2000 toyota corolla 1.4vvti issues

fonecrusher1

Since disconnecting the battery to investigate faulty stereo this is whats happening to my car.:mad:

-Hazards lights blink on & off for 20 seconds every few minutes.
-Engine light has lit up in dash.
-She hesitates (engine shudders) a bit when when i accelerate in a hurry. This never happened before i disconnected battery.

I changed the spark plugs for new ones today. The fuel filter in these vvti engines doesn't need changing ever, the oil is nice & clean & the air filter is spotless so im totally confused as to what the problem is.
It could be anything really but i think its something to do with either A the fuel injectors or B the ECU is faulty & needs resetting or replaced. Is it time to just take her to a mechanic with diagnostic equipment.

Any advice welcome please.:(

Mr Benevolent

Long shot, but ocould you have bumped against a connection or sensor when disconnecting the battery?

knifey_spoonie

Did ya use champion plugs by chance??

fonecrusher1

knifey_spoonie wrote: »

Did ya use champion plugs by chance??

Nah used the exact same spark plugs (Denso) that were in her, except they were brand new obviously & all this crap started after disconnecting the battery yesterday.

Confab thats not a bad idea, i'l take a look around the battery.

beam99

Is there a alarm on the car?

Stoolbend

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

-Engine light has lit up in dash.
-She hesitates (engine shudders) a bit when when i accelerate in a hurry. This never happened before i disconnected battery.

It's possible that a coil pack has failed. Nothing to do with disconnecting the battery, just coincidence. Take out the bolts that hold the coil packs down. Start the engine and lift each coil one at a time until you hear the engine note change, and then push it back down. If it doesn't change on one of the cylinders chances are thats the one. Swap it with one of the other coils to see if the misfire moves with it to make sure the coil is faulty.

fonecrusher1

beam99 wrote: »

Is there a alarm on the car?

Im not sure. The key fob is knackered, neither button works on it so i preume no the alarm doesn't work.

Stoolbend

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Im not sure. The key fob is knackered, neither button works on it so i preume no the alarm doesn't work.

Disconnect the batery.
Switch ignition on.
Reconnect battery.

This used to reset older alarms.

fonecrusher1

barry81 wrote: »

It's possible that a coil pack has failed. Nothing to do with disconnecting the battery, just coincidence. Take out the bolts that hold the coil packs down. Start the engine and lift each coil one at a time until you hear the engine note change, and then push it back down. If it doesn't change on one of the cylinders chances are thats the one. Swap it with one of the other coils to see if the misfire moves with it to make sure the coil is faulty.

Ok you could be on to something there as there is a difference in engine noise on the left hand side of the engine!!! (a slightly tippy-tappy noise)

Coil pack??? Do you mean the black plastic object that has to be removed before you can take out each spark plug. It has a spring/coil inside one end of it & its square at the top with a rectangular lead socket which attaches to the main wire loom that connects all the spark plug assemblies?

Sorry for all the questions im not a mechanic.:o

Stoolbend

Yes. The coil pack is the black thing on top of the spark plug thats held down with one small bolt.

fonecrusher1

barry81 wrote: »

Yes. The coil pack is the black thing on top of the spark plug thats held down with one small bolt.

What if i change the left hand coil pack on cylinder 1 to the right hand 4th cylinder?
And if the noise shows up on the right-hand side then your right???

fonecrusher1

Well i thoroughly checked the coil packs & they seem to be fine. Engine running, disconnected the the wiring harness plug that goes into the top of each coil pack listening for a change in engine noise.
All of them affected the engine slightly when i disconnected them so none of them are bad. I changed the coil packs around just to be sure & there was no difference in performance.:mad::mad:

That annoying hesitation is still there. Very bad when i start her in the morning & not too bad after that.

I forgot to mention theres a ferocious whine coming from the rear underside of the car when i take off from a standstill & when im slowing down under 5/6mph. At first i thought it was just a partially siezed brakedrum but now im thinking its the handbrake. The noise is getting worse as well.
The car feels/sounds stiff when moving from standstill.

Could this have something to do with the hesitation i described?

colm_mcm

jack the back of the car up and see if the wheels turn easily.

fonecrusher1

FFS one thing after another.:mad::mad::mad:

Wish i could colm but as usual my lack of tools/equipment is hindering my progress. All i have is a sh!tty little wheel jack & it'l be dark in an hour so it'l be monday till i can get her into a garage.

Seriously thinking about phoning the seller & telling him im not happy with the car.

Anyone know of a decent garage in cork thats open on saturdays?

colm_mcm

there's no axle on the back, so you don't have to get both off the ground at the same time. you can do them one at a time.

Should've bought a nice reliable Avensis

fonecrusher1

Ah well for 1600 euro i was expecting a few things would need sorting. She needs a few bits n pieces & she'll be ok. The only money ive spent on her so far is sparkplugs & petrol.

Im just pissed off that i couldn't sort this stuff out myself. I'l have to bite the bullet & head for a garage i'd say. Ive stretched my mechanical abilities to the extreme!!!
Just hope i don't get hit for mega bucks.

Any luck selling the avensis???