Alex
Regular Members-
Content count
2,392 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Community Reputation
21 ExcellentAbout Alex
- Birthday 01/04/1964
Profile Information
-
Location
Vancouver
Recent Profile Visitors
2,222 profile views
-
Pressure regulator is new with the rest of the fuel system. And new filter. I sure don't want to replace the ECU, nor am I going to! I am ready to dump the car, I've had my money's worth, I could get over it quite quickly. If it can be fixed I'd keep it, but not if it won't be the reliable delight to drive that it was. I might confirm the fuel supply, but the fuel rail pressure when combined with the duty cycles pretty much rule out a supply problem. The issue is constant, no variation and it would show up in the readings even if it stayed below code threshold. Don't know what to buy though, the Fiat I've rented drives well but I have no faith in it as a long-term keeper car.
-
SAM is happy enough, the bypass is in and supplying good voltage. Again, we couldn't possibly have a fuel supply problem without rail pressure and duty cycle strongly indicating it. I haven't yet done a pressure test, but it sure doesn't match symptoms. We know what a fuel pump issue does, and that's not what mine is doing. Problem is not at all intermittent, very consistent and deteriorating. No black smoke. All fuel system components including rail came from the low mileage engine I had stored, the fuel system was removed cleanly by me then cleaned, tested and packed for storage by a fuel injection place. Clutch is newish (50K) and is fine, nor could it affect starting. I have no ideas.
-
If you drill the new knob to slip over the existing shaft and secure it with silicone, it will work great and won't be too difficult to remove and refit either stock or a different funky one. Easy, effective and reversible.
-
Incidentally, the new engine stops properly, with that very short few extra revolutions, sounds a little queer if you are only used to gas engines. The old engine was coasting down much more leisurely. I know the old engine was very tired, I wouldn't be regretting this at all if the car was running now but it's not! What can it be at this point?
-
Problem is the same! I can't add much to the original description above. Very low power throughout the range, better when warm but still pathetically bad. But smooth, quiet, no codes or funny readings, just no clues at all. Specifically, no low fuel rail pressure or abnormal duty cycles on the pressure controller, it sure doesn't show any indication of fuel starvation. Fuel rail pressure and duty cycles would show that up clearly even if it stayed below throwing a code. Problem is evident when cold starting, at warm full throttle 3500 RPM and everywhere in between. It just makes no sense, I mean all kinds of things can go wrong but with no clues at all from the computer diagnostics?
-
Bumped up. The engine is in, smooth install apparently with a few extra parts needed. BUT, it is just as bad, with the same problem! Eddy can't come up with anything, all diagnostics are normal. Boost, fuel and intake air temperatures, fuel rail pressure, duty cycle on the HP pump, injector balance, etc etc. Eddy knows them much better than me and all indications are completely normal. New very low mileage engine, well stored. Replaced as part of the engine was the engine entire fuel system from the HP pump on, boost sensor, TDC sensor, and so on. Equally low mileage muffler, shiny and clean with no collapsed baffles or suchlike restricting flow. EGR is blanked, moving fine, no codes, new fuel filter. Makes boost, so intercooler isn't badly clogged and turbo is fine. Also turbo spins free and vanes pass a visual inspection. No intake or exhaust restriction, the engine breaths fine with boost when it should have it. We disconnected one injector at a time and tried to start the engine, it wouldn't start in the same way. When engine is running it sounds very smooth, whatever the problem is it affects all three cylinders equally. Eddy has tried reloading the stock map and also his remap, just in case some parameters got scrambled. Now, before anyone starts in on me for replacing the engine without some positive confirmation of the problem, remember it had almost 300K km of fairly hard duty on it, I had watched the oil consumption increase over the past couple of years, the blue puff on start-up get quite dramatic, the oil seeps start up in a few places, the engine noise increase, symptoms were consistent with engine internals with a bare chance of fuel system or sensors, nobody including myself or Eddy had admitted to seeing these symptoms when it wasn't the engine and in general I didn't really care exactly what was the immediate problem. I had the engine ready to go, I want to keep the car, the engine was due for serious problems and would need replacement at some point and the new engine should have lasted until I was going to be done with the car anyway. I just can't believe that the real problem was not included in the huge chunk that is now nice and young! We discussed the ECU. Because the problem affects all cylinders equally a failure in the injector control circuitry is unlikely, it would be on only one. Plugs were nice and clean, no corrosion evident. Any ideas, guys? What could it possibly be? I need a car, I thought it was going to continue to be my smart but it counts as unfixable at this point. I have to to do something soon.
