Diagnose my car problems...

gnolan

The car is a Clio, 2000 reg.

It has a few problems:

1. Has trouble from time-to-time starting up, engine turning over but no spark...i think.

2. Seems to idle very low, around 500-600 revs, sputtering a little while idle, like mini backfires, and sometimes, be it rarely, it can cut out when idle

3. Smell of fumes when the fan is on

Hope you knowledgable folk can help me out, are the problems linked, and is there any quick fix? Thanks

mickdw

Dont know what kind of system your car has but it could be that whatever setup it has for cold starting isnt cutting in and so its having trouble. Possibly a temperature sensor.

stealthyspeeder

I'd be checking my spark plugs where not damaged and correctly gaped if I had those symptoms

gnolan

mickdw wrote: »

Dont know what kind of system your car has but it could be that whatever setup it has for cold starting isnt cutting in and so its having trouble. Possibly a temperature sensor.

Can't say i know either

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

I'd be checking my spark plugs where not damaged and correctly gaped if I had those symptoms

Was thinking about just getting the spark plugs replaced alright, see if it makes a difference.

Mayshine

At least pull the plugs first and have a look at them - It only takes 10 minutes

Guy:Incognito

Have the plugs been change since it was new?

gnolan

Mayshine wrote: »

At least pull the plugs first and have a look at them - It only takes 10 minutes

I'll have to read up on that so, not a car man myself!

Stekelly wrote: »

Have the plugs been change since it was new?

I honestly don't know, i've had it 2 years, and in that time i don't think they've been changed

Guy:Incognito

gnolan wrote: »

I honestly don't know, i've had it 2 years, and in that time i don't think they've been changed

Probably best to assume they havnt been.

Check the condition yourself if you feel competant enough or else get a mechanic to check in the course of sortign the problem.

El Guapo!

Id say your trouble is with the throttle body. Ive seen them give trouble on these cars before. They get very dirty inside and the butterfly becomes hard to open and doesnt open fully. Disconnect the connections from the throttle body and remove the throttle body (theres only about 3 bolts holding it on from what I can remember.)

Once you have the throttle body off, give it a good clean around the butterfly flap with carb cleaner until its spotless. Then spray the connections with electrical contacts cleaner and make sure they're clean. Then re-fit the throttle body in reverse order making sure all electrical connections are pushed home fully.
Theres also a connector on the accellerator pedal and this can become slightly loose and dirty, so clean it with the contacts cleaner too.

Its a handy job to do and should only take 30mins to do. and its well worth doing cause a main dealer will make you buy a new throttle body control unit which will lighten your wallet substantially!!

gnolan

Dean09 wrote: »

Id say your trouble is with the throttle body. Ive seen them give trouble on these cars before. They get very dirty inside and the butterfly becomes hard to open and doesnt open fully. Disconnect the connections from the throttle body and remove the throttle body (theres only about 3 bolts holding it on from what I can remember.)

Once you have the throttle body off, give it a good clean around the butterfly flap with carb cleaner until its spotless. Then spray the connections with electrical contacts cleaner and make sure they're clean. Then re-fit the throttle body in reverse order making sure all electrical connections are pushed home fully.
Theres also a connector on the accellerator pedal and this can become slightly loose and dirty, so clean it with the contacts cleaner too.

Its a handy job to do and should only take 30mins to do. and its well worth doing cause a main dealer will make you buy a new throttle body control unit which will lighten your wallet substantially!!

Is there anywhere that i can get a walkthrough on how to do this? After a few searches it seems to be a common problem with Renaults, not just Clios. Yet with all the questions about cleaning the throttle body, I can't seem to find an idiot's guide for it.

revenant

based on what your saying low revs etc. id put money on it that its your ignition leads. its not expensive to replace them and i've seen the very same issue on a clio before and i had the same experience on a polo i bet you've absolutely no torque either

El Guapo!

gnolan wrote: »

Is there anywhere that i can get a walkthrough on how to do this? After a few searches it seems to be a common problem with Renaults, not just Clios. Yet with all the questions about cleaning the throttle body, I can't seem to find an idiot's guide for it.

I cant find a walkthrough for it but its really straight forward.
This is basically what the throttle body looks like. It'll be bolted onto the right side of the engine as you look at it. The air intake pipe coming from the air filter will lead you to it.
Just remove the few bolts holding it on and clean the inside of it and the flap in the middle of it.

BostonB

gnolan wrote: »

I'll have to read up on that so, not a car man myself!



I honestly don't know, i've had it 2 years, and in that time i don't think they've been changed

Wy not get a mechanic to look at it?

revenant

quick check to prove me wrong disconnect the longest lead from the spark plug, its usually this one, and see if there's any change 2 min job