car starts then stalls

[Andy_1984]

from another car website i use heres a post of the probkems im having with my car at the moment.

 

searched this problem a lot but cant find anyone with the same problem i have.

 

parked my car up at night as usual then went to start it the next morning. it started fine but after a minute it cut out, no big deal i thought it had only ran out of petrol. i always let it get dangerously close to empty as it runs on lpg and petrol is used to heat the engine up to allow the lpg to switch on.

 

so i walked to the petrol station got 5 litres and filled the tank up in the car. turned ignition to II to allow the pump to do its thing then started the car. 10 seconds later it died again. i cranked once more but wouldnt even start this time so i left it for a few minutes and tried again. it started but another few seconds idling it died again!.

 

i checked to see if there was ony dtc codes and sure as hell i had 2. they are:

9318: battery low voltage - less than 10

9359: ignition run/acc circuit failure

 

one tip i picked up from searching through google was to check fuse 41 which ill need to wait till i get home later to check but anyone with these codes their car has actually been running and not stalling so im back here to see what the good people of foc have to say about it

 

i should also note that i depressurise the fuel lines, tank etc by removing the fuel pump fuse and turning it over with no effect

 

some people answered back about the battery being the issue. which im positive is the issue, however i need to wait a while before i can get the battery to check so posted this too:

 

while waiting till pay day to get a new battery ive been doing some more poking around with the volt meter.

 

with the engine off, all electrics off etc etc the battery reads 11.80

 

with ignition at II it reads 11.75

 

while trying to start the engine it reads between 7 and 9

 

when or if the engine starts and idles it reads 12 to 13 then dies and battery reads 12 then drops back to 11

 

the battery in the car is silver calcium, i popped open the plugs on top of each cell out of curiosity and the fluid inside is roughly 10mm below the lead plates. not sure if this type of battery is to be topped up with water as it does not state so on the battery.

 

 

you guys reckon the same ?

[chesters1]

its easy put a meter across the battery anything under 12.5 volts and the battery is not charged under about 10.2 volts and a cell is dead

a fully charged battery is over 13v and under charge (engine running) it should read 14v ish

a battery with a dead cell will read 12v ish on charging but quickly drop to 10 as soon as you disconnect the charger

if each cell has a plug then the acid should cover each cell completely with say 3mm on top ,top up with distilled water only

car alternators are pretty crude i put my battery on a smart charger every month or so ,80 amp batteries are not cheap so hopefully a bit of TLC will keep it happy

its strange it falters after a while though unless modern cars notice the battery is dead and go into nanny mode ,i used to have a really knackered battery and parked at the top of a hill so i could bump start it each morning so long as you didnt turn the engine off it was fine

 

 

borrow next doors battery for a few minutes and see if its ok

Edited March 2, 2011 by chesters1

[barry luxton]

from another car website i use heres a post of the probkems im having with my car at the moment.

 

 

 

some people answered back about the battery being the issue. which im positive is the issue, however i need to wait a while before i can get the battery to check so posted this too:

 

 

 

 

you guys reckon the same ?

 

I had an alternator die on me a couple of weeks ago, so with the new alternator fitted, the engine running, all the lights on etc, you should have a reading across the battery of as Chesters suggests 13-14 volts, i.e. ok.

 

Here's one to consider, i had a car with the modern electrics no points etc to worry about. It cut out intermittently for quite a while, while idling in traffic ques, some times i had to leave it for a while to get it to start again. My local garage found it after a while. The timing works off the fly wheel rotating, with a sensor, we thought it was the sensor not working, but found it was the wire leading to it was breaking down. Problem solved.

[corydoras]

It could also be a body earth not making a good contact too.

[Elton]

I don't get how the battery is good enough to crank the car from cold, if it's shot.

[tony tinca]

from another car website i use heres a post of the probkems im having with my car at the moment.

 

 

 

some people answered back about the battery being the issue. which im positive is the issue, however i need to wait a while before i can get the battery to check so posted this too:

 

 

 

 

you guys reckon the same ?

 

Could be debris from bottom of tank as you mention running it dangerously low

It could be sucking stuff onto the fuel filter and stopping the engine and when rested the debris falls back down so it would start for a few seconds before getting blocked again.

Ive never heard of the engine stopping because the battery was low , if theres enough power in the battery to turn the engine over to start it then thats good enough because the engine will carry on running even if you disconnected the battery.

Those volt readings from the battery suggest the alternator is charging the battery but not very well , it should be charging the battery between 13.5 to 14.5 really , but i still dont think the battery or alternator are the problem here .

Having said all this its very hard to diagnose without working on vehicle or at least knowing how old it is and what model it is.

[Worms]

I'd check battery (you have and it's not good), alternator and, if lpg spark plugs. I ran an LPG Land Rover for ten years and the only weird starting problems that I had were caused by the plugs! I found that I had to replace them approximately every 10-15k and I needed to use a smaller gap, 0.025" as opposed to the recommended 0.030. As Barry mentioned, check the low tension side of the coil and plug leads as well. LPG is notorious for being a pig to start/run if you have a weak point in the ignition system

[mr motorola]

I might be a million miles off track but the first thing i thought of was a problem (similar-ish) to one i had a while back. As i say i might be way of track but you never know.

The main reason for attaching the link was the moisture build up overnight which could tie into your problem , hope you get it sorted soon mate.

 

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.p...t&p=2588720

 

 

 

Carl

Edited March 2, 2011 by mr motorola

[Si...]

Could be numerous things depending on the make and model of the car.

 

Could be the above or one of the following:

 

Vacuum leak (check all hoses for splits or signs of perishing)

Fuel pump

ICV (Idle control valve) blocked or sticking shut

MAF (Mass Air Flow Meter) could be knackered

Blocked fuel filter (Only way to fix is to replace)

EGR valve (Exhaust gas recirculation) could be blocked or wet)

Edited March 3, 2011 by Si...

[chesters1]

get rid of the battery issues by borrowing one ,if it still cuts out then report back theres a million things it could be in a modern car i'm lucky i have a crude old one where its fuel or spark no electronics to worry about.

when i said cell in topping up i of course meant the plates in each cell

ofcourse filling each cell and then trying to get 3mm of water above it would swiftly alert most people i had made a typo

Edited March 3, 2011 by chesters1