Car questions

[ZrByte]

Okay im digging up my old thread to see if you guys can diagnose a problem with my dads car. he has a 1999 corsa envoy 1.0 12v. Basicly the problem is this.
It hasnt been used much recently but Ive been taking it out for a short drive a few times a week to keep it ticking over. Today was the first time my Dad has driven the car since he was ill. The car was dead today when we tried to start it, a quick jump from my car and we where all go, decided to take it on the motorway to juice up the battery as we just assumed it had gone flat due to te small amount of use and the short journeys. On our way off the motorway as we approached the lights at the end of the slip road and my dad eased off the gas the car cut out again, we tried to start it again but it was till asif the battery was flat (was sure it would have built up a small charge by then).
We phoned my uncle and got him to come get us and give us a jump start, the car wouldnt have it at all. Everything came back to life on the dash, the starter motor spun when we turned the ignition but the engine just wouldnt fire up.
A bump start was the only thing that worked to get it going but as soon as you take your foot off the gas the car would stall or at the very most would start to turn over very slowly as if it was about to stall (even when it was out of gear or with the clutch fully down).

We couldnt work out what was wrong with it and the odd thing was that in all the time I had driven it for my dad to keep it running it hadnt even done this once. Infact the only thing I noticed before this that could be related is that occasionally the car would vibrate a lot when the engine was idling.

So, any ideas? anything greatly appreciated.

[AndrewJ]

Engine management going nuts?

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by Saxodriver

Engine management going nuts?

Oh I hope not, that'll mean replacing the ECU wont it

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Vibrating a lot when its idling could suggest it wasnt ticking over fast enough and therefore being stared of fuel or air maybe.

[budwieser]

Originally Posted by ZrByte

Okay im digging up my old thread to see if you guys can diagnose a problem with my dads car. he has a 1999 corsa envoy 1.0 12v. Basicly the problem is this.
It hasnt been used much recently but Ive been taking it out for a short drive a few times a week to keep it ticking over. Today was the first time my Dad has driven the car since he was ill. The car was dead today when we tried to start it, a quick jump from my car and we where all go, decided to take it on the motorway to juice up the battery as we just assumed it had gone flat due to te small amount of use and the short journeys. On our way off the motorway as we approached the lights at the end of the slip road and my dad eased off the gas the car cut out again, we tried to start it again but it was till asif the battery was flat (was sure it would have built up a small charge by then).
We phoned my uncle and got him to come get us and give us a jump start, the car wouldnt have it at all. Everything came back to life on the dash, the starter motor spun when we turned the ignition but the engine just wouldnt fire up.
A bump start was the only thing that worked to get it going but as soon as you take your foot off the gas the car would stall or at the very most would start to turn over very slowly as if it was about to stall (even when it was out of gear or with the clutch fully down).

We couldnt work out what was wrong with it and the odd thing was that in all the time I had driven it for my dad to keep it running it hadnt even done this once. Infact the only thing I noticed before this that could be related is that occasionally the car would vibrate a lot when the engine was idling.

So, any ideas? anything greatly appreciated.

Change the plugs and give it a service.
Also get the cold idle valve checked out.
A bit of Damp in the Electrics will also cause this.
Hope this helps.

[Acropolis]

It could be a few things, first of all how long has the car been sat for?

The fuel could have gone off and caused a small bloackage in the fuel line, more than likely near the tank end, which would mean it is been starved of fuel which would account for the engine not ticking over and running properly when not been revved.

It is worth checking the air flow meter and all the air pipes to make sure that there is no crap in there, leaves or anything like that can cause havok with them. The air flow meter should be in line with the air pipe somewhere, it will have the main air pipe attached either side of it and will have a rectangular black plug coming off the side of it.

It sounds to me like the battery has had it, it can sometimes happen when they are left standing for a while, and there may have been something draw a current from it when the car was left stood, which under normal use wouldnt be a problem, but with prolonged periods may cause a problem. Check the battery voltage with a multimeter and see what it is sat at, it should be somewhere around 12.8-13.2 ideally, but should start the car with anything down to about 10.5v in it, if the battery is flat put it on charge with a proper battery charger, (if you havent got one halfrauds do one for about £20 and always worth having), once it is charged, check the voltage, then leave it over night and check the voltage again in the morning. If the voltage has dropped a then the battery is knackered and should be replaced, shouldnt be too much for a corsa battery depending on where you go, if you need a new one go to a local motor factors, you will get the same if not better as halfrauds at a fraction of the price.

