Power problems :(

[Slug]

Hi,

I used to own a '97 1.0 Micra, but had to part with it. I've now got an '01 1.0 Micra - so almost identical!

I've noticed since having the new car that it has absolutely no power. At all. For example going 50 on the motorway, put my foot to the floor and it quite literally takes a number of minutes (3, maybe 4) to crawl up to 70 mph.

Now I know it's only a tiny engine :laugh: so I can't expect miracles... But my old Micra was nothing like this.

Any suggestions?

Thanks guys (Y)

 

[frank]

thats not right slug, the coilpack 1.0 has another 5hp
no mods ? and what size are the tyres ?

 

[Slug]

No, no mods :down: and no sign of these extra horses, either!
The tyres are standard... which are... I have no idea what size.

 

[frank]

it could be one of about 50 causes and we would be just guessing tbh, it would pay you to get a mechanic to testdrive it and then get some advice on his findings really

 

[Slug]

That is the plan and what I shall be doing. Thanks for the advice :wasntme:
At this rate I'd rather have my old Micra back...

Just on a side note; out of these possible 50 causes would I be doing any more damage by continuing to drive the car, or is it likely to be a get-it-in-the-garage-now scenario?

Thanks

 

[frank]

That is the plan and what I shall be doing. Thanks for the advice :wasntme:
At this rate I'd rather have my old Micra back...

Just on a side note; out of these possible 50 causes would I be doing any more damage by continuing to drive the car, or is it likely to be a get-it-in-the-garage-now scenario?

Thanks

if its got no worse in the last 100 miles slug, i doubt if you will damage it personally

 

[Slug]

Hi (frank),

Just want to elaborate on the problem so it can serve as a point of reference and possibly aid other members in the future should they suffer similar problems :grinning:

Taken the car out for a 'test drive' and concluded the following:

• Acceleration in 1st and 2nd seems to be as normal.
• 3rd gear seems slightly underpowered with not as much 'pull' as you'd expect.
• 4th gear seems moderately underpowered. When accelerating in 3rd gear until it's whining and changing the 4th, the car doesn't progress with the acceleration, but just holds it around the speed that was achieved in 3rd.
• 5th gear is silly... After changing up to it at approx 55-60mph, the speed either holds if it's flat, decreases on an incline or slightly increases down a hill. I sat there on a flat motorway at 60mph in 5th with my foot to the floor and reached 70 probably a couple of minutes (plus!) later...

So in conclusion... not very good.

To make things worse (or perhaps I'm just being paranoid) there is a metally 'chinking' audible under high revs that seems to correspond to the RPM's. After coming back from the test-drive I stuck my ear next to the engine while it was ticking over and I could hear still hear it. So now I probably have a noisy timing chain... or more probable, dud bearings. Agh :down:

 

[andyseadog]

what kind of milage does your car have?
is it due or near due to be serviced?
sounds 'clutchy' the way you described it...

 

[Slug]

what kind of milage does your car have?
is it due or near due to be serviced?
sounds 'clutchy' the way you described it...

34,000 miles
Serviced and MOT'd a couple of weeks ago
Regarding the clutch there are no signs of it slipping if that's what you mean? :wasntme:

Thanks

 

[frank]

any 1.0 should reach 70 odd in 20secs slug fwn there,s gotta be something wrong
a noisy chain will clatter mainly at tickover
crank bearings will rattle mainly on startup
a chinking noise under load would point to overadvanced timing
a recent mot pass indicates no sensor or missfire problems
i can only think of a badly blocked exhaust, a throttle thats not opening fully or the valve timing

 

[Slug]

To complicate things further, I did a ~170 mile trip yesterday with 3 of us in the car and the problem was only evident a couple of times throughout the whole journey. More often than not I could put my foot down and it responded. Don't know what's going on there... I'd still like to get it checked out however.

Thanks again

 

[frank]

To complicate things further, I did a ~170 mile trip yesterday with 3 of us in the car and the problem was only evident a couple of times throughout the whole journey. More often than not I could put my foot down and it responded. Don't know what's going on there... I'd still like to get it checked out however.

Thanks again

the post 2000 cars have the eobd2 system slug, so there should be faultcodes stored in your ecu

 

[Slug]

Worth a try :grinning:
So I find the plug, which I believe to be somewhere by my right knee...
Turn the ignition on and short pins 9 and 16 with a paper-clip for a couple of seconds and read off the codes from the engine management light flashes?

Is the bottom of the plug the shorter side or the longer side? Thanks

 

[Slug]

Hello,

Been a while since I've updated on this. For the amount and kind of driving I do it hasn't really posed a significant problem, though I can still tell there is something not right.
I've been thinking about the brief diagnosis you gave, frank, particularly:

a chinking noise under load would point to overadvanced timing

The other day I was faced with a pretty steep hill and with 4 people on board, had to drop down to second and keep the revs high to keep it going. There was a very noticeable tink-tink-tink from the engine that didn't sound very health at all.
So this would point to the timing as you suggested (and I've convinced myself this is the problem). But I have one of the newer Micra's without a distributor, so I don't even know if the timing is adjustable as it is on the older models?

Thanks