Misfiring Corsa D Pez (could it be MAF)

[Vince70]

I've just got this text message from my young brother as apparently his Corsa D is playing up and this is his text..

 

"Alright mate, sorry to be pain in arse but my car is playing up Sarah is out at moment in it and said it is really spluttering more so in low gears. Any chance you could have a look at it for us. Didn't know if just be something quite obvious."

 

I wouldn't mind but my own car is going into the garage on Wednesday as I really don't have the time these days after starting a new job but I do have an old cheapo code reader which I will plug in and see if any codes pop up but I was wondering is there anything I should be looking for on a poxhall with a crappy ecotec pez engine.

 

I have already told him that he should of bought a tidy 90s Vauxhall instead with a shared fan and heated rear window switch but he wouldn't listen.

[Kiltox]

Coil pack most of the time, worth checking the plugs first though.

[twosmoke300]

Coil pack or the terminals on the bottom of it rusted out

[Vince70]

Thanks for the help he's bringing the car over tomorrow morning and I have my Euro car parts and car parts 4 less online voucher at hand lol.

He's now saying his wife says its a problem with fuel as it stinks of petrol and I've tried telling him it's because of unspent fuel but he doesn't get it lol.

I only see him once in the blue moon when he either has a problem with the house or the car but I guess that now that his Poxhall is 10 years old that I will be seeing him on a more frequent basis lol.

[mrbenn]

Must be a very common issue, both people I know with Corsa D's have had to replace the coil pack! At least it is a straightforward fix.

[sierraman]

Coil I guess. If it's the pencil type ones sometimes you'll see which one it is. They are cheap but I wouldn't knock about in it till it's sorted cause it might goose the Cat.

[Split_Pin]

Coil pack with 99% certainty, other 1% the MAF. Do not use cheaps ECP pattern parts, get new or used genuine.

[sierraman]

I fitted a £15 EBay Coil to a fiesta and it lasted years, the OE one was £70 I think, I usually try to get decent parts but on this occasion it worked out ok.

[fiatdaft]

If it ain't the coil pack it might be fucked timing chain .

 

 

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[Cavcraft]

Another vote for the coil pack.

[omegod]

Coil pack, has anyone mentioned it yet   They get all crusty on the springs and can be cleaned up as a short term fix

[Split_Pin]

Coil usually goes on 1 cylinder. Watch it hasn't fried the associated plug as well. If that doesn't work, get it plugged in somewhere. Multiple cylinder misfire means chain trouble but they usually audibly let you know that the tensioner is getting slack for a long time before it's too late.

[Vince70]

I didn't have any parts today but I plugged the code reader in and it came back with codes 2191 0171 & 2187 but I took the coil pack out and it was the original 11 year old one and checked the plugs out and the things were black and the electrodes were worn out so I cleaned them up and closed the plug gaps up by tapping them on the kerb and ordered a new set from ECP for under 7 quid with a discount code for a set of Bosch plugs.

 

When I replaced the old plugs and reset the codes the engine management light went out and it's running ok for the time being but my brother does neglect the Corsa and the only time the bonnet is opened is if I ever look at it which is about once every couple of years.

 

I have told him its most probably coil pack related and be prepared to buy one in the near future and thanks very much for all the help.

[Cavcraft]

I meant to add it'll definitately be completely knackered and I'll kindly* offer you £100 for the car.

[cort16]

Must be a very common issue, both people I know with Corsa D's have had to replace the coil pack! At least it is a straightforward fix.

 

 

Me too, everyone I know with one has had to change coil packs at some point. I don't think it's too expensive.

[Split_Pin]

These don't like neglect at all, the timing chain responds well to regular oil changes.

[sierraman]

A lot seem to piss oil out of the pressure sensor. Seems to be caused by excessive pressure due to breather pipe getting blocked.

[Cavcraft]

Not the oil presure switch? V.common, but easy and cheap to fix.

[sierraman]

Yes, Vauxhall only charge £17 for the switch. The cheap ones leak as standard.

