help me!
Turbo Mini Forums

hi, i know this isnt turbo related but you guys are all pretty knowledgable on here, and i know i wont get any bullshit.
my car seems to have developed a strange problem
it was fine, but its just developed a problem, when accelerating through the gears it pulls fine through first and second but then in third and to a much greater extent fourth, it seems to get all bogged down, it backfires and splutters and then stalls as soon as you slow down.
it was only rolling roaded in feb, since which its probably only done about 1000 miles. i have checked all the plugs and they seem fine, slightly black but not too bad. the dizzy cap and rotor arm seem fine, almost brand new. i dont know wether it could be an electrical problem or wether its to do with fuelling. i get a feeling it must be electrical becasue it only seems to do it under load in third and much more in fourth.
what do you reckon it could be? is it time for a trip to the rolling road?
cheers
DAN :)

^^ what he said

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

awww man problems with the new car already :(:(

Previous Engine: 1040cc Morespeed engine, 1275 turbo head T2 Turbo Mirage Manifolds Megajolt
Previous engine: STD metro turbo, megajolt
Drives: 399bananahp (flywheel) Honda Civic Vtec b18c4 T28 Turbo 1968 Mini

Megajolt maps to download: http://www.jamesfawcett.co.uk/cms/index.ph...&gid=3&Itemid=3

it has electronic ignition, the dizzy has a vac advance take off but this isnt connected, could this be casuing the problem?
just been out in it and the coil doesnt feel particularly hot. all the plug leads and connections to the coil appear to be good, no lose connections
i have also noticed that if you lift off, especially at higher revs, and then accelerate again it gets bogged down before pulling again, do you think that i should get the vac advance hooked up?

Dizzy module almost definately.

cheers for the advice guys, i have checked all the wiring to the dizzy and coil again and it all seems good, i put a new dizzy module on today, but the problem still remains.
any other ideas???
cheers
DAN
*edit, also checked the fuel filter and it seems pretty clean, and the fuel lines under the car dont seem to be kinked anywhere.

Edited by clubman_dan on 22nd May, 2006.

sounds like the coil too me too

i'll nip in to the local car electrical supplier tommorrow and give it whirl.
cheers guys!

right, today i fitted a new coil and new plugs (just in case the plugs are duff) however the problem is still there, although it does not seem as bad, i cant hook up the vac advance as there is nowhere on the inlet to fit it, i dont know wether it will help as it was never atached anyway and i managed to drive the car 5 hours back form leeds when i got it, with no problems whatsoever.

to make things worse, when i was taking it for a spin today the throttle cable snapped!!! luckily the guy from the RAC managed to fix it so i could get home and order a new cable.
i asked him what he thought it was, he reckoned it was more to do with fuelling, he said something about the fuel pump making a vacum in the tank due to poor venting and then casuiong the float chamber to drain. he suggested taking it for a quick spin with no fuel cap.
could it be a possibility????

also i have ordered a blanking plug, and just got off the phone with KAD so i now have a trigger wheel, sensor and bracket on the way. all thats left is the edis stuff. as i already have a MS unit.
this is really starting to piss me off now,
THANKS VERY MUCH for all the help guys, i dont know what i would do without all your input, its much appreciated
keep the ideas coming
cheers
DAN :)

Edited by clubman_dan on 23rd May, 2006.

Hi,
Is this the 1380 with the weber carb in the other post?
If so...
Forget the vac advance, it'll never work on that manifold. Likewise as your going the mega route, fit a throttle postion sensor, not a MAP sensor. OMEX does one with the brackets, bolts straight on.
What fuel pump and regulator has it got? What fuel pressure are you running?
Does it do it in the lower rev range in third and fourth, or all through the rev range?
Check your tappet gaps, could be one closing up?
Sorry for all the questions, just trying to narrow it down.....
Cheers,
Gavin :)

Edited by Bat on 23rd May, 2006.

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Hi,
@ 1071s ... with that massive cam your going to get some serious pulsing in the inlet. Not to mention vacuum to the dizzy at idle, which will throw it all out too. I wanted to use MAP on mine, but was told not to. Now that I've thought about it..... makes more sense.
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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hi there, bot sure what fuel pressure its running at the moment, but i will try and get a guage and check it. its got a facet red/silver top (not sure which) fuel pump. the regulator is one of those filter king things with the metal bowl on the bottom.
it doesnt do it during low revs in 3rd or 4th, it pulls strong and then it seems to tail off a bit before going on to do its spluttering, backfiring staling bit.
cheers guys
DAN :)

just adding to say that if it starts doing it in thrid, and you change to fourth it wont recover, even if you slow down and drop to second.

Edited by clubman_dan on 24th May, 2006.

fuel filter?

Could be a petrol shortage?

just because the plugs are black it doesnt mean that it cant be running rich all the time but then runs out of petrol higher up the load range.

Have you tried driving steadily up to forth and then planted your foot? it may well run fine for a few seconds before getting starved?

Hi,
Have you checked the filter in the fuel pump? I think Facets have one.....? May be in one of the unions....
Failing that pull the jets out and blow through them. If its ok at low revs I wouldn't think it was valve clearances.
Cheers,
Gavin :)

Edited by Bat on 24th May, 2006.

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if you dont rag it too much its fine, it will rev cleanly to the redline in first and second, then in thrid you can feel the power start to tail off before it starts spluttering, if you change to fourth before it begins to splutter, it will rev ok unless you give it too much welly, but it always starts spluttering higher in the range wether you are giving it welly or taking it easy.
i took a video i'll try and put it up so you can hear the sound it makes.
cheers
DAN :)

quick update, i have checked the fuel pump, its getting 12 volts, and its pumping away quite happily when switched on.
the fuel cap has non-vented printed on the back, but considering the car was fine before i dont know wether it really matters.
also the fuel overflow pipe is clear, if that actually would make any difference.
i tink it may be time to book it in at the rolling road and let them go through the lot
any more ideas please let me know!
DAN :)

*EDIT* just had a thought, when i was driving the car home from leeds, i hit the limiter on the motorway and the result was IDENTICAL to what i am experiencing at the moment. the car spluttered and backfired and i had to oull up and restart it.
could there be a possibility that the rev limiter has malfunctioned somehow and is f**king my coil around???
do you reckon i should disconnect it and take it for a careful blast and see if it works properly??
its a microdynamics rev limiter, with three outputs, 1 is earth and 1 to +ive side of coil 1 to -ive side.

CHEERS
DAN :)

Edited by clubman_dan on 24th May, 2006.

*praying* please tell me this will be the answer to my problems!! lol

I'd say rip it off and have a try, if you are planning on going to MegaJolt it will be redundant soon anyway.

thats what i was thinking.
cheers
DAN

well, i disconected the rev limiter this evening, took it for a spin, and hey presto the problem seems to have dissapeared!!!!!!!
thanks very much for all the help guys, its really apreciated. i can't believe it finally works!
now i am going to get it in the garage and get the megasquirt fitted, but at least i know it works!
thanks again
DAN :)

Hi,
Glad you got it sorted!
Cheers,
Gavin :)

VEMs Authorised Installer / Re-seller. K head kits now available!

WB/EGT gauges. Click here for customers write-up

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Good stuff, take the shitehole Microdynamics crap and smash it with a hammer! Job done!