Technical Lack of power

[mark hopper]

Hi there I need some advice

I have a punto 1.2 8v active on an 04 plate

Whilst driving there seems to be a lack of power especially up hills I can't seem to get it past 40mph, I thought it might just need a good service as it hasn't been done in a while so I changed the plugs, oil, oil filter and put some petrol flush through but that doesn't seem to have worked, the engine management light hasn't come on so I have no idea of the problem

Please help???

Mark

 

[Ziggy122]

A - Binding brakes?
B - Blocked cat/ exhaust causing lots of backpressure choking the engine?
C - Fuel Pump not delivering susficient fuel

Good clean spark?
fuel been delivered to fuel rail?
Timing hasn't jumped?

My money is probably on A or C

But without investigation i wouldnt know

When the engine is warm - in neutral does it rev up to the red line with ease?
Or does it hesitate?
Dont redline lots - just see if it gets there

Ziggy

 

[mark hopper]

Yer the spark plugs are brand new, the fuel seems to be fine, i havent checked the brakes to be fair so I will have a look at that and repost

The engine revs up fine no hesitation or anything

Im quite stumped as to what the problem is

 

[mark hopper]

I also noticed last night when i turned the ignition off that smoke was coming out of the tail pipe??

 

[Ziggy122]

I also noticed last night when i turned the ignition off that smoke was coming out of the tail pipe??

Not uncommon for a little whiff or puffs to escape after the engine has been running, but i'd be worried if like 5mins later its still smoking

Since the engine is revving fine up under no load, it could be forwell fine under load
But there isn't a way to tell if so (lets S+B or mr.andy step in!)

I'd be half tempted to get both the rear end up and check the wheels spin freely when with the handbrake off - it should easily rotate and keep rotating till its momentum dies down
if it stuggles to complete a turn then i'd be looking at a seizure somewhere

The fronts its abit harder to tell since the transverse setup means you are spinning the gearbox too
But again - in neutral it should require little effort to spin the wheel, but i wouldn't expect to see any major movement afterwards

Dont assume since 1 side is fine the other will be
A seizure can occour at any time on any of the brakes


Ziggy

 

[mark hopper]

Yer the smoke was only for a few seconds, ill give the wheels a try tomorrow and see what happens when i get it on the lift when i finish work.

Thanks for the advice

 

[Ziggy122]

Hell even the emergency fackmyarmsdead/fackthatsthe5thtimeivescrapedmyknuckles in the boot will the job sufficiently to check the wheels

Remeber its an emergency jack tho - take car when using it

Ziggy

 

[mark hopper]

Yer but the jack in the boot takes alot of effort, i couldnt be bothered with that ?

 

[mark hopper]

I have checked brakes there totally fine, the problem is still occurring so I'm really stumped. My friend is a mechanic he said he thinks its the throttle pedal as it has sensors on it and he think it has failed either that or he thinks its the ecm any suggestions on this??

 

[fingers99]

Very unlikely to be the ECU (usually ECU faults on these cause misfires).

I'd expect a faulty throttle pot to throw up a code, but worth checking that the throttle opens fully when you push the loud pedal.

 

[Ziggy122]

since you said you've got an active model
The active = 8v engine

the 8v engine is a Cable operated system.
So as said above, pop the airbox off, and have a look and see if the butterfly is opening from 92degs to 180degs

while your there - it might be worthwhile adjusting the throttle cable if any slack in found
Simply just ""pull"" lightly on the cable, does it move but not the throttle, in that case, its loose.... a 30second fix for that

ziggy

 

[mark hopper]

thanks guys I will double check that over the weekend and let you know the outcome

 

[fingers99]

Don't take out all the slack or you'll have a fight with the ECU set idle speed. Just make sure you get full opening.