Was on the way to totb too.

 

So, car was driving fine, no problem at all. All of a sudden, misfiring and loss of power to a stop.

 

As it wouldn't rev very high we though it was the maf, unplugged it and the car seemed to start fine. But very rough and we've limped to somewhere safe.

 

So, when the car starts with the maf unplugged, if we plug it back in, the car dies. Won't start with it plugged in. We tried a known working maf from the other car and still the same, won't start with the maf plugged in. Also struggling to start anyway with I'm thinking could be the engine getting flooded.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

Lee

Right, I've found the initial problem. Fuel pump.

In reality its not the fuel pump itself that is the problem its the person who fitted it. That is the root cause of the problem.:whistling:

In reality its not the fuel pump itself that is the problem its the person who fitted it. That is the root cause of the problem.:whistling:

 

Pmsl.

ANOTHER UPDATE:

So, after getting the fuel pump sorted, the car started but ran was horribly mis-firing. So I decided to take all the plugs out to have a look, as they were all black I changed them and put in some old ones that were fine when o took them out.

 

Here the photos of the plugs when they came out

Cylinder 1

 

Cylinder 2

 

Cylinder 3

 

Cylinder 4

 

Cylinder 5

 

Cylinder 6

 

 

 

When I change the above plugs, the car started and seemed perfect. Do, I took it for a drive and... Broke down again. Had a look at the new plugs that were put in to see what they were like and:

Cylinder 1

 

Cylinder 6 (which was a brand new plug)

Jimmer said from looking at the photos it looked like u burnt fuel.

 

So to get home, I unplugged the MAF and, it fired up and limped me home.

 

This seems to me like it's either a fuel pump issue or perhaps something electrical not working. Any ideas?

Have you plugged your fuel pump ecu back in?

Jimmer said from looking at the photos it looked like u burnt fuel.

 

So to get home, I unplugged the MAF and, it fired up and limped me home.

 

This seems to me like it's either a fuel pump issue or perhaps something electrical not working. Any ideas?

 

Unburnt fuel?

 

The first set of plugs are completely ruined from fuel, but given that the outlet hose from the pump had come loose, it's difficult to see how that has happened.

 

Is there anyone nearby that can check it over to ensure everything is fitted & connected properly?

Have you plugged your fuel pump ecu back in?

 

It's still bypassed

Unburnt fuel?

 

The first set of plugs are completely ruined from fuel, but given that the outlet hose from the pump had come loose, it's difficult to see how that has happened.

 

Is there anyone nearby that can check it over to ensure everything is fitted & connected properly?

 

I guess it's possible the pump could have come lose when I tookit out to check. But I don't get what's going on here. Never had any issue at all before I changed the pump... Obviously that could be a coincidence.

 

I'm going to take the ecu out and have a look incase anything has burnt out.

 

As for checking everything is connected, what could possibly be disconnected all of a sudden?

I guess it's possible the pump could have come lose when I tookit out to check. But I don't get what's going on here. Never had any issue at all before I changed the pump... Obviously that could be a coincidence.

 

I'm going to take the ecu out and have a look incase anything has burnt out.

 

As for checking everything is connected, what could possibly be disconnected all of a sudden?

 

UPDATE

 

Right, I've found the initial problem. Fuel pump. BasIcally it had slipped down the bracket a little and the fuel hose popped off at the top. I've sorted that and the car started. The problem is, it's mis-firing terribly. As if it's only running on a couple of cylinders. Would still be undrivable

 

I don't know what could be disconnected all of a sudden, it's difficult over the internet. The fuel hose has already come off once due to the pump not being secured, so things may still need checking over.

I'll check it again. Thing is, the plugs are getting fuel by the looks of it. And when it happened initially there were apparently a couple of flames which again suggest it was getting fuel. But I'll confirm whether the pump have come loose again (I doubt it has though).

Edited August 3, 201510 yr by bird

That's so not a silly question :lol:.

Not if you own a Zed....:no:

Without being rude bud, I think you might have a few issues by the sounds of it rather than one core fault. You can either work methodically and use the right tools or you will have to bite the bullet and pay some one who has the knowledge and tools. Otherwise your just going to keep chasing your tail.

It is imperative that the fuel pump is fitted securely with the pick-up at exactly the same height as the OEM item.

