My Car Hates Me :(

[kate205gti 4]

fitted a rebuilt block and new gearbox and skimmed head on my mi16, put it all back together and started it after a few mishaps (ate its clutch, etc..)

 

so ran it up last night, bled the radiator and drove it 20 odd miles fines, popping a bit on let off and idle going up and down between 1.5 and 2k

 

bled the coolant a bit more this morning and checked the blue connector plug on the side of the head to see if thats why it was popping flames/overfuelling (thanks doug!) - one of the wires in this connector had come out so fudged another one in for now with the intention of sorting it properly at lunchtime

 

drove to work ok trying to vary revs, etc.. stalled a couple of times at roundabouts and had to bump start it but apart from that was behaving (still popping though), got into the town I work in (about 11miles) and the revs start climbing.. get over the traffic lights and they shoot through the roof so I pull over into bus stop and cut the engine and check the throttle cable and the butterflys and that blue connector - all appear to be ok but when you start the car even with no throttle the revs shoot up to 4k!!

 

I managed to get it the last few hundred yards to work using the clutch and the brake and abandoned it in the basement car park but with no feet on the pedals it was accelerating!! braked and it revved right up until you dipped the clutch, behaved for a few seconds then did it again

 

Im *hoping* it hasnt done any damage to the engine (was warmed up by this point) but im at a complete loss now! why the feck is it doing this? and why now?!?

 

any possible causes or reasons please before I buy a fiat panda or something

[ashley peddle 3]

i did notice lastnight that the throttle cable is very sensative. is there anychance that it could be catching on the tube that protects it?

 

or maybe the damp has got to it? not sure if its electrical or mechanical but the weather is **** at the moment and could be causing a problem? (considering it was in dry for a month!?)

 

hope you get it sorted

Edited March 8, 2006 by ashley peddle

[GLPoomobile 958]

Your car's not called Christine, is it?

[kate205gti 4]

nah is called momo

 

 

The blue ecu plug had one wire unattached when I checked this morning but must have been unattached last night and it drove home ok (idle up and down between 1.5-2k), I fudged a new wire in there this morning and it drove ok from cold (although stalling a couple of times at roundabouts), the wire was still in there when I pulled over and checked and the engine was still popping from cold

 

The revs shoot up even when you start the car with no throttle so I dont think its the cable (although it could stick on WOT I think - just hasnt got that far yet!)

 

I put the filter on so couldnt see the butterflys too well but I felt with my finger and they all seemed to open and close ok - will take the filter off at lunch to double check though

 

No laptop at work im afraid

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

You only need a tiny amount of throttle opening at rest for it to rev to 4000rpm and drive itself; it MUST be a throttle opening issue somewhere, either the butterflies are sticking open or the cable is. Does it have an idle control valve?

[d-9 0]

Im with C_W on this one, because to rev it must be getting both air and fuel:

-if it was an ecu/electrical issue it would just dump in fuel but not get the air because the butterflys would be closed

-if it was an air leak between the manifold and head or bodies and manifold, it would get air but not fuel, because the ecu wouldnt have detected the extra air flow (unless its MAP based??)

[benje 0]

Manifold air leak anywhere?

[d-9 0]

Yes, but that would cause it to run lean and would die below 3000rpm...

[Anthony 1,003]

Yes, but that would cause it to run lean and would die below 3000rpm...

Not if it was also running rich, which it sounds like it is from the popping and banging on overrun...

[jackherer 543]

I had a problem recently with a standard Mi16 intermittantly over revving to anything from 1500 to 2700 that was caused by a combination of a leaking throttle body manifold and a knackered throttle position switch.

[Alastairh 47]

It jumping to 4000 revs does give me thoughts of a manifold/major leak in past experience.

 

Check you have no leaks Kate.

 

Alastair

[kate205gti 4]

cheers going to go play in the basement in a mo!

 

where would the air leak be from - just the manifold/tbs? no wd40 at work but got some 3into1 something or other (no idea!) would that do or should i walk to the shops first?

 

will try and fix that blue plug properly but no solder either!! any other ideas/suggestions please let me know

[jackherer 543]

will try and fix that blue plug properly but no solder either!! any other ideas/suggestions please let me know

 

the combination of an air leak and rich running due to an issue with the ecu water temp sensor could easily cause this.

