URGENT HELP NEEDED!!!

aingeal_croi

HI there

I was coming home today when all of a sudden the car started pulling back and almost shuddering like "coughing" car now sounds different when you drive and when you accelarate it feels like the car is struggling to gain power...at first I thought it could be because my petrol was at a quarter tank so filled it up to half tank but it is still doing this...any ideas from you well bred mechanics out there??? Also I am in the Naas area can anyone recommend a mechanic that wont rip a woman off I have had bad experiences in the Tallaght area before and have no faith at the moment!!!

I appreciate anyone responding even if it is only to recommend what I do from here??? the car is still driving but for how long I dont know and also we drive up and back on the Naas Road everyday so would dread the car dying on me especially being 8 months pregnant!!! Oh god think I will go into labour now!!! TIA:(

hiltonhater

could it be that there is dirt in the petrol tank?
i remember driving the exes car before and he put 'dirty' petrol in and it did the same thing,. there were also fumes coming out of the exhaust

aingeal_croi

thanks yeah I am thinking fuel blockage??

hiltonhater

or if a lil bit of diesel even got into it the effects would be the same

i do knw a mechanic but he is in louth sorry

biko

You're the second person today that seems to have misfiring cylinders/bad coilpack. Bring it in to mechanic, they'll fix it for 150 euros (if that's the case).

aingeal_croi

thanks am being told to take it to a fiat dealer why does no one want to touch it??

C_Breeze

SPARK PLUGS!


Get them changed and i'd be 99% sure it should be running smoothly afterwards.

Very cheap to do also

L1011

aingeal_croi wrote: »

thanks am being told to take it to a fiat dealer why does no one want to touch it??

If its a Fiat, the dealer in Tallaght is quite cheap labour wise and I've never had a bad experience with them. Airton Motors.

gofaster_s13

H&H motors in Kilcullen, very reasonable and do top grade work also won't rip you off

aingeal_croi

Oh guys thanks so much!! Can you fit spark plugs yourself or do you need to get someone to do that??

patrickc

there not hard to do at all, but you need a ratchet, probably a 12" extension and a spark plug socket for your car, and it's very important to not over tighten them either

John Mason

the same thing happened to me. in my case one of the spark plugs had come loose, i had hit a massive pothole.

might be an idea to just lift the bonnet and check that they are in place

aingeal_croi

god never thought bout that will have a look see (Where do you look??

Nonoperational

Am I doubt its spark plugs. Wouldn't cause a suddon onset like that. Could be lots of things, garage will most likely find the fault on a few minutes when they plug it into diagnostics.

patrickc

http://www.ehow.com/video_110_replace-spark-plugs.html

have a look at this, but as was said maybe get a professional to diagnoise the problem for you

Esel

Kind of amazed at the speculative diagnoses in this thread, given that the only thing we were eventually told is that the car is a Fiat. A bit more detail from the OP on the car might result in more accurate advice, imo.

biko

A coil pack gave up on me a while back.
From driving normally suddenly it felt like driving a tractor.

Car was only driving on 2 cylinders. It would still go, just shudder and be very slow to accelerate.

bazz26

OP, get the car to a garage to be inspect and the problem diagnosed properly.

Don't go out spending money on parts based on opinions here which while trying to be helpful, are only guesses based on your description at the end of the day.

Steve

biko wrote: »

A coil pack gave up on me a while back.
From driving normally suddenly it felt like driving a tractor.

Car was only driving on 2 cylinders. It would still go, just shudder and be very slow to accelerate.

That's what I was thinking from the symptoms - definitely HT related. Could be leads either, they tend to fail suddenly.

A problem like this can quickly overheat and damage the cat due to unburned fuel getting through.

VH

sounds like its not firing on all cylinders - being 8 months pregnant let a garage handle it for you

congratulations btw - kids are great

VH

biko wrote: »

A coil pack gave up on me a while back.
From driving normally suddenly it felt like driving a tractor.

Car was only driving on 2 cylinders. It would still go, just shudder and be very slow to accelerate.

surely 2 went if 2 cylinders weren't firing - btw not all cars have individual coils - lots have just a single coil

biko

Nah, I have two coil packs delivering to four cylinders

Mr.Diagnostic

aingeal_croi wrote: »

HI there

I was coming home today when all of a sudden the car started pulling back and almost shuddering like "coughing" car now sounds different when you drive and when you accelarate it feels like the car is struggling to gain power...at first I thought it could be because my petrol was at a quarter tank so filled it up to half tank but it is still doing this...any ideas from you well bred mechanics out there??? Also I am in the Naas area can anyone recommend a mechanic that wont rip a woman off I have had bad experiences in the Tallaght area before and have no faith at the moment!!!

I appreciate anyone responding even if it is only to recommend what I do from here??? the car is still driving but for how long I dont know and also we drive up and back on the Naas Road everyday so would dread the car dying on me especially being 8 months pregnant!!! Oh god think I will go into labour now!!! TIA:(

A couple of quick points for you.
The best you can hope for here is best guesses as it is not possible to fix cars over the internet. The symptoms you describe could be caused by many things. I think you already know this but you will need to get it into a garage. I am amazed you could not find someone in Naas to look at it for you. If you are still stuck PM me and I will sort something out for you locally.

One final point. The lads who suggested coil packs as likely causes could very well be correct as this is a common Punto fault. If they are correct then the car should not be driven as the failed coils can take out the engine ecu as well thus more than doubling the repair cost.

VH

biko wrote: »

Nah, I have two coil packs delivering to four cylinders

what car is that then?

Mr.Diagnostic

VH wrote: »

what car is that then?

Plenty of cars inc some Puntos.

biko

Volvo S40
More info here
I guess it would be called a dual-coil maybe rather than a pack?

In older vehicles, a single, large ignition coil would serve all the spark plugs, distributing voltage via an ignition distributor. In modern systems, the distributor is omitted and ignition is controlled electronically, instead. Much smaller coils are used with one coil for each spark plug or one coil serving two spark plugs (so two coils in a four-cylinder car).