low idle (500rpm) - car misfires badly when revved

G

gtirbhp

Guest
Hi guys/girls - im back with another one if anyone cares to divulge some info on it thanks in advance

After sorting my turbo (previous post) i had the car running sweeeeet :-D and then after driving around all sorts of roads i went around about my 20th roundabout of the day and as i put the foot down to exit the car was spitting and spluttering alot and didnt want to go anywhere - i sat at the side of the road waiting on a recovery truck and (having my tools with me) tried to look everywhere for problems and no joy there :cry: The was a little puddle of oil sitting on the intake to the turbo - not in the pipework but the small metal piece attached to the turbo it was just sitting there. The car also had some small amounts of smoke coming out whilst at idle and if revved you could easy see a nice mist of smoke cover the road i was next to ( it wasnt thick smoke but with a good few revs it did build up) and it had a strong petrol smell. I think the smoke was more bluey than white.

My oil catch can has the breather filter ontop and when car is at idle it is smoking slightly.:shock:

The next day at home i decided to check sparks etc... All were covered in a nice dry layer of (i think) carbon and clearly were not going to have good spark. Assuming the engine is laid out 1.2.3.4 then 3+4 sparks were also slightly oily (or whatever elese it could be) as the sparks themselves are only 2/3 months old and the car has not been used much. The leads are also newish from here on a group buy.

I changed the fuel filter for safe measure but still a rough idle of 500rpm and the car wanting to cut out. Oil pressure is about 2ish at idle.:roll:

So i changed the sparks for nice shiny news ones and as usual the car starts first time BUT it is idleing at my more usual 1000rpm and nice and steady with no misfires - oil pressure was fine at 4ish on idle (maybe more since the car was cold - sorry cant remember exactly) and within 2 minutes it started to misfire and splutter and idle around 500rpm until it cut out.:?

Sorry for the long post but wanted to get as much info in so those of you who know what your on about can help diagnose the core issue/s

Much appreciated :thumbsup:

J
 
mattytappy

mattytappy

New Member
sounds like you need to do a compression test and see if you losing compression on the two cylinders that had oily plugs...sounds like it could be oil blow by going back into your air intake...if thats the case it maybe piston rings?
 
Last edited:
red reading

red reading

Active Member
comp test as above said, could be anything really,head gasket gone between cylinders,piston ringland/s,broken rings, comp test will tell you more
 
T

turbodaily

New Member
were the plugs wet with oil or fuel...? pull the plugs out and get a little torch (a fibreoptic is good for this as you can get it right down into the bore) and see if the piston tops are wet or not.

also do a compression test as said above, but you want to find out if its fuel or oil thats fouled the plugs..
 
G

gtirbhp

Guest
hey guys thats brilliant response and thanks very much

I last had a compression test done july 2007 and all cylinders were spot on so my next move will be to get another done.

I think it could be fuel on the sparks but due to what id describe as an extreme build up of carbon on the electrode etc it looked as if it was oil.

It was crazy how it was all of a sudden - and when the car is running there is a definite strong smell of fuel (as if there was a dustbin full of unleaded fuel sat right next to the car) and it seems to be from the smoke out the exhaust.

Thanks again everyone and i will post back with the results!

J
 
mattytappy

mattytappy

New Member
could be an injector failing if its dumping fuel about....either way i wouldnt drive it till you find out where and why fuel is spilling?
 
G

gtirbhp

Guest
theres def not a fuel leak from the tank or lines. the smell is coming out the fumes in the exhaust - its prob dumping unburnt fuel out that im not seeing...a vapour maybe?

It could be an injector issue but hopefully a little compression test will tell whats happened. And def wont be driving it with 2 bar oil pressure :( ah well the trials and tribulations of a pulsar owner - it will be worth the effort as its a flier on the road :)

Cheers again
 
M

mynheers_a_pint

Guest
sounds retarded, but i had a bit of an issue (i think i posted up on here as i was worried) and it turned out to be a worn dissy and rotor. for the sake os 30 mins to take it all appart and put it back together, surly its a simple thing to check...

...that is, if you haven't already?
 
G

gtirbhp

Guest
not checked that yet due to the engine working after new plugs were put in - although i have yet to take them back out and see if one/two or more are covered in fuel/oil and if so then there is a seal broken somewhere i think. But you make a good point and once i check the sparks tomorrow i will also check the rotor but im sure thats all good.

Thanks for input!
 
G

gtirbhp

Guest
I just checked all the sparks and they were all coated in a thick layer of carbon and it is only cylinder 4 (1234) which has a wet substance on it which i am 99% sure is fuel as it smelled much stronger than the others.

I removed/cleaned/refitted the rotor arm and dissy as there was a good bit grit etc on the contacts. I also gave the sparks a nice clean and put it all back together.

The car started again first time and was doing a decent idle (around 1000rpm) and oil pressure at a nice 5. The car stayed like this with no misfires until after about 5 minutes when i started to reverse it out my garage and as i moved back (and lifted off the power and put clutch in) the revs dropped down to 500rpm and did its whole cough n spluttering routine and died. Everytime it does this the oil pressure drops to 2.

Is there any other things anyone can recommend for me to give a try myself or is it simply needing a compression test to reveal more? My engine oil level is getting on the low side and i was wondering would this cause bad oil pressure and the symtoms im describing ?

Cheers guys

J
 
S

stedee

New Member
it sounds like its missing probably on2 cylinders by the sound of it, does it blow blue smoke when warm
 
G

gtirbhp

Guest
yes it does - if i cant get it up and running i will send it to a good garage to get sorted
 
red reading

red reading

Active Member
the oil pressure will drop if the car is barely ticking over.have you put new plugs,leads,dizzy cap and rotor arm on?it could be a lead breaking down,try closing the plug gaps up slightly,down to .5 or.6.comp test the car as well if you are losing oil it sounds like rings or ringland probs,
 
G

gtirbhp

Guest
cheers guys!

My AFR reads pretty much rich now...whereas up until this problem cropped up it would vary. Could the car running rich screw its idle ? i thought it may have something to do with too much or too little fuel getting in the engine - its almost like the car hasnt been setup on a rolling road (it has but not for a couple years)

I have on my car Front Mount intercooler, Mongoose Exhaust, Air Filter, Dump Valve,
Boost Controller set at 1 Bar, Fuel controller, Upgraded Fuel Pump,
Upgraded Clutch,mocal oil cooler so maybe it could just need mapped again??

Plugs/leads are new and i gave the rotor and dissy a good clean (but it would probably be worth just getting a new dissy cap and rotor to be sure) - wow alot of things for me to try out and im skint til next week :( :lol:

Will post back when i somehow solve this problem

Cheers

J
 
jjs

jjs

Member
do the pulsars have a cold start device, as it seems the cars ok till it heats up after five mins then runs too rich,?
 
G

gtirbhp

Guest
brilliant - keep all the info coming in guys. Hopefully have this sorted soon - would like to take it on track end of next month! where is the coolant sensor located ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top