HT lead

RayC

it started sometime after the plugs were fitted, a few thousand miles atleast, i have also changed all the HT leads

Carl2

DIstributer cap and rotor arm? Running weak on light throttle leading to det? blocked fuel filter/ injector? Dodgy sensor in the system somewhere?

Foot_Tapper

Plug gaps ??

Not sure if coils couldnt cause this.

Correct me if way out here but isnt "Pop n Bangs" unburnt fuel igniting in the exhaust. If so u wouldnt be running lean,.. would u ??
U say 2 hrs running, so could be heat related to a component.
which could point to coil pack , instead of plug gap.

I have had an idle control valve problem, symptom was engine idles constantly higher than normal
MAF symptom ....from threads i have read, is a fluctuating idle.
not sure about the Lamda symptoms.
Well thats my 2p , hope it is of some use.

RayC

doesn't have a distributor or rotor arm!

i figure if it was running lean it would have blown up quite while ago as i am hard one it sometimes, i hope the aforementioned supposedly good garage changed the filter as i did have the cambelt done and it was a big bill for the service, i will ring them now

does anyone else have any input i am feeling slightly better now as there seems some light at the end of the tunnel

RayC

Thanks Chaps

i have managed to book it in with Prosport on Friday

I'm making a stab in the dark but i suspect that coils would not show up on a fault code, where a lamda sensor would show out of range, Sonic has kindly agreed to help but has to check if his diagnostics work on a 98MY

i agree it is not lean and the idle seems ok, does anyone have any handy ideas on how to check the coils, i dont really have any ideas and dont want to start spending more cash chasing it round the car changing coils and the lamnda sensor

Thnaks again, i know i would not be happy with a golf!

matty01

You may want to try cleaning the boost solenoid ,i've no idea if it may be that but it's easy to do and once cleaned can be elliminated from the list of probable causes,it just may help...
http://www2.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/thread.asp?ThreadID=244335

*Sonic*

Ive just checked on Delta Dash's website and it only works on MY99 cars onwards

Otherwise I would have been glad to help

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Had a similar thing on a Mk11 Lotus Cortina some years ago(!!!!!!), and it was traced to a dodgy plug. Then the same thing on the old guy's Mk111 cortina GXL.
Worth as look.
Alcazar

RayC

Thanks Chaps

i will have the plugs changed as a matter of course as it is relatively cheap

I have looked at how to clean the boost solenoid, it does state that is is for a MY99 car and mine is MY98 i'm not a huge fan of connectting wires together when unsure!!!

could someone confirm it is ok to do this??

Thanks again, and thanks to Sonic for your delta dash checking

Ray

ZIPPY

First thing to do is bin the HKS plugs as you have said you have had them in 5000 miles but only do short journeys to work, if they are the iridium plugs then unless you are running high power and boost levels then they are not the best.
Put the NGK plugs in, with the correct setting and see how it goes.

The plugs is always the first place to look with a misfire as they are reasonably cheap and easy to change and also give the same fault you have described.

Zippy

RayC

Boost is 1.2 bar when you nail it and drops to about 1.1 when you are accellerating

is it ok to use NGK plugs in this case?

RayC

anyone know if i can use the same process for cleaning the boost solenoid??

ZIPPY

Yes Ray the NGK's will be fine,PFR6B'S if i'm correct,get them from sparkplugs.co.uk (Cheapest anywhere).
If you are unsure about connecting the dash sockets together to cycle your boost solenoid then just take it off the car and clean the unit itself and all the pipes leading from it with some brake cleaner.

Zippy

[Edited by ZIPPY - 9/16/2003 4:38:06 PM]

RayC

i've got some Solvo 4000 which is a solvent de greaser

i take it a good squirt down the pipe hole should cure it!!

is there any benefit in connecting the wires as i would like to do a proper job.

RRH

using the connectors cycles the solenoid, so you make sure the whole thing is cleaned right through.

RayC

is it the same on my 98 import as the my99 described in the link? i don't want to goose up something else and add more money to my repair bill

i'm also unsure which green and black wires are they loose connectors? i've found loads of conncectors that are not plugged in!

dont really want to permanantly reset the engine ECU or something!!

RayC

anyone know anymore before i try to clean it without conncecting wires??
Thanks to veryone who has helped so far it is much appreciated

Rich Curtis

If its the green and black wires for an ecu reset then it also works on UK 97.

I know its not the same model as yours but at least it would show its not just MY99.

Rich

Mike Tuckwood

Sounds like a spark plug or coil pack problem?

Mike

HELLOM8

On my MY96 UK Turbo, its not the actual wires that are black a green, its the connector blocks.
You should find 2 black blocks that will connect together and 2 green blocks that will connect together.
I found other connectors under the steering but only 2 pairs would physically click together.
Also I found that the connector were taped up and I had to remove the tap to get at them.
Cheers.
Ian.

HELLOM8

Could be a coil pack issue as said:-
Have a look at this post about coil packs if the bcs cleaning don't work.
coilpacks
Cheers.
Ian.



[Edited by HELLOM8 - 9/17/2003 1:25:12 PM]

Turbo_Steve

If it's misfiring it is electrical.

You don't have a distributor: EJ20t uses fully electronic ignition.
As mentioned, your cars behaviour is typical of a faulty coilpack(s). One of them is probably cracked.

Failing that, change HT leads (you already have) and replace spark-plugs (Go with the NGKs for now)

If THAT doesn't fix it, then you may not actually be misfiring...you may have a faulty lambda sensor, causing your fuelling to be all over the place. If this is faulty it tends to suffer atfer "spirited driving" and take a fair while to cool down. Sonic had problems with his: he will be able to direct you towards a cheap replacement.

If THAT is no good, then you will need to get your car on a Select monitor and get the cam & crank sensors checked, timings, etc.

That's the order I'd go thru fixing, anyway.

RayC

Thanks

i am begining to see light at the end of the tunnel

i will change the plugs anyway as it rules it out, then it is down to the coils or lamda which should show up

i'm still angry i have lost so much money after the garage charged me for the MAF and didnt do a proper job, i think i may go back