Forum:
G'day,
My 1.3 Charade seems to be using too much petrol. In litres and kms it is at about 8 litres per 100 kms and as I believe it should be at about 5.5 or 6 litres oer 100 kms. I cannot find a leak even though there is a slight smell of petrol when hopping out of the car. The little red warning light is usually on when driving and I have assumed that it is for the small back number plate that does not work, could this warning light indicate another problem within the fuel system? If so does that mean a visit to an expensive garage or is it something I can find? If anyone can suggest where to look for possible faults please let me know.
Philip
if your smelling petrol it do
if your smelling petrol it does not ness mean you have a leek! what does the engine run like? is it a bit slugish? does it miss fire or not rev up or has dead spots?
a load of crap in your air intake/blocked airfilter etc will cause the engine to run very rich as there is not enoug air to burn the fuel! this can then get blown out the exhaust manifold and cause a fuel smell!
the timming being a little out can have the same effect! or not a good spark on one or more plugs!
i know nothing about your type of vehical, but not changing the airfilter on my old car almost doubled its fuel use!
sometimes the cause of a problem is not what you think!
check all the plugs for colour and try and ascertain if all the cylinders are burning correctly also!
and obviously go over the hole fuel system and check for leaks aswell!
anyone wana ride in my hovercraft!
Petrol usage
Philip
Thanks Jonbigpants for your comments. I changed the air filter and yes it was perhaps a bit dirty but not too bad and I changed the plugs which also looked quite good, an even brownish colour with no tendency towards blackness or coking. I have just today looked under the car properly with engine off and on and saw no leaks. I will soon tank the car again and see how it has gone and if it is better I will write again.
The petrol smell is a bit less I think, I hope. If it is less then maybe as you suggest it could have been the air filter to blame. The filter cost about five quid and the plugs about the same. I hope that it gets better economy as I biought the car with a mind to cheap cheap travelling.
Philip
Economy still not good
Philip
I have changed the plugs and filter, as mentioned before, but it still seems to take too much petrol. I have checked the fuel system again and there does appear to be a leak of sorts from somewhere on the top of the tank or side of it. It seems to weep but it only smells when the cars is on and therefore I suppose that it is the return, but it could well be the main supply, line. The only way of checking it seems to be to remove the tank. It seems a very small amount of petrol.
Does anyone know if a fuel tank from a 2 door modell fits into a 4 door modell?
The engine does not miss or behave in an untoward manner at all.
I have read up on the net about the Lambda sensor and how one checks it, but this is difficult without a good voltage gauge.
Does anyone have a good system for checking these?
The car is a 1990 Charade, 1.3 EFI.
Philip