-
Well, unless you were planning on welding it in place with a stick, no clean-up and spatter on the seats metal shaft will be removed and on the bench for the welding with electronics safely left behind, so I see no problem. (If you were, no use talking.) The only thing going up to the knop is a pair of wires for a simple switch, no worries about eliminating them.
-
So if you had a great big PTO driven generator on your RV engine and wired it up to charge the EV shuttlecraft when the brakes are applied... Free power and less brake wear! Sounds like a good match for Angela's use. If my usage was EV-possible I'd be in one in a heartbeat.
-
At the dealer, yes. New driveshaft and more. At an independent willing to get the ring and install it (or have you source and supply), not so much. The car will be a nightmare with dealership service, be warned.
-
Three bars plus the triangle with an exclamation mark (ABS/ESP fault) often means reluctor rings. (The toothed rings on the rear axles.) I don't know why that can trigger the three bars, but it does. One would expect that if every tranny/clutch sensor agreed except the speed sensor on one wheel, the car would "think" the obvious easiest explanation of a cracked or rust caked ring is at fault.
-
Suspicious that it appeared only after disturbing the wire bundles doing the intercooler. If the actuator is lubed and moving well, and especially since the problem is intermittent I would think the wiring or plug connections still has problems. It can be tricky to find. If you unplug enough you can get the engine harness laid out on top of the engine. Look really well how it lays in, be sure it can take the flexing of the motor.
-
A bad or loose connection will absolutely show an erratically changing temperature. No connection the computer will know and show a code (if programmed to do so), but a bad one does give wildly erratic readings.
-
The quick test for the fuel pump SAM connection issue is: Radio and fan off for less noise, key to "on" but not to start. You should hear a whirring pump noise for 10 seconds or so from the rear passenger side. If not, you have the melted N11-3 connector problem. Easy test, more difficult solution but at least you know.
-
I bought my smart on Dec 18, 2006 with 11 km on it. Dropped it off at Flying Tiger today, 293,100 km. That is how long a well maintained CDI under fairly harsh service but a better climate than much of Canada will last, it is done. Not broken, not blown, not neglected to death but honestly worn out. I have far too much traffic and multiple short short trips daily so way too many starts, launches, shifts, accelerations and hills including many trips up serious mountain grades, for it to last like one that only drones a long way on easy highways twice a day. RIP my friend, but don't worry, the car will continue. 5 years ago I bought an engine with only 2000 km on it and packed it up nicely for storage. I am about to have the youngest engine in Canada! I still love driving it, although recently only on a gentle downhill grade given its rapidly dropping power. 6th can barely hold flat ground, it struggles to launch and needs 4th for the Cut in North Van. And twice more before I'm in Whistler. It still started fine in the cold a few short months ago, but frankly I doubt it would start at +5 C now. I'm a little surprised at how fast it declined, felt perfect 10K km ago and almost undriveable now.
-
That $6 easily replaced seal is an external rubber one for the turbo inlet, and not the real cause of your leak. A turbo leaking oil is actually very rare, the source of the oil is the crankcase venting and is entirely normal. It often drips from the turbo area, but a wee bit of silicone well applied is all it needs. Again, the presence of oil in the intake is normal, any very slight leak out of the intake will lead to oil outside the intake, but fixing the seep is just as effective as changing the turbo and accidentally fixing the seep as you do so. If the turbo sounds okay and makes boost, the turbo is fine and not a problem. Clean it up well, drive a little to positively locate the source, reassemble whatever it is with a thin smear of good engine silicone and leave that expensive and perfectly good turbo where it is. Note that the oil tube to the turbo has been known to develop a pinhole leak from rust perforation, but again that's external to the turbo itself.