1999 Ph1 V70 SE 2.4 170bhp Running rough

[JamesUKV70]

Hi,

I have a 99 Ph1 V70 auto with 178,000 miles, it is regularly serviced and well looked after and over the last six months the car has started to run rough.

Initially this presented itself by slight rough idle upon start-up, but the moment my foot went to the throttle and I engaged drive or reverse, the problem went away and the car drove as normal.

More recently this problem has started to present itself after short or long periods of driving, be that slow or fast. So when the car comes to a stop or slows significantly and I then put my foot to the accelerator pedal to pull away, the immediate symptom is of a misfire, which eventually goes away, but the feeling is very much of running on less than the five cylinders, reduced power but no smoke.

The car is not smoking at the engine oil dipstick, the oil has the appearance you would expect, the car does not burn any more oil than you would expect and the only other issue that I have is that every few weeks or 500 or so miles, I have to refill the cooling system, which is loosing a little coolant over time.

It has been suggested that the ETM might be on the way out, equally I understand that the PCV may need cleaning/replacing and I also appreciate that until I get the OBD11 read, I will not be able to give any further specific information.

But, before I do any of this, can anyone help me with this question, is there anything else that I should be looking for??

Many thanks in anticipation,

James.

[mikealder]

As it doesn't have a turbo (170BHP) simply take the ETM off the end of the inlet manifold and clean it out with a rag sprayed with carb cleaner, don't disconnect or fully remove it as the cable is long enough to let you clean the ETM then re-fit it and see how it behaves, tools you will need are nothing more than a screwdriver and a 10MM spanner/ socket and ratchet, can of carb cleaner is about £5 and a new gasket for the ETM is about £3:50 from your local main dealer.

If there is no smoke from the dipstick the PCV should be fine for now, slight coolant loss could be the heater matrix on its way out, check under the carpet in the front passenger (UK) side to see if it is dry or damp as this is the usual first place that gets wet - Mike

[JamesUKV70]

Thanks very much Mike, I will do as you suggest and see what effect that has.

James.

[JamesUKV70]

Mike, I omitted to include that the Engine management system malfunction light came on intermittently and is now on permanently.

James.

[mikealder]

In which case there will be error codes stored so get the car connected to an OBD-II reader and see what codes it presents, write them down then clear the codes, re-start the car, if the light comes back on re-read the codes and see what comes up.

For engine data you can use a cheap generic OBD-II reader connected to an Android based Smartphone running the Torque app to see what is wrong, will cost under £10 for the hardware and software assuming you have access to an Android based phone. To be honest without a code reader you will struggle to diagnose what the car isn't happy with, for under £10 they are a good investment - Mike

[JamesUKV70]

Thanks again, I will get down to it tomorrow.
Cheers and I am grateful for the advice.
James.