Big, Big Time Poster
A friend is having some power troubles...
Low power sounds like either clogged fuel/air filters or plugged up exhaust system. When's the last time the filters were looked after? Did she back into a curb with the exhaust and crimp the pipe closed? Or did some critter fill the muffler with 'treasures?'Originally Posted by e34.535i.sport
Could be dirty injectors causing poor spray pattern but she should have hard start symptoms also.
Brian
Last edited by bsell; 05-20-2008 at 09:55 AM.
4 Grand Master
I know all about diesel engine. I would say in her situation that she needs to change her fuel filter. Clogged fuel filter robs power.
Another thing is to buy biocide for the fuel tank. Pour it in to kill algae that may be clogging her fuel tank screen.
Grand Master
A friend is having some power troubles...
Hey guys unfortunately a friend of mine is driving a 2.0L Diesel Ford Galaxy (that's the unfortunate part) - no seriously though she's found that the car is sometimes struggling to accelerate above 50mph (sometimes even 40mph!) even with the accelerator nailed to the floor...
Apparently it's struggling for power when the air con and other things are in use - does this sound like a bad alternator to you? No other symptoms as far as I know (no warning lights on dash) - and the car was doing 80 yesterday without a problem (no air con etc switched on)...
Cheers fellas... Any ideas welcomed as I want to go and have a look at it but could use some ideas incase anybody's had anything like this before. Done a search and couldn't find anything of use bar this one but I can only assume the porblme is similar???
http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showt...ght=alternator
1995 XJR: 4.0L S/charged straight 6 Auto
What... It's not broken??? I can still fix it
3 Grand Master
Diesels work on compression-ignition: they dont need a spark to get them to run. So I dont think electrics should be a factor. Feather Diesels are the people to talk to. (Used to be in Wakefield but they are in Cleckhuddersfax now) I always thought they did just trucks but a mate says they are the dogs for cars too
Grand Master
Hmmmm that is interesting... I can see how the fuel filter can rob power (mine weighed a ton when I changed it - although it was about 14 years old! LOL!), but why would problems only arise when the A/C is on if this was the case?
Tiger - This Biocide sounds facinating I would never have thought that algae would stop a car running properly! Is this stuff readily available in your average motor store?!
1995 XJR: 4.0L S/charged straight 6 Auto
What... It's not broken??? I can still fix it
4 Grand Master
Call them up and ask. If they supply parts for diesel cars, most likely yes. Truck stops definitely have them. Marine shop definitely have them.
When you starve the fuel, any additional load such as AC will slow it down further.
The diesel injectors probably need some cleaning too... a gallon of gasoline in a full tank of diesel will dissolve any gunks along the way.
Grand Master
Something that I always remember in these situations - check the turbo-manifold hose, does it hiss loudly when she puts her foot down?
Ford were renowned in the uk for using weak air ducts that just couldnt cope on their TD models - something to do with rubber hoses working in close proximity to the exhaust manifolds!
If you cant find anything else wrong with it, check the boost pressure as well...
Does it black smoke under load? Follow her somewhere when the engines warm and get her to nail the gas pedal hard while you watch.
Too much smoke = turbo not spooling up
Some smoke = just right
No smoke = pressure line between inlet manifold and mechanical fuel injection pump busted, injection pump not overfuelling as the turbo comes in and engine leaning out.
Big, Big Time Poster
[QUOTE=e34.535i.sport]Hmmmm that is interesting... I can see how the fuel filter can rob power (mine weighed a ton when I changed it - although it was about 14 years old! LOL!), but why would problems only arise when the A/C is on if this was the case?[QUOTE]
Gradual power loss is hard to detect, at least until some major milestone like accelerating past 50-60mph isn't met. I bet your friend doesn't do many top-end runs, otherwise she would have noticed the new, lower top-end speed caused by the reduced power.
Or, did the fuel filter/pick-up screen in the tank finally plug up totally causing the very low power output? Hopefully, this junk didn't make it into the injection pump and injectors yet as now you are talking tons of money.
Most cars provide pretty easy access to the in-tank fuel pump which means you can put eyes on the condition of your friend's bio-project (or not) in the fuel tank. It should be not much more than a couple lids and screws but I am not the one to know about European model Ford diesels!
Brian
A friend of mine had the exact same problem on his diesel focus. It was an electrical fault and was traced back to the fly-by-wire on the throttle/injection pump.
Grand Master
How old is this car?
I wouldnt expect it to be fly-by-wire or have a common rail injection pick up pump in the tank unless it's a TDCi model... and even then I'd be suspicious on a ford.
If it's a pre-2001->3 model it'll be purely mechanical injection - if you're having problems with these it's likely to be the fuel filter or a fuel leak or turbo problem. On older diesels a fuel leak doesnt constitute 'fuel leaking from...', more 'air leaking into' as older mech inj diesels have the fuel lines running at lower than atmospheric pressure.
A fuel leak on a mech inj diesel is damn hard work to find as you get no fuel escaping to pinpoint it!
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