[kate205gti 4]

hopefully is all it is and easy fix then stoopid cars doing my head in now!

 

thanks v much for all the replies

[hman205 1]

id go buy some carb cleaner in an areosole and give it a spray round the inlet to head join betting the revs will suddenly rise cause theres a leak there

 

Well its the usual place anyways!!

[Alastairh 47]

I Would be tempted to take the manifold off and re join all the seals with new gasket stuff.

Edited March 8, 2006 by Alastairh

[Guest clarky205]

I had a problem on my last outing in the rally car, the throttle jamed open and the cured itself after scaring the S**t out of me.

Check the throttle cable where is comes through the bulkhead to the pedal, on mine there is a grommet on the inside that holds the outer sheath of the cable in place on the bulkhead. This had come off and the outer cable was moving out and catching on the bulkhead thus holding the throttle partially open. Took five mins to sort out at service but was bloody scary on stage!!

[kate205gti 4]

id go buy some carb cleaner in an areosole and give it a spray round the inlet to head join betting the revs will suddenly rise cause theres a leak there

but i dont want the revs to rise any more - they already through the roof!

 

the manifold is on the head with instant gasket AND a brand new inlet manifold gasket, and the bodies are on the manifold with a load of instant gasket (hermatite universal blue stuff)

 

will check the tps connections as well but cant see a thing in the basement so need to wait till after work and come back with a torch and better tools!

[Robsbc 0 1 Cars]

cheers going to go play in the basement in a mo!

 

where would the air leak be from - just the manifold/tbs? no wd40 at work but got some 3into1 something or other (no idea!) would that do or should i walk to the shops first?

 

will try and fix that blue plug properly but no solder either!! any other ideas/suggestions please let me know

 

 

Karl mentioned on a email some time ago they had issues with your Puma Racing throttle bodies linkage and wasn't perfect when you left Emerald. He said it still needed sorting....

 

Did you disturb the throttle bodies from the manifold? Make your you reset the throttle pot

[kate205gti 4]

i just been in the basement and checked all the connections again - couldnt see anything obvious apart from the blue sensor

 

i cant fix it properly without solder/steady hand but ive put insulating tape round it and squidged the wire right into the connector

 

the car idles dead on 1k from cold - obviously didnt let it idle for too long but couldnt hear any air leaks and ive used more insulating tape (fixes everything!) to try and secure the throttle cable so it hopefully cant pop out and get jammed (seemed ok when i was pressing the pedal without the engine running)

 

rob my bodies where a pitb to set up and i think probably still need some fine tuning - i did take bits of them off to polish them so may have disturbed something, but as set it idles ok from cold now

 

its essentially the same engine and setup as before so hopefully nothing needs resetting on the ecu but how do you reset the throttle pot?

 

cheers!

[RHULPUG 0]

Recently I've had a few issues with my throttle cable. Keeps staying in the open position allowing the revs to rise when the clutch is pressed. I spayed some WD40 on the TB throttle spring clips and it seems to have stopped....worth a try!?

[kate205gti 4]

cheers that might have been a culprit!

 

just driven it home (11miles mainly country lanes with a few villages/roundabouts) and its idling on about 1300rpm on my drive and the temp is half way up the gauge

 

so either it was the throttle cable and the insulating tape fixed it, it was the temp sensor wiring (and the insulating tape fixed it) or i if i carried on driving it it would carry on rising and nothings fixed it (paranoid mode!)

 

going to have some dinner and then take it down the workshop for an oil change and fix the wire properly and lubricate the spring clips so fingers crossed it wont do it again!!

[d-9 0]

I am so using insulating tape for my next head gasket

[kate205gti 4]

ive soldered the wire into the temp sensor and got another 100miles on it last night with no probs so looks like it was that wire to the blue sensor (i pulled it out when it was idling in the workshop to see what happened and revs went whooosh!)

 

lucky we now have a huge stack of insulating tape in the workshop now after a bulk buy on ebay lol - now just need more zip ties!

[Anthony 1,003]

Glad you've sorted it

 

Still somewhat suprised that the ECU temp sensor alone would cause the issues you're seeing, unless there is also an airleak somewhere or it's setup to run lean on idle. On standard management, if you unplug the ECU temp sensor with the engine running it either cronically overfuels or it just splutters and dies...