[Vince70]

The engine doesn't sound bad if I'm honest but I think in the time he's had the car it's only had a couple of oil changes that I know of (which I did ) and I did tell him that yearly oil changes are critical but he hasn't adhered to that and the only reason it had the oil changes in the first place was because I nagged him to getting it done.

 

The plugs were black though so I'm wondering if it's running a bit rich so I might give the MAF a spray up with some electrical contact cleaner next week when he brings it back and check the air filter.

 

I just don't have any idea when it comes to anything modern but the codes suggest it's running lean apparently but on the other hand I don't know if the codes have ever been cleared before as he told me it needed a lambda sensor a year or two back but I will plug the code reader back in and see if anything comes back up.

[twosmoke300]

Lean fuel trim codes can be a sign of a failing maf

[Vince70]

My brother said the car is now running fine so I decided it was best to tinker with it again and I went and put a new set of plugs in and in less than a week the things were covered in black soot so I think it's running rich..

 

Being that it's a modern Poxhall I don't have a clue as there's no carb or mixture screw so it's all witchcraft and I don't know what part to hit with a hammer but i checked for any codes and there's nothing showing up so put a set of new plugs back in and checked the air filter and sprayed the MAF sensor and the throttle body butterfly with some carb cleaner.

 

I even noticed there's no throttle cable anymore when I sprayed the innards of the throttle body bloody moderns lol but he said it was slightly missing when he pulled away but I'm hoping it some residue from the carb cleaner doing that,

[sierraman]

Could be the CTS, failure will mean it defaults to running on choke as it were.

[Bren]

MAF on it's last? Console him with the fact it's not a vectra 3.0cdti - the CERN particle accelerator is easier to work on.

[Vince70]

I've not had a reply back yet from the text I sent him earlier today and I said it could be a dodgy MAF so I guess I will wait for the phonecall in a couple of weeks time when the misfire comes back.

 

If it does last then I expect a phonecall in a couple of years time when something else goes wrong with the house or the car lol.

 

He came round with his misses yesterday and she brought round a couple of ice cold designer beers which I thought must be for me then drunk them while waiting for me to repair the motor lol.

[Hendry]

A lot seem to piss oil out of the pressure sensor. Seems to be caused by excessive pressure due to breather pipe getting blocked.

 

This sounds familiar, my exs father had an 08 1.2 SXI from brand new, itd done about 30k miles and needed new tyres on the front, the boy at National tyres told him he had an oil leak, car was coming up for 3 years old and almost out of warranty, as my mate worked on the service desk at one of the local Vauxhall dealers i took it in and they repaired the oil leak, my pal said theyd had to order a part to sort it and it also needed a new wiper linkage and some sort of rubber hose/pipe ontop of the engine, I popped the bonnet to show him when I took the car back to him and sure enough this rubber hose/pipe had split right through in the middle and all that could be seen was that mayo type stuff you usually find under the oil cap of cars that are continually subjected to short stop start journeys.

 

What youve described mustve been exactly what happened to that too. 

 

Bloody Corsa Ds are the worst Vauxhall yet for sensor issues, the Coolant temp sensors are particularly prone to failing, it was very common on the fleet of them at work. 

[Vince70]

My brother popped back over today as the car had lumpy idling and a misfire plus the engine light had come back on and when I checked the codes it said bank 1 was running lean.

 

So I decided to pull the wiring going to the Maf and it's now running great and the light has stayed off after another reset with the code reader and wondered wil it be ok to run the car with it disconnected for a week or so till I find him a cheap one if it is the MAF.

[twosmoke300]

Isn't that the inlet air temp sensor ?

[twosmoke300]

In fact if it's only two pins then it can't be a maf

[Vince70]

Thanks i haven't got a clue with moderns but with that sensor disconnected it runs spot on.

Bring back the days when you could fit an engine to your RWD ford with a few spanners and have told him I don't know about moderns but he is still pestering me to sort it.

I wouldn't mind but I take my own car to the garage lol