Somethings gone wrong with my 1.9 Tid. It was fine this morning on a 50 mile trip but when I started it to come home there is no power below 2500rpm. There are no warning lights on and the startup check is ok. There is no misfire, it runs smooth but very down on power.
On hills that it would sail up in 6th at 60mph and accelerate if you wanted now it won't hold 60mph in 5th, On almost any hill if it's below 2300rpm it will slow down.
Give it full throttle on a level road at 25mph in third and it will slowly pick up speed, when it gets to 2500rpm you get a push of acceleration and another push at 3000rpm but even above 3000rpm it's down on power.
Give it full throttle in neutral and it's slow building up the revs and seems to it in stages.
I don't know if it was the same fault but my wife has said that when she used it yesterday she set off from work and it felt like it was in 3rd not 1st so she put it in neutral, blipped the throttle, put it in 1st and it pulled away as normal.
Anyone know what the problem could be.
Thanks Alan
Neighbours lad plugged his reader in and no codes but he thinks it's the EGR valve.
Is it normal for it to be bad enough to affect performance without throwing up a code or putting the light on ?
Sorry to hear this Alan.
I don't wish to worry you, but I had a similar symptom which turned out to be the dreaded manifold flap vanes. It was an expensive fix :(
But... the egr valve if seized can give a slightly reduced power - or at least it did with mine - I also had an intermittent misfire until I cleaned it and un-seized it
That's one of the things I was worried about but they look ok with no play or anything so I think it's not them. Do you know under what conditions the swirl flaps move ? would I see them move when the engine is started and throttle is blipped or do they only move when the engine is under load.
A couple of times today some of the power came back so I'm going to start with cleaning the EGR valve and the MAP sensor.
Alan - somwhere in these forums there is a link to a procedure for cleaning the EGR valve.
If it's seized the chances are it will be due to corrosion rather than carbon. The job is very easy but when I tapped the actuator out of the solenoid I had to use quite a surprisingly hard smack with a hammer! I recall the procedure said "Gently tap" :o :o :o ;D
I can tell you, that when you dismantle the pipework that there are gaskets and washers that are going to try and fall down the back of the engine - so be prepared! I was prepared and still nearly dropped them ::)
Sorry I don't have the knowledge on when or how to see those swirl vane thingys moving, but I'm sure someone will be along soon that can give you that info
I'll look for that link and post it here when I find it.
EDIT:
Photo sequence here... though its not the link I was looking for
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60245828@N02/sets/72157626075568967/]http://www.flickr.com/photos/60245828@N02/sets/72157626075568967/]http://www.flickr.com/photos/60245828@N02/sets/72157626075568967/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/60245828@N02/sets/72157626075568967/)
Think its this:
http://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showthread.php?45867-how-to-clean-z19-egr-valve-%28proper-method%29 (http://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showthread.php?45867-how-to-clean-z19-egr-valve-%28proper-method%29)
Just looked through that link and I believe it is the procedure I followed.
I used a quality high temp grease on the moving solenoid, which should move easily and smoothly with your finger on the pin when done, and I neatly taped up the drilled hole with some thick aluminium tape. All bolts reassembled with a little silicone grease ready for when you next need to remove it!
Thanks for the link. I've decided to wait until tomorrow and get a pair of new gaskets before I start because I'm good at losing bits down the back of engines lol.
Normal performance is back.
It was a very easy job, the EGR had plenty of carbon deposits but as the solenoid pin was moving freely I didn't go as far as knocking the solenoid out I just cleaned everything.
The MAP sensor was solid with carbon and the inside of the manifold didn't look too nice.
The only problems I had were finding the 10mm socket I dropped onto the undertray and that carb cleaner melts marigolds.
Quote from: Alan on 09 September 2013, 02:06:50 PM
...and that carb cleaner melts marigolds.
I prefer to use gloves rather than flowers ;D ;D
Glad you got it done ok. It isn't difficult.
As long as the pin felt free and smooth and was working against the spring and not just flopping about then all should be fine but as far as I know it isn't carbon that causes them to stop working - it's corrosion, and mine was really solidly corroded up!
Three days of perfect running, I stop at traffic lights, set off and no power below 2500RPM again. About a mile further and the power is back.
If it wasn't the EGR or MAP sensor causing it why did it run so well for three days after cleaning them ? Could it have anything to do with having the battery disconnected for an hour ?
I found something online that said the swirl flaps should move at 2500/3000RPM, it wasn't for this engine but thought I'd see what happened with mine.
Turn ignition on and they move through about 90 degrees, start engine and on tickover they don't move, as revs rise they start moving and at about 3000RPM they are back to their ignition off position. Hold at 2000RPM and they stay at a mid point. I imagine this is the normal operation of the flaps. Next time I get the fault I'll check the movement of the flaps to see if it's the same.
Interesting that a difference lasted a few days after doing the EGR valve. If you didn't get the pin assembly out though, it could be that it's intermittently sticking (?)
Well at the moment ( touches wood ) it's running fine. I left the engine cover off for a few days so that I could check the swirl flap movement when it lost power. It did it twice over the following few days and the flaps moved as normal ( initial movement is on starting the engine not turning the ignition on ), both times it was back to running normally by the time I got up to third gear and it's been fine for the last couple of weeks.
I did wonder if it was a bit of crud I'd missed in the EGR that had stopped the valve closing fully and got blown clear the next time it opened.
Whatever it was, and I'm 99% sure it was EGR / MAP related, it's gone for now.