Loss Of Power(petrol Version)

[Guest steven.tunnicliffe@lineone.net]

There's a lot of posts regarding loss of power on diesels and MAF etc. Can the same be happening on my petrol 2.3 engine?

I have been suffering a slight misfire (not quite a misfire, it just seems to miss a beat, sometimes more severe than others) most times when accelerating from a stop (worse 'misfire') but also when travelling along (missed 'beat').

Sometimes when I put my foot down it'll seem like it's searching for fuel for a little while and then accelerate OK.

It's frustrating because it may be OK for a few days accelerating great and smoothly and then it would start again.

 

Anyone provide a list of possibilities? Can I carry out some simple checks. I have done a bit of car diy but these engines nowadays frighten the life out of me...I took the cover off to reveal the spark plugs the other day, or so I thought, two of them had some elect unit on them and the other two I presume were on the end of HT leads that dissappeared down into the gunnels of the engine....I'll have to get that Haines manual!

[Eddie]

I have the very same problem on a 2.0L petrol Galaxy. It is not a big issue, but it is annoying and I would be concerned it is an indiciation of a bigger problem.

Eddie.

[Guest scatha]

This sounds like the same problem we've been having recently - cruises along fine and then just seems to "miss a beat" before everything kicks back in. In our case it's got beyond the annoying stage and reached the dangerous stage (as in trying to overtake on single carriageway roads).

 

The bad news is, our car has been in at the Ford dealer in Perth for 5 (five) weeks now and they still can't find the problem. They're trying desperately hard and have been constantly in touch with Ford, but so far to no avail.

 

At least they believe there is a problem and at least we're not alone. But there must be a solution out there somewhere!

[Guest John J]

Sounds like the problem that I am having at the moment.

 

I bought a 96 2.8 V6 GLX (Man) about a month ago and last week had it serviced by a guy who has been servicing my cars for the last 20 years. Very good, and very reliable.

 

However, since picking up the car after the service, my Galaxy tends to missfire/ judder, when accelerating. It is worst when picking up speed in a low gear. e.g accelerating from 40mph in 4th of 20mph in 2nd. Infact, when the revs are between 2,000 to 2,500. Cruising is fine, but when accelerating hard it feels like the car is holding back, like a flat spot.

 

Is it just that one of the leads is not connecting with the plugs, as my mechanic said he had a job getting the leads back on as on the V6 the plugs appear to be down a mine shaft!!. All 6 plugs were changed at the service.

 

I would call the mechanic to take it back for him to look at, but he left for a 2.5 week holiday the day after I picked up the car from him. Not due back for a week and a half.

 

If it is the leads being loose, does anybody have any suggestions on what tool I can use to make sure they are on tight. I dare not use a screwdriver in case I shear the rubber of the lead.

[Guest scatha]

Checking the plug leads was one of the first things I thought of too - but having stood over the mechanic while he removed all the leads, checked the plugs and lubricated and replaced everything, we've eliminated that as the source of our own problems. I think if there were an electrical problem like that, it would show up on the diagnostic computer they plug in (and which in my case they've even taken out in the car while test-driving it).

 

That's not to say that a simple check like this wouldn't help you, but if you feel the problem came about directly after the service, then I'd be more inclined to hold on until your local friendly mechanic comes home.

[Guest steven.tunnicliffe@lineone.net]

I think I may have found the problem. With all the talk of Mass Airflow meters on deisel cars, I presumed the little black elect unit between the air filter and the throttle mechanism (top left corner of the engine compartment) was my MAF unit so I disconnected it...easy to do just squeeze up the wire clip and off it pops.

This solved the 'missing a beat' problem. Drove to Tamworth, about 90 odd miles and didn't miss once.

Connected it back up again and it started missing. So I presume it's this unit I've got to change. Took the air filter out and gave it a good clean...taking the cover off that was no easy task I tell you. Put some vaseline on the o ring of the tube holding the MAF to get it back onto the filter cover.

 

Now the only thing I would like to know is will it be the MAF on its own causing the problem, or is there some other sensor feeding into the MAF that causes the 'missing' and is isolated when disconnecting the MAF plug?

 

Another thing is how much are these things? And can you get reconned ones?

[Guest scatha]

Well, changing the MAF sensor was the first thing my garage tried - at first they thought it had solved the problem, but just as they were ready to hand the vehicle back, the problem reared its head again. If a new MAF sensor fixes it for you, then I'm very pleased for you, but just beware of getting your hopes up too soon!

 

The news from here is that after almost six weeks of trying different components, my garage finally think they have it cracked - the faulty component is (apparently) something called a Hago sensor, which controls air/fuel flow to the carb. This sounds logical in terms of the fault seeming like the engine is searching for fuel.

 

Only time will tell whether this really is it, of course, but we are hoping to get the vehicle back tomorrow.

 

In the meantime, I can only suggest to anyone having this sort of problem to get this sensor checked. Hope this helps someone else resolve their problem a but sooner!

[Guest SA Intruder]

HEGO sensor is olde worlde for Lambda sensor.

 

When it fails, it messes the CO emissions up, but tends not to affect performance too much...tends to make the car "hunt" at constant speeds in its dying throws.

[Guest steven.tunnicliffe@lineone.net]

Well guys, this morning I took the plunge. With my sensor in alternate connected/not connected conditions the car always 'missed', sometimes quite badly, when the MAF was connected.

I removed it from the filter and blew down it while the engine was running. The engine faltered and a couple of times cut out, so I thought that must be it.

So I rang Quicks and got a new one from there, they had some in stock and had already sold one that morning, so me thinks it's a popular spare, hence a popular problem.