On way back from work, moved off from traffic lights. Felt a bit sluggish. Into second gear - it was hiccuping and chugging. Finally had to pull over to let some rather impatient cars past. Thought it might be the mat under the pedals so moved it out of the way. Put foot down (probably the wrong thing to do) and away we went. Phew, methinks.

But no. Next set of traffic lights were red and she shuddered a few times and then just died :eek: Turned off everything - heater, stereo, windscreen wipers, turned key. Nothing - absolutely nothing. Tried again - fired up then quit. Third try, fired up and just made it through the lights.

I made it home - praying the whole time that no lights changed colour - but what could be wrong with her?? :brkheart::brkheart: She's got over half a tank of petrol in, has been used every day for the last fortnight or so. I'm panicking now.

Any suggestions please?? :(

Is it starting OK? Could just be that the cold snap's done for the battery?

Normally she starts fine - took me completely by surprise...

Afraid I don't have anything for the 1.3, but its 1.4 cousin in the Fabia lists an armload of (mostly electronic) things to check. You'd need a diagnostic scan for them, but the following things are also worth looking at:

• Air / vacuum system leaks
  
• Air filter
  
• Contaminated fuel
  

HTH

fuel filter could also be a problem!

Hmmm, she's got her MOT due next month - do I lob her in for a service beforehand, get everything sorted?

Service on the same day as an MoT is always a winner in my book (wish I could convince SWMBO of that! ) If it's something like contaminated fuel, though, it could just go away. I had something like that on my old Xantia - just about made it home, called the RAC and hey presto the problem went away!

If you can get someone local to you to run a scan, then so much the better, though!

Thanks, and I will take on board the service on same day too

A damsel in distress.

Sounds like what happened to my 1.6 when the Head Gasket popped. The car wouldnt start unless my accelerator pedal was pressed. Limped it home and its been sat there since.

You know when it fired up did you notice a lot of white smoke coming from the exhaust or steam billowing from the coolant?

I'd definately suggest getting it examined by a mechanic first.

I get mine serviced and MOT'd seperatly as my mechanic doesn't do MOT testing at his garage. But both are family friends so its not an inconvenience to me

I'm a newbie to the 1.3 myself. so am unsure of any of its quirks.

I think mine sounds like the starter motors rough but it fires up.

Why hello Captain I have a friend who will have a look but he's not a mechanic. Will use it for work tomorrow and see how it goes - if it happens again, then into garage it goes....

Where abouts are you Shiloh?

As said maybe someone local to you would be so kind as to run a diagnostic check on her and see if any fault codes are showing.

Phil

I'm down in Brighton

are the battery connections tight??

I have NO clue!!! My friend has said he will have a look over the weekend (my Haynes manual should have arrived by then) so will check all of the things people have mentioned - thanks

Nice and warm in Brighton? In winter water in the petrol tank (from condensed cold air) can cause a lot of trouble. A bottle of fuel additive (STP petrol treatment or similar) might do the trick. Water don't mix with petrol, but a dose of alcohol or ether (main ingredients in these products) in the tank mix with water and forms a flammable mixture.

Or a fuel injector cleaner additive.

My faith in these miracle cures is limited, but sometimes they really help and they are a comparatively cheap first step.

I'm down in Brighton

i suppose that makes it my shout:)

if you get really stuck i'll pop down and wield a magical spanner

Wow Teflon that would be fantastic!! I can promise a mega cup of tea and maybe some biscuits (and petrol money).

Well the drive into work this morning included one stall and two 'dies' :( One was on a hill trying to get round a dustcart with someone determined not to give way ; the other was at a traffic lights. It was juddering and shaking, and the revs were going mad, then it just died :(

Fortunately not sold the Rover yet *MOT this Saturday then into Friday Ad it goes, so can use that for the school runs and work until my friend can have a look this weekend and/or I can arrange something with Tom.

I have Green Flag cover in case I don't make it home - really really hope it's just the rainy weather and a tiny hiccup, and nothing major :bigeyes:

If it's rainy, then here's something that might help, can't hurt, and you can do yourself bonny lass.

Go into an accessory shop (or DIy store, some supermarkets...) and buy a can of WD-40. Rub down the HT leads and coilpacks (or distributor cap and coil if applicable) with some old rags to get all the oily muck off, then spray them with the WD-40.

If it's rainy, then here's something that might help, can't hurt, and you can do yourself bonny lass.

Thank you

Go into an accessory shop (or DIy store, some supermarkets...) and buy a can of WD-40. Rub down the HT leads and coilpacks (or distributor cap and coil if applicable) with some old rags to get all the oily muck off, then spray them with the WD-40.

My Haynes manual has arrived, so I now stand a chance of actually finding the HT leads and coilpacks :rofl:

Hi Shiloh Does it only happen when the engine is warm? I know its hard to diagnose when your not actually there, but something similar started to happen to mine after the old girl had been running so well, just on a hunch i picked up a hall sensor from a car at the breakers while getting some other bits and bobs swopped it onto mine and no trouble since. Just another idea for the pot!!!

Good idea; it's the "modern" equivalent of the CB condensor. I always like to start with the cheapest possible solutions though (whether the car costs £400 or £40_000). It's the result of usually having a calibrated wallet attached to the car in question!

My Haynes manual has arrived, so I now stand a chance of actually finding the HT leads and coilpacks :rofl:

There are no HT leads on a mk2 Felicia Shiloh

There are no HT leads on a mk2 Felicia Shiloh

Pardon, and maybe my English is insufficient, but surely there are? Or what do you call the leads from coilpack to spark plugs?

BTW, when googling to make sure that I was not altogether wrong on English motor terminology I found this interesting website on symptoms of and remedies for cracked coilpacks:

Coil Pack Repair/Reinforcement for VR6 engines

Hi Shiloh Does it only happen when the engine is warm? I know its hard to diagnose when your not actually there, but something similar started to happen to mine after the old girl had been running so well, just on a hunch i picked up a hall sensor from a car at the breakers while getting some other bits and bobs swopped it onto mine and no trouble since. Just another idea for the pot!!!

Ok, what's a hall sensor?!! That Haynes manual is complete gobbledegook!!! :eek::eek::eek: Yes it only happens when warm - generally a few minutes after I have pulled away, but had some stops/starts - red lights, junctions, etc...

There are no HT leads on a mk2 Felicia Shiloh

Now you're just confusing me!!! :confused::confused::confused:

Ok, I reckon best thing is to throw Haynes manual at friend, print off this entire thread, and accept that I will be assistant mechanic on this one cos I have no idea where to start!!!

Thanks for the all the ideas peeps