Car starts, then cuts out straight away!!

moffit · 17-04-2012 1:59pm #1

Hey,

My 1.6 petrol car was working fine until yesterday.. I started it no problem, noticed I needed to rev the engine, but as soon as I take foot off the pedal it cuts out... When I had it on and was revving it, it felt like it was having a bit of a spa attack!! So even though the fuel light wasn't on I thought it might be fuel so I filled up 8 litres in a can and poured it into the tank. Car started again and was ticking over nicely without any assistance so I was satisfied, turned it off and left it.

This morn I came out thinking all was grand, turned car on, it started straight away but again I had to keep it revved because it was struggling to stay on.. As soon as I took foot off pedal it conked out!

Any ideas what is wrong? And why did it work fine yesterday eve when I put a few litres in? Thanks

Moanin · 17-04-2012 4:48pm

What type of car is it?

17-04-2012 4:49pm

Make, model, year, engine etc etc etc etc

spiggotpaddy · 17-04-2012 5:28pm

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/84170/200856.jpg

moffit · 17-04-2012 7:10pm

It's a 2001 Opel Vectra 1.6L, 180k on clock, manual.. I notice when I rev the engine loads of white smoke flies out exhaust!

spiggotpaddy · 17-04-2012 7:20pm

White smoke is condensing water vapour. If it's appearing from your exhaust when the engine has been fully warmed up on a good hard drive, then the water is probably from your coolant. Are you losing any coolant? Is there any oil in the coolant or coolant in your oil? Black smoke is fuel related, blue is burnt oil smoke.

moffit · 17-04-2012 7:51pm

Thanks Spiggotpaddy - I amen't losing any coolant and I checked the oil and it too looks normal. The engine isn't warm because I can't get the car to run at all.. I start it cold and rev it up because if I don't rev it then it just conks out! So while I'm revving it to keep it ticking over, the more I rev it the more white smoke comes out!

Targer · 17-04-2012 7:56pm

Based on my limited knowledge of cars but my extensive years driving bangers... I would suggest you have a look at the fuel pump or the timing, both of which might cause a car to cut out whilst idling. Good luck.

flossy1 · 17-04-2012 8:04pm

I was washing the car , everything went well except the wheels which are alloy.I had to get a wire scrub to take the black dirt off them .I think its the dust of the breaks .Is there any thing i can use to get it off easer

Moanin · 17-04-2012 8:31pm

moffit wrote: »

Thanks Spiggotpaddy - I amen't losing any coolant and I checked the oil and it too looks normal. The engine isn't warm because I can't get the car to run at all.. I start it cold and rev it up because if I don't rev it then it just conks out! So while I'm revving it to keep it ticking over, the more I rev it the more white smoke comes out!

Did you try cleaning the throttle body?

moffit · 17-04-2012 9:00pm

Moanin wrote: »

Did you try cleaning the throttle body?

No, I haven't done anything with it yet. I'm not great with cars to be honest! I'm gonna bring it to a mechanic either tomorrow or Thurs, I just hope I'm not in for a big surprise that's all....

spiggotpaddy · 17-04-2012 9:13pm

Hate to be the one to say 'jehovah" but it does smack a bit of
head gasket.

moffit · 17-04-2012 9:28pm

spiggotpaddy wrote: »

Hate to be the one to say 'jehovah" but it does smack a bit of
head gasket.

I fcuking hope not!!

Leonard Hofstadter · 17-04-2012 10:10pm

It wouldn't be unheard of for a Vectra to give HG trouble, especially at that mileage, anyway let us know how you get on OP. White smoke is a bit of a clue that the HG is giving up I'm afraid!

fasttalkerchat · 18-04-2012 7:42am

Try changing the fuel filter, then the fuel pump. If that doesn't solve it... head gasket might be the problem.
It looks to me like something is getting into your fuel.

moffit · 18-04-2012 1:10pm

I went out to the car 30mins ago and tried to start it. As usual it started no bother but had to keep foot on pedal again to keep her ticking over, it tried its best to stay ticking over on its own, by dropping to 200 rpm and then suddenly rising to 1000rpm, so I turned it off.

