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my bad idle hunting and stalling problem


roboboyo

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As some of you may know, i have had a rough idle and stalling issue, and when she stalls, theres a strong smell of fuel,

 

well, here is a video i took today

 

can anyone identify my problem,

 

 

ive changed the maff icv, plugs, coil, oxy sensor, gutted the kat, checked for vacuum leaks, i even removed the pipe from the inlet, to under neath the coil pack, and plugged it witha bolt and jubilee clip,

 

anyways, im about to send my ecu off to the ecu doctor, and have it checked and possibly rebuilt, if faulty, (deep ecu)

 

anyone ever had a ecu go bad??

 

here

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ive not had a ford ecu fail, but my dad had the ecu on his bmw fail, the car simply wouldnt start and when plugged in for fault codes it threw up all sorts of random rubbish, the reason it wouldnt start is because all the spark plugs were firing at complete random. so of course when we pulled them out to check if there was a spark, just saw them sparking away and didnt think anything of it

 

so i guess the answer to your question is, yes they can fail

 

and actually have you checked the fuel pressure is high enough?? that would also cause poor running issues

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Judging by how the engine is running in the YouTube footage, I'll be surprised if this is an Ecu fault.

 

Engine sounds a little tappety though.

 

During my 25 year car history and also repairing cars, I've only ever come across one Ecu which had developed a fault.

On a Rover 800 with 236k on the clock.

Not saying it can't happen but from my own experience, I believe it's unlikely.

 

Under normal driving conditions, how does the engine perform.

 

Is this only an idle and cutting out while idling/stopping issue ?

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Judging by how the engine is running in the YouTube footage, I'll be surprised if this is an Ecu fault.

 

Engine sounds a little tappety though.

 

During my 25 year car history and also repairing cars, I've only ever come across one Ecu which had developed a fault.

On a Rover 800 with 236k on the clock.

Not saying it can't happen but from my own experience, I believe it's unlikely.

 

Under normal driving conditions, how does the engine perform.

 

Is this only an idle and cutting out while idling/stopping issue ?

 

 

yes, and no, she drives fine, but sometimes she will shudder on acceleration and the engine will make a coughing noise, this is how i know that as soon as i slow to a stop, she will cut out. followed by strong fuel smells!!

 

there is a tickey sound from the inlet mani area, possibly injectors,

 

at this point, i have my ecu packaged, and ready to post to the ecu doctor, do you recon i should still send her??

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I would hold off on the ECU

 

Genuine ford icv?

 

Working and tested MAF?

 

Refurbed injectors with new seals?

 

 

these are good points, the icv was a cheap new one from ebay, the maff was new from ebay aswel, but it appears to be fine, as when i unplug it, it gets worse, (as in the video)

 

I did put the old icv back on, but i may have damaged it when cleaning it, because i left it over night in petrol, and even the conector plug was covered, maybe not a good idea, plus the gasket was split,

 

in your opinion though, is the engine showing symtoms of low cylinder compression?????

 

she is not burning oil, or using water, the oil is clear and clean, never needs topping up, and i changed the oil 4 months ago,

 

I used fully synthetic 5w 30 rather than the semi, as ford told me that they have phased out the semi???

 

anyways, let me know as soon as you have those injectors and 2.0 tb ready!!! cheers pal

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Yeah, I'll hold off sending the ECU away.

 

I believe you have a vacuum leak around the inlet manifold, especially due to the smell of fuel when the engine stalls and also as you're able to completely blank off the PCV valve intake at the manifold with a bolt of some kind.

 

On my 1.8 Zetec, when I blank off the PCV valve at the manifold, my engine stalls and fails to restart, will only restart when the PCV valve intake not blanked off.

 

On your car, with everything fitted how it should be; did you notice whether the engine would stall when the ISCV electrical connector was disconnected ?

 

If the engine does stall when disconnecting the ISCV, this kind of proves that there's no vacuum leaks present.

 

Also, did you ensure when fitting the new ISCV it had a gasket ?

 

 

You should attempt to run the engine with the ISCV bypassed.

 

You can bypass the ISCV by disconnecting its electrical connection and use the PCV valve pipe to allow air into the manifold, disconnect the pipe just below the coil pack; you may need to restrict the amount of air being sucked in to achieve the correct idle.

 

Doing this may at least enable you to use the car and gain confidence in what it isn't rather than what it is.

 

With the ISCV bypassed in such a manner, you may have issues with engine idle when first started but while holding at 1000revs this will soon settle within minutes; also on occasions, when steering is on full lock, the engine may stall; all of which are easy to accommodate in order to help diagnose your currently issues.

 

Although it's not practical to permanently bypass the ISCV in such a fashion.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Yeah, I'll hold off sending the ECU away.

 

I believe you have a vacuum leak around the inlet manifold, especially due to the smell of fuel when the engine stalls and also as you're able to completely blank off the PCV valve intake at the manifold with a bolt of some kind.

 

On my 1.8 Zetec, when I blank off the PCV valve at the manifold, my engine stalls and fails to restart, will only restart when the PCV valve intake not blanked off.

 

On your car, with everything fitted how it should be; did you notice whether the engine would stall when the ISCV electrical connector was disconnected ?

 

If the engine does stall when disconnecting the ISCV, this kind of proves that there's no vacuum leaks present.

 

Also, did you ensure when fitting the new ISCV it had a gasket ?

 

 

You should attempt to run the engine with the ISCV bypassed.

 

You can bypass the ISCV by disconnecting its electrical connection and use the PCV valve pipe to allow air into the manifold, disconnect the pipe just below the coil pack; you may need to restrict the amount of air being sucked in to achieve the correct idle.

 

Doing this may at least enable you to use the car and gain confidence in what it isn't rather than what it is.

 

With the ISCV bypassed in such a manner, you may have issues with engine idle when first started but while holding at 1000revs this will soon settle within minutes; also on occasions, when steering is on full lock, the engine may stall; all of which are easy to accommodate in order to help diagnose your currently issues.

 

Although it's not practical to permanently bypass the ISCV in such a fashion.

 

 

Latest update lads.

 

got another ecu, installed another inlet manifold, [witch came with a known working icv] re sealed the gasket on the tb, and today, i changed the fuel pump and sensor, still cutting out,!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

what next guys, injectors?????

 

 

by the way, anyone know how to adjust the fuel level float, because as i installed mine, the gage was showing full tank??? when theres only about £15 in her!!!

Edited by roboboyo
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  • 2 years later...

did you work it out? as I have similar problems cleanded and sealed a bunch of things but mines cutting out when stoping or slowing down and the revs bounce when stood still and ive got a faint smell of fuel and what looks like a small oil leak somewhere above the gear box, also I swear its a bit more smokey out the back end now

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  • 5 months later...

Mine has been running lumpy for a while, I eventually could hear a hissing noise like air of vacuum escape. found out it was the crank breather/vacuum pipe that runs from the front of the block to round the back under the inlet manifold (1.6 plastic type). under the manifold on the bend it had a split or puncture mark, I just tapped it up for temp until I can source a new pipe or change the engine. problem solved, smooth as a rolls now.

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