Very high emissions reading

TomasMan

Failed NCT on Monday due to a very high emissions, guy at the center said readings are of the charts.
I wouldn't have a clue about these numbers but I did notice when I left the mechanic on Monday morning that the car was idling funny, misfiring sometimes, mpg dropped down to 31 from 44. The only thing I changed at the shop was oil, oil filter, front brake pads, front tyres... But the mechanic did wash the engine with the pressure washer so I'm guessing that might have caused water to go in where it shouldn't.

Any idea what went wrong? Is there an easy fix? I don't wanna spend much more money on this car as its a cheap Punto.

Thanks

grogi

TomasMan wrote: »

Any idea what went wrong? Is there an easy fix? I don't wanna spend much more money on this car as its a cheap Punto

WHY? WHY? WHY!

It probably broke a wire or two. Check the lambda sensor readings - but without connecting to computer you'll not know.

biko

The car is running rich, this means not all fuel is burned up inside the engine.
You need the mechanic again, bring the NCT sheet.
Actually you need a mechanic that has access to emissions testing equipment.

Interslice

TomasMan wrote: »

Failed NCT on Monday due to a very high emissions, guy at the center said readings are of the charts.
I wouldn't have a clue about these numbers but I did notice when I left the mechanic on Monday morning that the car was idling funny, misfiring sometimes, mpg dropped down to 31 from 44. The only thing I changed at the shop was oil, oil filter, front brake pads, front tyres... But the mechanic did wash the engine with the pressure washer so I'm guessing that might have caused water to go in where it shouldn't.

Any idea what went wrong? Is there an easy fix? I don't wanna spend much more money on this car as its a cheap Punto.

Thanks

Is it still idling bad etc.? Sounds like, as you were guessing, the mechanic got water into your ignition(spark plug) system.

TomasMan

Thanks for the replays.
Yes, the car is still idling bad, like misfiring. I don't think I'll go back to same mechanic as his garage doesn't have equipment to measure emissions. I'll get the new spark plugs in and clean the air filter, hopefully that will help.

Interslice

TomasMan wrote: »

Thanks for the replays.
Yes, the car is still idling bad, like misfiring. I don't think I'll go back to same mechanic as his garage doesn't have equipment to measure emissions. I'll get the new spark plugs in and clean the air filter, hopefully that will help.

Would you not stretch to a new air filter ??

Do you know if it has coil packs or a distributor? You haven't a hope of passing the emmisions with the misfire and that still there. Dry out all the leads before you fit the new plugs anyway. Once it's back running normally, a good hard drive and it should be good to retest.

TomasMan

Interslice wrote: »

Would you not stretch to a new air filter ??

Do you know if it has coil packs or a distributor? You haven't a hope of passing the emmisions with the misfire and that still there. Dry out all the leads before you fit the new plugs anyway. Once it's back running normally, a good hard drive and it should be good to retest.

I suppose I should get a new air filter
Don't have a clue about the coil packs. I'll go tomorrow and change those bits and make sure leads are all dry. I suppose good indicator that everything is running OK will be fuel consumption.

Interslice

TomasMan wrote: »

I suppose I should get a new air filter
Don't have a clue about the coil packs. I'll go tomorrow and change those bits and make sure leads are all dry. I suppose good indicator that everything is running OK will be fuel consumption.

5 - 10 euro for one . Older yolks use a distributor based system which are fairly bulletproof and just need drying out. If it has a coil pack which it proabably does, you might have blown it. Can be pricey to replace. The HT leads should pull away off the top of the coil pack aswell as the plugs. Dry everything out with a hairdryer. A bit of contact cleaner wouldn't go amiss. See how she goes. If it's running well and giving you 40+mpg again you should be good to go ye.

samih

Avoid driving with a misfire as it will kill your cat in short order. My wife once drove our ex car for 20 km with a defective air flow meter and that was enough to totally destroy the cat.