[Corsa B 1993-2000] Engine struggles + Red Hot

[Stephenniall]

Well I finally got the corsa insured and had the first drive.

Its a 12v 1.0L engine, it pulls away fine but hesitates if you put your foot down, the engine light keeps coming on and the car struggles above 30 MPH, sometimes its fine and will accelerate perfectly.

The engine is red hot, and the fan is not coming on (I plan to wire a bypass switch) but the temp guage inside doesn't say its hot.

Hopefully not the head gasket and its something smaller.

Has anyone got any ideas as to what it could be ?

Stephen.

[Vegas]

Is temp gauage working at all?

All engines get very hot when being used.

[Samo]

Ignition coil

[Stephenniall]

Is temp gauage working at all?

All engines get very hot when being used.

The temperature gauge didn't move. I know engines get hot when used, this is far hotter than any engine I've worked on before. At this sort of temperature the fan should kick in to cool the engine down.

Ignition coil

What makes you suspect the ignition coil ? It has occasionally started on two cylinders, so I suspect that could be a cause of some problems.

[Samo]

Just sounds like the same symptoms as when my ignition coil pack went. Occasional works fine, a lot of the time very hesitant, loss of power, engine doesn't go above a certain speed, at one point I flooded the engine because of this.

[Stephenniall]

Just sounds like the same symptoms as when my ignition coil pack went. Occasional works fine, a lot of the time very hesitant, loss of power, engine doesn't go above a certain speed, at one point I flooded the engine because of this.

Might have a trip to the scrapyard this weekend and see if a new coil pack sorts the issue!

[Taurus]

Best start with the basic information:

Like when was it last serviced?
Have you had the codes checked? If the EML is on codes will be stored and they are there to help you solve precisely this kind of problem.
How is your coolant level?
What does the oil look like?

What year is it? Earlier ones used separate feeds for the temp gauge and the ECU. The temp gauge sender is a single wire on the EGR valve, the coolant temp sender is bolted into the top of the water pump. Later ones just used the CTS to do both.

Have you checked for an airlock? Getting very hot without the gauge reading or the fan coming on can be an airlock since the coolant isn't flowing. Try draining the system and refilling very very slowly.

[Stephenniall]

Best start with the basic information:

Like when was it last serviced?
Have you had the codes checked? If the EML is on codes will be stored and they are there to help you solve precisely this kind of problem.
How is your coolant level?
What does the oil look like?

What year is it? Earlier ones used separate feeds for the temp gauge and the ECU. The temp gauge sender is a single wire on the EGR valve, the coolant temp sender is bolted into the top of the water pump. Later ones just used the CTS to do both.

Have you checked for an airlock? Getting very hot without the gauge reading or the fan coming on can be an airlock since the coolant isn't flowing. Try draining the system and refilling very very slowly.

Engine was last serviced by me 10 miles ago, these problems have been found on my first drive of the car ( I bought it with these issues).

I used work's Ethos Scanner to check the codes and they are as follows:



The EGR Feedback Incorrect signal, Would a clean of the EGR Valve fix this ? I have the gasket and will do it this weekend.

The Mass airflow sensor code, I'm guessing means I have to replace the sensor ?

The RPM Sensor code, I'm guessing is because the engine wasn't running when I checked the codes ?

And the O2 and ICV codes I'm unsure of what to do with.

Have cleared the codes, and will have to wait till later to take it for a drive with the code reader plugged in to see what live data shows me.

Car is a 1999, I haven't checked for an airlock yet. But will drain the coolant, clean the EGR and refill with fresh coolant.

[Taurus]

As you say, some of them may be old codes so once cleared see what comes back again.

P0335 will register if the engine isn't turning, so ignore that for the time being.

EGR - try cleaning it, if it's sticking the car can be hard to start and/or will run badly. But it shouldn't cause overheating like you mention.

Airflow sensor being dud - a common problem with them.
1. If it's not working you can try cleaning it. Usually that kills them! But if it's dud already nothing to lose. Make sure it is thoroughly dry before refitting.
2. Try disconnecting it and see how the car runs. It will switch to a default setting and the EML will come on. But if it runs better with the AFM disconnected you know it's dead.
3. A seriously dead AFM may cause it to run lean which will cause it to run hot.

