1.9 8V Intermittent Loss Of Power.

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

Hi there. I bought a 1.9 GTi a few weeks before Xmas, and when I bought it it drove like an animal, pulled mega-hard all the way through but drank a phenomenal amount of fuel. It was also 3 litres short of oil!

 

Since then I have replaced the:

 

Oil + Filter

Plugs and Leads

Air and Fuel filters

ECU Temp sensor

Lambda Sensor

Cambelt, tensioner, Waterpump

and

Cleaned MAF and Throttle Body

 

Now when I drive it, especially at cold there is a massive flat spot between 2-3k RPM, but also intermittently it is completely losing power and not revving over 2500rpm, even when totally hot. You put your foot down and there's almost resistance from the engine and nothing there. Happens totally at random and lasts for a random period of time.

 

Any ideas?? I haven't driven it much in between changing all these things so hard to pin down which it could be.

[farmer 327 1 Cars]

No expert on these issues

 

Could be a dodgy ignition amp?

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

Possibly. It was unsecured when I bought the car but i've mounted it now with some heat paste behind it and a couple of new bolts.

 

It's really annoying when it happens because otherwise she's running as good as ever. 2 things I did notice that are now different is it takes a lot longer for it to start than it did. I have to turn it over for 4-5 seconds then it kinda splutters roughly into life whereas before it used to start almost instantly. And now the plugs are white where as before they were black (the reason I changed all these things is because it was running very rich).

 

Could the fuel filter be the issue? Funnily enough i'm fairly certain I first noticed it after the fuel filter change. I did pull the fuse from the fuel pump when the car was running to de-pressurise the fuel when I did it. Could it be the pump? This is the fuel filter I fitted:

 

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Peugeot_205_1.9_1993/p/car-parts/car-service-parts/regular-service/fuel-filter/?503440128&1&25aa0c16be064e5ed34c60693c59edee180b0af5&000140

[farmer 327 1 Cars]

If its white it's running lean.

 

Have you got it all set up correctly by a garage ?

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

If its white it's running lean.

 

Have you got it all set up correctly by a garage ?

Don't think there's much to set-up, it's a late car (93) with a Motronic ECU.

[farmer 327 1 Cars]

White plugs certainly point to a running lean issue.

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

Yeah, i'm guessing that's because of the new Lambda. This intermittent power loss started before that though. Think i'll change the fuel filter back to the old one and see what happens!

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

Could a dodgy tachometric relay cause this??

[farmer 327 1 Cars]

When my relay failed I was left at the roadside.

 

Not sure if they can be intermittent with a fault.

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

It's almost as if suddenly the supply of fuel is interrupted when it happens. So i'm looking at either the fuel pump, the relay or the filter. The fuel lines aren't kinked or anything. But could a new fuel filter cause something like this?

[farmer 327 1 Cars]

To be honest I would doubt the fuel filter is the issue.

 

Have you got another relay to try.

 

Don't go to Pug if you want a new one there 3 figures.

 

Euro car parts have them.

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

Can't find one on ECP. GSF have one but it's £50! Might have the existing one out tomorrow and see if cleaning up the contacts helps!

[farmer 327 1 Cars]

There not cheap.

 

Pug charge about 120 quid if I remember right.

 

Give it a try and just try and rule out one thing at a time.

 

Have you tested the pump direct to a battery ?

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

Well the pump is obv working most of the time, but it's like it's cutting out intermittently for a short time. I might just be clutching at straws here I don't know. Just annoying i've done all this and now have a problem I didn't have before!

[farmer 327 1 Cars]

Try the relay, they are prone to faults.

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

Just took it out, it's worse than ever. No power there at all and kept trying to stall.

 

It appears I don't have a tachometric relay. It is a late 1993 car.

[farmer 327 1 Cars]

Unfortunately I do not know much about the phase 2 engine management, having never owned one.

[MikeC 10]

Best get a Workshop manual and go through the setup/tuning procedure.Did you look at your AFM?

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

Best get a Workshop manual and go through the setup/tuning procedure.Did you look at your AFM?

I did yes. I cleaned the track with contact cleaner but there are 2 black grooves in it. Unfortunately I can't find a guide to retrack my particular AFM. I know it came out of the Cavalier or something but supposedly it's the same AFM (it has the same part number). I'm wondering if the spring tension needs adjusting to make it run slightly richer? The plugs are bright white.

 

My other thought is could the alternator failing cause these symptoms? I've thought it wasn't working very well from the start.

[Tom Fenton 1,525]

 

Now when I drive it, especially at cold there is a massive flat spot between 2-3k RPM, but also intermittently it is completely losing power and not revving over 2500rpm, even when totally hot. You put your foot down and there's almost resistance from the engine and nothing there. Happens totally at random and lasts for a random period of time.

 

Sounds like classic knackered Air Flow Meter to me.

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

 

This is my AFM. I've adjusted the spring tension 2 teeth counter-clockwise to try and richen it up a bit. What is the screw attatched to the small strip of metal which is attached to the blue rectangle?? If you continually screw it in it clicks very faintly. What should it be set to??

[MikeC 10]

These are factory set so be careful with it. There is a re-tracking guide on here, or a link to one on here somewhere.

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

I have turned the screw linked to the blue thing, so wouldn't mind knowing what that is!

[welshpug 1,622]

Mixture potentiometer.

[Bobbafett 49 2 Cars]

Any idea where that should be set? Moving it doesn't seem to change anything.