Technical Lack of acceleration

[Sasperilla]

Hi all. New to the forum and any advice gratefully received. My son has a 1.3 multi jet diesel engine punto evo 2010 bought 6 months ago for his first wheels but have had quite a few issues mainly with dpf. Basically car would suddenly have no power from the throttle even though engine still ticking over but also terrible fumes and idle very strange, like it was revving itself. First happened at junction or at standstill but more recently happening when changing down gear to 2nd and has happened 5th to 4th. Once engine has been turned off and left a few mins starts up and is fine to drive.
Failed mot on emissions (no surprise there), got a local guy to look at it and he did a forced regeneration on the dpf. Passed mot but still stinks fumy. Ran okay for a week or so then started again with no throttle power. Has anyone any ideas? Someone mentioned egr but I’m not sure it is. Could the dpf be blocking again so soon? Look forward to the replies

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi

Is it being serviced properly? , if the oil settings in the ECU are not set.up properly it won't do its own regenerations..

Tell us more

 

[fiatmultiair]

Most owners of the 1.3 MJT where I live delete their EGR, and DPF should be changed if it's near its lifespan. This issue could be anything, could be valves, the engine clogged up or else. I suggest you visit the mechanik as this is not going to be over the internet diagnosable.

 

[Sasperilla]

Hi

Is it being serviced properly? , if the oil settings in the ECU are not set.up properly it won't do its own regenerations..

Tell us more

It had been regularly serviced previously but we have only had it 6 months so will definitely look into that. Bought from ‘a friend of a friend’ who had only had it a few months (now I know why!)

 

[Sasperilla]

Most owners of the 1.3 MJT where I live delete their EGR, and DPF should be changed if it's near its lifespan. This issue could be anything, could be valves, the engine clogged up or else. I suggest you visit the mechanik as this is not going to be over the internet diagnosable.

Thanks, yes it has done about 95k now so perhaps the DPF is nearing the end of its life. The mechanic was looking into the idea of an EGR bypass but like you say it may not be that anyway. I don’t get how these diagnostic machines work as he has already had it plugged in to do the forced regen so should it not have told him the fault with the EGR then? It’s all too technical now!

 

[varesecrazy]

Thanks, yes it has done about 95k now so perhaps the DPF is nearing the end of its life. The mechanic was looking into the idea of an EGR bypass but like you say it may not be that anyway. I don’t get how these diagnostic machines work as he has already had it plugged in to do the forced regen so should it not have told him the fault with the EGR then? It’s all too technical now!

Where are you based?

Many of us on here have the kit to read how full the DPF is and what the oil settings are.

 

[The Panda Nut]

First thing you need is a fault diagnosis to see if anything is registered in the ECU. Intermittent fault suggests an electronic issue is likely and wring issues are the top suspect for me. However EGR problems are well known. My EGR blocked on a Bravo MJ it went into limp home mode and would not exceed 40mph, so similar so its possible this is the issue. My engine warning came on. EGR faults I have experienced very quickly stop being intermittent and result in permanent trouble till fixed. As its easy to apply cleaner I would do this first it will do no harm and will help to rule out / highlight EGR issues. U tube has plenty of how to videos. Also check the intercooler pipes (very carefully) are not cracked as its a no cost job and could be relevant. I would also change the diesel filter and check there is no water or debris there too. This will help to eliminate some basics before digging deeper.

 

[fiatmultiair]

I had acceleration issues with my 1.4 multiair turbo in first gear, it would almost stall, but it was heavily neglected by the previous owner/s. After a while, the issue has gone away, but I keep servicing one thing at a time. Lots of expensive things are there that need changing

 

[Sasperilla]

Where are you based?

Many of us on here have the kit to read how full the DPF is and what the oil settings are.

I’m in North Yorkshire. The mechanic who did the dpf regeneration has a diagnostic thing so I hope it would show up if egr problems? Does it need to be a specific diagnostic tool?

 

[The Panda Nut]

DIY diagnostics specifically for Fiat are from Gendan.co.uk. I have occasionally found the need for a dealer diagnostic even with the MES software. I have MES and its good value and effective for nearly everything. I recommend it, as do several other people on here.

 

[AndyRKett]

I’m hazarding a guess here but I think it’s a sign the turbo is on its way out. The engine suddenly losing all power, the car running on when it should be slowing down, the terrible smell from the exhaust, it is highly possible the turbo is letting oil into the air intake system of the engine, any diesel engine will happily burn sump oil as fuel and the culmination of this with diesels is usually you say on the side of the road with the engine destroying itself at beyond max RPM with that’s called engine runaway as the diesel engine consumes all its own oil then seizes.

I’d get the turbo looked at I’d also take the intake pipe off and check it’s not full of engine oil.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I’m hazarding a guess here but I think it’s a sign the turbo is on its way out. The engine suddenly losing all power, the car running on when it should be slowing down, the terrible smell from the exhaust, it is highly possible the turbo is letting oil into the air intake system of the engine, any diesel engine will happily burn sump oil as fuel and the culmination of this with diesels is usually you say on the side of the road with the engine destroying itself at beyond max RPM with that’s called engine runaway as the diesel engine consumes all its own oil then seizes.

I’d get the turbo looked at I’d also take the intake pipe off and check it’s not full of engine oil.

Yes symptoms sound right.

 

[Sasperilla]

So we did an EGR spray cleaner today with help from a mechanic friend. He sprayed it in the pipe while we had the engine running to about 2000rpm. We did a test run and it ran okay and my son then took it further (10miles) without an issue and he’ll drive back tomorrow so fingers crossed it will get him home. The fuel filter was changed a couple of months ago and the injectors cleaned. It also had a new airflow meter very recently. Next step then is to check the turbo I guess. Also the engine fault light was on the other day when I started it up and message on dash said ‘check engine’ so I didn’t drive it, but today no light on even before we cleaned the egr. I do think it possibly has some other issues as often is a message on the screen saying ‘start stop unavailable’ (didn’t know it even had this feature) and it thinks the boot is open when driving (but it’s not) apart from all that I do actually like the little car, also two of the heater knobs have snapped off!

 

[fiatmultiair]

So we did an EGR spray cleaner today with help from a mechanic friend. He sprayed it in the pipe while we had the engine running to about 2000rpm. We did a test run and it ran okay and my son then took it further (10miles) without an issue and he’ll drive back tomorrow so fingers crossed it will get him home. The fuel filter was changed a couple of months ago and the injectors cleaned. It also had a new airflow meter very recently. Next step then is to check the turbo I guess. Also the engine fault light was on the other day when I started it up and message on dash said ‘check engine’ so I didn’t drive it, but today no light on even before we cleaned the egr. I do think it possibly has some other issues as often is a message on the screen saying ‘start stop unavailable’ (didn’t know it even had this feature) and it thinks the boot is open when driving (but it’s not) apart from all that I do actually like the little car, also two of the heater knobs have snapped off!

Fiat quality... a car needs to be driven and serviced, if it's a diesel it needs extra care because of the carbon build up. Head gasket needs to be changed turbo needs to be changed. Electronic issues are mostly due to corrosion on the plugs/connectors, clean them out. Heater knobs can be bought from a junk yard, they are easy to find. My turbo service costed 600 euros, not sure how much your will cost, most probably less.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Get a diagnostic done or better still buy and use MES. It WILL save you money.