V50 Sputters Topic is solved

kevins s70 · Post by **kevins s70** » 26 Dec 2016, 14:49

I have a V50 and it was running great. I did a trip last week and as i excited the highway the engine started to sputter badly. The RPMS were just jumping up and down like crazy. I ended up towing the car near my place and then drove it home. The sputtering seemed to have stopped momentarily but there was no power. I was thinking a fuel issue. I hooked up a fuel pressure gauge and in ignition position 2 i am getting 40psi which i think is ok. When I start the car the pressure jumps up a little to almost 50PSI so i don't think it is a pressure problem. I was thinking possibly water in the gas. I have looked at the gas that i captured from the schrader valve and i don't see water in it. Any suggestions on this? I am suspect of the gas as the tanker was there the morning i filled up but could this be ignition? I only get the "Poor Engine Performance" on the dash - no check engine light.

Thanks in advance

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 28 Dec 2016, 09:28

If you can get the codes read that would be a big help. It could be a bad MAF sensor to a number of other issues including a turbo hose that is leaking or other vacuum leaks to ECT sensory (electric coolant temp)... Does the dash display anything odd about engine temp?

kevins s70 · Post by **kevins s70** » 30 Dec 2016, 16:05

I am in the process of getting a DICE and hopefully be able to see codes this weekend. Interestingly the check engine light has not come on. The engine temp seems to act normal - this is a non turbo engine. I was told by a friend that ignition coils should be considered a maintenance item and could be the problem. The car has 165kms. Do all ignition coils need to be replaced as part of maintenance ? Thanks in advance

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 01 Jan 2017, 11:02

You should be able to read codes for misfires with a generic code reader. If there are misfires, I would just swap the coils with each other (to different cylinders) and see if the misfire code follows the coil that is thought to be bad. No sense in replacing coils unless they're bad, but at your mileage, it is very possible that you have one or two that are bad. I know you said the car sputters and RPM's jump all over the place- Does the car feel like it's not firing on all cylinders?

kevins s70 · Post by **kevins s70** » 08 Jan 2017, 16:34

Finally getting back to looking at this - fortunately I do not need the car right now. I now have diagnostics hooked up and the sputtering has stopped. There is no power though and the rpms barely make it over 1200. Error codes follow. It looks like the throttle valve which explains the lack of power. Too many error codes for my liking though. I tried cleaning the TB and that didn't help. I am going to replace the Throttle body next - found one at the local auto graveyard.

kevins s70 · Post by **kevins s70** » 10 Jan 2017, 07:02

I replaced the TB last night and no change. I am using dice and just figuring that out - plan on looking at it tonight. I didn't clear the codes before i replaced the TB - would that make any difference?

mf70 · Post by **mf70** » 10 Jan 2017, 08:24

Since you've got VIDA, have a look at the system voltage after you've had the car powered up, engine not running for ~20 minutes (~perhaps~ weak battery). I wonder about connectors and wiring harnesses to throttle...

kevins s70 · Post by **kevins s70** » 11 Jan 2017, 17:45

I checked the voltage and it is just over 12v not running.Given I have replaced the Throttle I would think if it was a bad connection due to corrosion the problem would have disappeared at least temporarily. Given the fault codes I am starting to think it could be the connection from the harness to the ECM? Has anyone run into issues with connectors and if so what did you use to clean then? If it isn't the connection then i am thinking it must be the ECM and i would rather not go there.

kevins s70 · Post by **kevins s70** » 11 Jan 2017, 17:54

Should have added that when i start the car after not running the RPMs stay at about 1500 for about 25 seconds which is normal for startup. The rpms then drop to normal idle. This indicates to me that the throttle is opening for the warm up period.

kevins s70 · Post by **kevins s70** » 13 Jan 2017, 09:29

Following is the detailed information from VIDA - from this it looks like the throttle valve is not opening. If so I am thinking ECM or cabling/connections to the throttle body. Is my analysis correct? Suggestions on diagnosing/next step ?