Then I tried it a few mins later, again it started no bother, this time without me touching the pedal, it was ticking over at 3000rpm, then within 2-3 seconds it fell to 2000rpm, and then to 1000rpm. There was no shaking from the car as had been the case previously. Within a minute the rpm was sitting at 700 (the norm for the car is 850rpm). I left the car ticking over for over 10 mins (i didn't have my foot on the pedal at all) , it stayed at 700rpm and there was minimal shaking from time to time, but only slight!

I did rev it a few times just to see would it cut out after, but it didn't. There was smoke coming from the exhaust, but it seemed normal. When the engine was ticking over there was a ticking noise from engine (tapets?) but apart from that it seemed normal.

I didn't take it for a test drive cos the roads are too busy where I am, I'll wait til tonight!

Any idea why it started and stayed ticking over un-assisted? Thanks

JP 1800 · 18-04-2012 1:49pm

Could be the EGR valve, is the engine check light on?

Sappa · 18-04-2012 1:53pm

Take a look at the fuel pump valve or connector,is it scuffed or has it a slight hole in it,I reckon you got an air lock going through that cuts the engine out.
Something very similar happened to me and this was the case.

moffit · 18-04-2012 2:03pm

JP 1800 wrote: »

Could be the EGR valve, is the engine check light on?

There are no lights showing on the dash at all.. I suppose that's a good sign in itself?!

moffit · 18-04-2012 2:05pm

Sappa wrote: »

Take a look at the fuel pump valve or connector,is it scuffed or has it a slight hole in it,I reckon you got an air lock going through that cuts the engine out.
Something very similar happened to me and this was the case.

I'm not great with the mechanical side of things, but I'll get it looked at.. When it happened yours, was it a big/costly job? Thanks

Sappa · 18-04-2012 2:06pm

moffit wrote: »

JP 1800 wrote: »

Could be the EGR valve, is the engine check light on?

There are no lights showing on the dash at all.. I suppose that's a good sign in itself?!

Just read over your post from 40 mins ago,this was identical to what happened my car,massive high revs etc.

no1beemerfan · 18-04-2012 4:30pm

You really need to take it for a spin. Could be something simple as dirty petrol.

moffit · 18-04-2012 4:34pm

I tried it again a few minutes ago and again it started no problem and ticked over without me using the pedal. I drove it around an estate (didn't want to take it out on main road just yet) to see if it would conk out but it drove fine (apart from the dam banging from the bushins), so I'm confused now big time as to why it's working again.. No warning lights at all..

A large cloud of blue/black smoke came from exhaust before I drove it when I revved it high, but after that there was just normal exhaust smoke.. Doubt it's fixed though!

spiggotpaddy · 18-04-2012 4:40pm

Get it up to full temp, then try it.

moffit · 18-04-2012 10:47pm

Took car for a 5 mile spin where I drove it quite hard.. It never cut out on me but it's not 100% by any means! The exhaust sounds kinda boy-racerish now for some reason, and the revs are sitting at about 650rpm when car is ticking over in neutral, the norm is 850rpm.. So I'm quite confused!!

spiggotpaddy · 18-04-2012 10:56pm

Get it looked at by a local indy, it could be something handy, a cracked manifold or fuel pump or hg .

I was never confused!

moffit · 19-04-2012 1:25pm

Drove it again this morn for a few mins around an estate and it seemed to be ok... Strange!?

moffit · 21-04-2012 2:49pm

Back to square 1 again!!

Frankie Lee · 21-04-2012 6:57pm

As mentioned above the symptoms are somewhat similar to the way the EGR valve acts up on them, have you had it on a computer at all?

moffit · 21-04-2012 11:30pm

Frankie Lee wrote: »

As mentioned above the symptoms are somewhat similar to the way the EGR valve acts up on them, have you had it on a computer at all?

No I haven't had it on a computer yet. I hope it's not the EGR valve again! I replaced it and the ECU a few years ago at a total cost of 1400 euros!!!

JP 1800 · 22-04-2012 12:34am

You can blank off the EGR valve, using some coke can or buy a blanking plate

Car starts, then cuts out straight away!!

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