O2 sensor - that may be due to the AFM. It's a feedback system so anything which throws the exhaust gases out of parameter will register a problem. Only change the O2 sensor once everything else has been changed.

Check for airlocks.
Bridge the contacts on the thermoswitch to make sure the fan runs.
The 1999 version should use a single wire to a sensor on the EGR housing - earth that wire and see if the gauge moves. It should read hot when the wire is put to earth.

[Stephenniall]

As you say, some of them may be old codes so once cleared see what comes back again.

P0335 will register if the engine isn't turning, so ignore that for the time being.

EGR - try cleaning it, if it's sticking the car can be hard to start and/or will run badly. But it shouldn't cause overheating like you mention.

Airflow sensor being dud - a common problem with them.
1. If it's not working you can try cleaning it. Usually that kills them! But if it's dud already nothing to lose. Make sure it is thoroughly dry before refitting.
2. Try disconnecting it and see how the car runs. It will switch to a default setting and the EML will come on. But if it runs better with the AFM disconnected you know it's dead.
3. A seriously dead AFM may cause it to run lean which will cause it to run hot.

O2 sensor - that may be due to the AFM. It's a feedback system so anything which throws the exhaust gases out of parameter will register a problem. Only change the O2 sensor once everything else has been changed.

Check for airlocks.
Bridge the contacts on the thermoswitch to make sure the fan runs.
The 1999 version should use a single wire to a sensor on the EGR housing - earth that wire and see if the gauge moves. It should read hot when the wire is put to earth.

Cheers,

I have bridged the thermoswitch and the fan comes on full whack, So the fan works. Was trying to find the sensor but couldn't find it, will have a look in a little bit and bridge that to see if it works.

What's the best way to check for airlocks ?

Will clean the AFM and disconnect it and take it for a drive in a bit & see if it runs any better, Will an AFM from a 1.2 work on my 1.0 ? We have one in work that I could probably swap for an hour to see if it improves.

Stephen.

EDIT : I took the wire off the temperature sensor, and connected it directly to the battery - Terminal and the temperature gauge shot straight up . When you do that should the fan come on, or is that controlled by the thermoswitch ?

[Taurus]

The fan will controlled by the thermoswitch. (It's only the later type without a separate sender on the EGR body for the gauge that switch the fan via the CTS & ECU).

The AFM for the 1.0 & 1.2 are the same so if you can swap one it's worth doing.

An airlock will cause the coolant not to circulate - has the level been low and been topped up at all, or has the coolant been changed recently? They need to be filled at literally a trickle to prevent airlocks forming.

The other possibility is a stuck thermostat, but they usually stick open.

You can check for coolant flow by holding the large pipe from the thermostat to the radiator from cold. The pipe should stay cold for several minutes as the engine gradually warms up, then you'll feel a noticeable increase in heat as the 'stat opens. If the engine gets very hot and that pipe is still cold then either it's an airlock of the 'stat is stuck.

I assume your coolant level is OK and oil is clear. A common problem on the chain engines is the timing cover gasket going behind the water pump. Coolant leaks into the oil which causes overheating and looks like HG failure. But usually the temp gauge and fan will still run so I'm thinking it's something other than this problem. Just be cautious not to let it get too hot as those engines warp the head quite easily if they overheat.

[Stephenniall]

Checked the coolant with the pipe, the pipe gets warm with the engine so I think it will be circulating.

Going to borrow a compression tester later, and see what the compression is like.

[Stephenniall]

Bought a new MAF sensor from the scrapyard yesterday, along with a coolant temp sensor, and a fan switch. The majority of the hesitation is gone, but there is still some + the engine management light is still coming on. According to Autodata the 'ECT Sensor' connector always fails, so I went outside to check the connection, and someone had silliconed the connector to the sensor, presumably because it had failed. So I will be picking up a new sensor in the week, and soldering a new plug for it.

Engine is still overheating, but hopefully a coolant change tomorrow will make a difference.