Cold start problem - Sportrrak

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I've got a P reg Sportrak XI-SE (petrol) 1600 and am having problems with cold starts. When pulling off in lower gears and trying to build up speed, it feels like someone is putting the hand brake on! Its been to the garage and had the distributor cap, HT leads and rotar arm replaced and they told me the ecu has a 'flat spot' in the warm up. They've quoted £1000 to replace the ecu (I presume that includes labour). Has anyone had this problem before? If I was to buy an ecu from somewhere, is it something I could change myself? Any recommendations on where to buy one?

Any assistance/information would be welcomed.

Cheers
Mark

Try this .......

There are two weights inside the distributor. They are fixed on a horizontal plate below the contact points The weights effect the 'advance' of the distributor. When the distributor turns the weights move centrifugally, spiral outwards, and 'advance' the spark. The faster the vehicle speed then the earlier/advancement of the spark at the plugs. If the weights are sticking, the advancement is retarded and acceleration is very sluggish. The engine might 'knock' whilst accelerating : or acceleration is chronic. Did the mechanic clean and lubricate the advance mechanism..... was he aware of old technology? Modern cars have electronic timing!
You also fail to mention the contact points which are inside the distributor. The contacts provide the timing of the 'spark' for the plugs. If the contacts have become burned or the gap substantially increased/worn, then a very weak spark will be produced. Starting becomes a problem. Contact points should be renewed and the contact gap set to 1mm. The 1 mm gap is wider than the specification.... a smaller gap gives poor acceleration. Obviously the contacts must open at the specified degrees bft.

ECU

ECU's do not have a warm up mode, they simply have two maps electronically stored within them, one is the running mode, and the other is the idling mode.

When running it takes engine information from several sensors, these are usually temperature, electrical load, engine speed, engine knock, throttle position, and crank angle sensor. Irrespective of how the vehicle is run, these sensors tell the ECU the information and it adjusts to suit the engine conditions.

In idle mode, i.e. when the engine is ticking over, as when stuck i traffic etc, it takes the engine information and biases the engine running to reduce emissions levels.

Therefore it would seem that they are stumped and want to make money out of you. One simple option is to swap ECU's with someone with the same ECU as yours, and see if the problem continues.
I would suggest having the fault codes read, this will give a good indication as to where the problem lies, i would suggest swapping the temperature sensor. From your information this is defective and sending the wrong infomation too the ECU, if these are faulty they have a default or get you home setting, this is a fixed value rather than a variable value which gives these symptoms.

ECU's can be got for about a

ECU's can be got for about a tenner at a breakers if you want to disprove the "garage" offering such a ludicrous suggestion (it's about a 5 minute job to fit one anyway, bear in mind your facelift model will have a different ECU to the pre '93's)

You don't get much better advice than from Assassin or Mace, and I'd follow what they say on this thread. But FWIW I do note that there is no mention of you having the plugs changed or indeed some of the other basics.... I'd start with new NGK's for the sake of 6 - odd quid, and do make sure the HT leads are routed correctly - the should sit in the correct clips on the rocker cover and not flap around under the bonnet. Also, use non-supermarket fuel and have you checked the air filter - run it BREIFLY without to confirm - as it's amazing what a difference a new one makes.

HTH.

Dave with a Sporty

Dave with a Sporty

Thank you all for the

Thank you all for the advice. I will try and get hold of an ecu from a breakers and a new temperature sensor and swap them out.

For info, the plugs were clean and didn't need changing and the points were in good condition. I don't think the garage were trying to rip me off - they know the car too well - they replaced the engine 3 months after I bought it - but thats a whole other story (previous owners didn't keep it serviced etc) Wink

I'll be back if I get stuck.

Thanks again
Mark

...

...

Thank you all for the

Thank you all for the advice. I will try and get hold of an ecu from a breakers and a new temperature sensor and swap them out.

For info, the plugs were clean and didn't need changing and the points were in good condition. I don't think the garage were trying to rip me off - they know the car too well - they replaced the engine 3 months after I bought it - but thats a whole other story (previous owners didn't keep it serviced etc) Wink

I'll be back if I get stuck.

Thanks again
Mark