If the voltage doesnt drop over night, reconnect it to the vehicle and start the engine, then using the multimeter make sure that the alternator is charging the battery, as if it isnt then this would cause the battery to go flat as it is having to power all the electrics for the car as well as the engine, not so much a problem on a diesel as the engine doesnt really use much electric but on a petrol the whole engine is based on electric.

It might be worth taking the plugs out (if it is petrol) and making sure that they arent too dirty, heavy sooty deposits would indicate running rich on the mixture.

If none of this proves any use, then take it out for a spin, stop somewhere more than 1/2 a mile from you home and call out The AA or The RAC, and they will more than likely get to the bottom of the problem for you, they might not be able to fix it, but they should at least be able to tell you what the problem is, you can then decide where to go from there, either do it yaself or take it to a garage.

I doubt weather it is anything to serious, and i wouldnt have thought it would be the ECU they are fairly resistant to abuse, i have seen em drowned in water and mud whilst attached to vehicles and keep on working fine afterwards.

Hope that is of some use.

You also have a PM.

[ZrByte]

Thanks a lot everyone, Looks like I have my work cut out for me tomorrow then.

[marky]

gunged up s.p.i they are well known for it

but if you had to jump start it then one of 2 either battery or alternator the latter being the fave because of the need to rev
start it on a high tick over, turn on all the electrics headlamps ect then take the neg lead of the battery if it dies its the alternator if not then if it wont turn over its the battery if niether break out the gold card

[SMHarman]

Earth connection on the Alternator?

[marky]

Originally Posted by SMHarman

Earth connection on the Alternator?

no the earth of the battery but not the posative
if the alternator is giving out sufficient power the engine will continue to run with the headlamps on

[SMHarman]

The battery itself, is it holding charge properly? I recall having problems jump starting a car before because the battery was so discharged it required a charge before the car would think about a jump start.

If the car starts and runs for a while IMHO it is more the electrical than mechanical parts of the engine.

[ZrByte]

Ok then so far the only thing I have managed to try is charging the battery. I gave it a full charge and noticed that the little status led is showing black (If I recall correctly Green = good, Red = Dead, Black = broken). I havent got access to a multimeter at the moment so theres nothing else I could really do asside form try it in the car.
Anyway I took it outside, put it in the car. The interior lights, dash electrics are working etc but when I try to start the engine the starter motor just spins, the engine doesnt even hint at starting (well actually it did once, a quick but louder click wich sounded much like the starter does when it actually works) sadly that was the most I got from it.

Also to answer a couple of other points, It has been standing for about 3 months, I haver been using it at least once a week to try and stop things like this happening and never had a problem (even last thursday wich was the last time it was used).
The only things I can think of that would have been drawing power from the battery all this time are the immobilisor and perhapps the blower if the contact isnt switching it off properly when the ignition is switched off (this was a fault when my dad bought the car but had been fixed and im sure this is still the case).

[ZrByte]

Another update: We have replaced the starter motor as we found out it had knackered up at some point. We have changed the plugs, the battery is showing green on the status light. And now the car starts up under its own power, However, the car still wont stay on unless you give it some gas (even resting my foot lightly on the pedal was enough).
I know some people recomended checking the air meter but im not 100% sure how to check it or even how to take the ******* appart to check it.

[marky]

that would be the airflow meter and you cant check it yourself another common fault is the map sensor it would be best to take it somewhere otherwise you will be buying parts for fun

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by markymoan

that would be the airflow meter and you cant check it yourself another common fault is the map sensor it would be best to take it somewhere otherwise you will be buying parts for fun

Ok, thanks everyone, I'm going to check it in tomorrow if I can, Any Idea how much this will cost? Ideally I would like to take it to the proper lookers garage as it is over the road but If its considderably cheaper I would be willing to take the car elsewhere.

EDIT: This is just for the diagnostic BTW, I plan to do the repair myself once they have identified the dodgy part.