 

A few months ago I was working with a car that had a very strange issue. After a session on the dyno, the car began to run lean on boost. On the second session, after an entire day on the dyno with at least 40 runs under its belt, it began to run lean again, and got worse and worse with time accompanied by a measured loss of fuel pressure. A large number of things were swapped over and investigated and the car then had to be taken away. One thing that was swapped was the entire fuel pump assembly & cradle, which I tested in my own car without issue with minimal fuel. Their pump & cradle OK in my Zed. The other Zed went away with an identical pump & cradle setup I had been running in my own Zed. No further issues. My pump & cradle OK in their Zed. They keep my pump & cradle. Job done. I fit an even higher flowing pump and leave theirs bagged up for testing purposes as a spare.

 

Fast forward to today and the other fuel pump & cradle assembly are going into a Zed for testing purposes. I get a call asking if the pump & cradle assembly had ever been fitted and whether or not the car ran OK. Apparently, the pump had been fitted about 10mm lower down the cradle and was resting against the bottom of the tank! The car wouldn't even start unless the cradle wasn't bolted down in place! What could have been happening in the original Zed was when the fuel had dropped below halfway, it naturally created a vacuum in the tank, the magnitude of which varies depending on the specific car's fuel tank breather. As the fuel had dropped, I'm assuming that either the bottom of the tank sucked up enough to hinder the fuel flow, or the lower fuel level meant slightly less buoyancy on the fuel pump, which then proceded to sit on the bottom of the tank. The leaning of the AFR wasn't particularly consistent, so it was a real oddity. Obviously running without the fuel cap had been investigated along with FPRs, fuel lines, breathers, etc. Perhaps it was a combination...

 

So. Months later the issue is finally resolved. I didn't fit the fuel pump by the way, only the one in mine which ended up in the first car without issue to this day. I keep away from spannering as much as possible :wack:

 

As Stephen has said, and also without meaning to sound rude, parts need to be fitted correctly with the proper tools and work methodology. A "couple of flames" means nothing really, proper diagnosis involves monitoring sensor readings, voltages, fuel pressure, AFR, etc. Actual data with the knowledge to interpret the results correctly.

 

Hopefully there wasn't any further damage caused by the fuel pump installation, it may have been running with reduced fuel pressure and leaner AFRs as the pipe worked its way loose. Jubilee clips would have prevented that from happening even without securing the pump to the cradle, which you need to do on ANY car. It's very important.

 

As is always the way, do a compression check. Not because something has gone massively awry, but because the plugs are out and you may as well, it's for your own knowledge. If you want a cursory idea of the condition of a paint job, you look with your eyes. If you want a cursory idea of the condition of an engine, you do a compression check. A bit more involved, but just as basic a task.

 

HTH :)

Forgot to come back with a final update on this.

 

I get the whole 'take it to a garage' argument but without trying to find and fix the problem myself, how does one learn. And Im not completely dumb when it come to doing stuff, although I'm clearly not as good as others.

 

Anyway, I've found the issue which caused the problem and the give away was something Noel mentioned about jubilee clips.

 

So, the fuel hose provided with the new pump has a bigger internal diameter to the original one. Anyway, in short, when I fitted it, I'd missed the new jubilee clamps and used the old ones which weren't strong enough to hold the new pipe. I found the new clamps (which had fallen on the floor in my shed) and fitted them. Also bought and fitted new spark plugs and binned the old ones.

 

Car fired up and is driving no bother, just like it was before.

 

In regards to the fuel pump length, I had measured it up etc and cut the length pretty much perfect previously, but double checked it anyway and it was fine.

 

So, moral of the story her is, don't drop anything on the floor lol.

 

Thanks everyone for their help and thoughts on the problems.

I hope you didn't think I was having a pop lee. I just didn't want to watch you go round and round. I'm glad you've sorted it though.

Why nor man. I knew you and Noel are just looking out for my best interest and all that... Plus I don't take things to heart, hell, I even love some of the piss take crack. Just wanted to sort it. On a plus side, I've had the spark plugs in and out so much, I think I could do them in about 20-25 minutes now.

25 minutes!! What you doing walking round the block between each one :lol: hopefully you've highlighted stuff in the process. Still confusing how you managed to fuel foul the plugs and have low/no fuel pressure lol.

That's all the plugs out and back in, all ready to go... Including the back 2 lol. Come on, we all know that's pretty good.

 

I can only guess at the plugs, perhaps it was still getting some unfiltered fuel coming through... Who knows.

 

 

 

Anyway, got another question, any idea how I can 'plug' the turbo outlet? I'm wanting to check for air leaks down near the accordion pipes etc, but I can't see down with the turbo outlet pipe still attached. I need something like a cork. Any ideas?

Glad it sorted Lee would have been a right bummer if it had stopped you coming to JAE.

I'd have sell made it in the White car, or possibly a different car