Power Loss Problems
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 9:48 am
Hi everyone,
First off, thanks for reading this posting, ….. I really hope that someone out there can help.
I have a much loved 480s that has been with me for 12 years now. But, I’m reaching the point where I feel like he may need to go due to some dangerous unreliability issues. If I can get this fixed I would be over-the-moon about keeping him.
The problem I have is best described as a combination of ‘rough running’ but also complete power loss. I’ve listed descriptions / examples to make for easier reading.
1. While driving the car will suddenly lose all power (acceleration goes as does the power steering). Sometimes this happens for just a few seconds (but it feels like a lot more) and then cuts back in with a jerk. Sometimes it doesn’t return and I have to navigate to the hard shoulders or similar, … leave it for a few minutes and it will then start again. Sometimes the car is then fine, …. sometimes it’s a case of limping (rough running) to a place where I can be recovered.
2. At times there is no absolute power loss but just severely rough running. For example, I may reach a junction and the car feels as if it’s going to ‘die’ on me. If I press the ‘gas’ the revs fall and slow and then (if I take foot off the gas) the revs recover in a way that resembles an old steam train speeding up. This happened two days ago – I pulled into a car park, turned ignition off, attempted to re-start but it just turned over but didn’t ‘catch’. I went off to get a coffee, came back, and he started first time and ran as smooth as anything!!
3. Both of the above seem to be worse in heavy rain / very damp weather but also if idling for a long period in a traffic jam. Having said this, what I described from two days ago happened .5 miles from home on a dry morning after lots of hot weather.
AA patrol folk and my local garage have suggested trying things that might be involved with some of the issues but no-one seems to know what might explain all of the problems. I’m guessing that the issue is electrical but in trying to describe the sensation – it’s like I have someone in the petrol tank squeezing the fuel tube; sometimes they release it and sometimes they don’t.
As I said, I’d love to keep the car but with a regular commute of 100 miles, early in the morning, on single carriage roads frequented by many HGVs, the constant possibility of total power loss on a blind corner just makes the experience pretty horrible.
Any thoughts / suggestions would be really appreciated.
Thanks all,
Johnny
First off, thanks for reading this posting, ….. I really hope that someone out there can help.
I have a much loved 480s that has been with me for 12 years now. But, I’m reaching the point where I feel like he may need to go due to some dangerous unreliability issues. If I can get this fixed I would be over-the-moon about keeping him.
The problem I have is best described as a combination of ‘rough running’ but also complete power loss. I’ve listed descriptions / examples to make for easier reading.
1. While driving the car will suddenly lose all power (acceleration goes as does the power steering). Sometimes this happens for just a few seconds (but it feels like a lot more) and then cuts back in with a jerk. Sometimes it doesn’t return and I have to navigate to the hard shoulders or similar, … leave it for a few minutes and it will then start again. Sometimes the car is then fine, …. sometimes it’s a case of limping (rough running) to a place where I can be recovered.
2. At times there is no absolute power loss but just severely rough running. For example, I may reach a junction and the car feels as if it’s going to ‘die’ on me. If I press the ‘gas’ the revs fall and slow and then (if I take foot off the gas) the revs recover in a way that resembles an old steam train speeding up. This happened two days ago – I pulled into a car park, turned ignition off, attempted to re-start but it just turned over but didn’t ‘catch’. I went off to get a coffee, came back, and he started first time and ran as smooth as anything!!
3. Both of the above seem to be worse in heavy rain / very damp weather but also if idling for a long period in a traffic jam. Having said this, what I described from two days ago happened .5 miles from home on a dry morning after lots of hot weather.
AA patrol folk and my local garage have suggested trying things that might be involved with some of the issues but no-one seems to know what might explain all of the problems. I’m guessing that the issue is electrical but in trying to describe the sensation – it’s like I have someone in the petrol tank squeezing the fuel tube; sometimes they release it and sometimes they don’t.
As I said, I’d love to keep the car but with a regular commute of 100 miles, early in the morning, on single carriage roads frequented by many HGVs, the constant possibility of total power loss on a blind corner just makes the experience pretty horrible.
Any thoughts / suggestions would be really appreciated.
Thanks all,
Johnny