I don't seem to be able to post in the 'ask a tech' section so am posting here. Mods feel free to move if appropriate.

I have a Felicia - 1996 N reg 1.3l glx with circa 70k miles. It had starting issues when I bought it but I rectified this by fitting a heavy duty battery and replacing the distributor cap, rotor arm, and fitting new spark plugs.

Recently the fan belt has been whining but i just add more tension and it goes. It has also been cutting out intermittently when the clutch is depressed to change down for roundabouts etc. I've put this down to the cold as it always fires again and doesn't do it when warmed up.

Yesterday morning it struggled to start and died on me a couple of miles into my journey. It wouldn't start again and I had to be recovered back home.

The car cranks but won't fire. I found corrosion on one of the HT leads so I cleaned them all up with wire wool. The dizzy cap was suspect so I fitted a new one. The battery is fine.

I did find that the oil level wasn't even registering on the dipstick, so filled it back up again. The alternator was also very loose on its mounting so I tightened it. I sprayed bradex surestart into the air intake but it still wouldn't fire or even make an effort at doing so, even when jump starting in addition to the bradex.

I know I've not taken care of this car but as filling it up with petrol doubles the value I only give it consumables when required. It is my only form on transport though and until yesterday was completely reliable [15k miles in 6mths] and still has 6mths tax & test left.

I'm supposed to be driving to Bristol tomorrow and as such I need a comprehensive list of things to test/replace on the engine to get it running again. I would therefore appreciate any advice you could give me.

I intend to borrow a multimeter from work so the first thing will be to continuity test the HT leads and will check the plugs but I can't see how they would have failed within such a short timeframe.

What about fuel/oil filters? Could running with low oil [warning light hadn't come on and I've seen it that low before] have seized something major?

Help!

Regards,

Phil.

dont panic over running with no oil in it, it wont kill it:D

first and foremost, you need to do a diagnostics check, there's no point randomly putting bits on there... dont bother testing the ht leads it will still run on 1 or 2 cylinders

likely causes of the non-start are either the ingition coil or the crank sensor.... try the crank sensor first, i expect you could even get one in the breakers yard for free if you stick it down your pants

edit = delete non applicable info

if your driving a long wine, might as well do a full service check to make sure your ride is going to be a good one.

Best of luck

Edited 5 March, 200917 yr by Cepheuz

Thanks guys!

It is indeed a carb model and was bought because if eastern european motoring can't kill an engine, then neither can I!

Can you enlighten me on the following:

- Where is the crank sensor?

- How do I check whether I'm getting a spark?

- Do I have to strip the carb to clean it? I took the filter box off and there was debris around the filter, but nothing at all going into the carb itself - looked v. clean.

- Where do I find the idle mix screw?

Think I may need to buy the Haynes manual......

oh ok... carb model...

you can check for a spark by removing the ht lead from the coil completely or by taking the centre lead off the cap and placing it near a metallic part of the engine. when you crank the engine you should see sparks dancing from the terminal trying to earth themselves... dont touch it though you will get a shock from it...

if you are getting a spark then it's a fuel problem, can you hear the fuel pump running?

what woulda fuel pump sound like?

note to self - basic mechanics course required

Can you enlighten me on the following:

- Where is the crank sensor?

i think is where the trans meets the engine block, that where mine has the hole for it (edited wrong = No Cranck Sensor in Carburetor models)

- How do I check whether I'm getting a spark?

Remove a HT lead conect a plug to ot and ground it, have a friend crank the engine check for a brigh blue spark

Edited 5 March, 200917 yr by Cepheuz

what woulda fuel pump sound like?

note to self - basic mechanics course required

i dont hear mine, but i know its working from the flow of gasoline i see on the transparent petrol filter i have on mine

ah ok.

so the order of things would be:

check whether i'm getting a spark

diagnose faulty plugs or leads

check the king lead from coil - dizzy

if all don't spark then check the rotor arm is actually turning

if it isn't then replace dizzy, if it is then replace coil

[is there anyway i can i test the coil?]

i'm also told to check the condensor but is this not part of the coil pack?

if i find problems in the electrics i have a winner. if not then i guess its fuel supply - either the pump or the filter correct?

tbh, i'm suspecting that this is actually a single point injection model, you say you are driving to 'bristol' which says to me you are in the uk, on a 1996 year they are all fuel injected in uk spec

first port of call on the fuel system is to check the fuses then the relay

sorry, seems i am indeed mistaken. i checked the reg. on an insurance site and it comes back as:

SKODA FELICIA 136 LXI PLUS

so yeah, an injection.

i would imagine its still the same procedure but also check/replace crank sensor?

re: fuses, all the ones under the dash are intact, is there another box in the engine bay?

ah ok.

so the order of things would be:

check whether i'm getting a spark

diagnose faulty plugs or leads

check the king lead from coil - dizzy

if all don't spark then check the rotor arm is actually turning

if it isn't then replace dizzy, if it is then replace coil

[is there anyway i can i test the coil?]

i'm also told to check the condensor but is this not part of the coil pack?

if i find problems in the electrics i have a winner. if not then i guess its fuel supply - either the pump or the filter correct?

the order i would do it is to check the coil first,

"Using an ohmmeter, check the resistance between the side terminals of the coil. Do this with all of the wires to the coil disconnected.

You should see 0.75 to 0.81 ohm of resistance. Then check the resistance between either side terminal and the center high tension terminal. The reading should be 10,000 to 11,000 ohms. Any significant deviation from these numbers would indicate that the coil is defective"

if the coil is ok, i would remove the HT wire going from the coil to the dizzy and check for spark, if there is spark the i would go on to check that the dizzy rotor is turning and that the removable top part is seated properly and clean, then i would check spark to the plugs if there is spark maybe is just out of phase or too weak, if it is too weak, just replace all HT and the Coil, and double check that the spark plugs are working fine

if its out of phase, firing order is as follow

Cylinder( from front view): 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Spark Sequence: 1 - 4 - 2 - 3

so cylinder # 1 goes to #1 on the dizzy, # 2 goes to # 4 on the dizzy, # 3 goes to # 2 on the dizzy and # 4 goes to # 3 on the dizzy

....4

.3.O.1 <- dizzy position the way i have it on mine

....2

Edited 5 March, 200917 yr by Cepheuz

you're a legend tonny, thanks very much!

one last question - if it is the coil, do i have to get a replacement from the same model/engine size? i had a look around the local scrapyard on my lunch and the ones from 1.3i felly's have already been liberated, but they have one for a 1.6.

also, will one from a 1.3 favorit be ok?

one last question - if it is the coil, do i have to get a replacement from the same model/engine size? i had a look around the local scrapyard on my lunch and the ones from 1.3i felly's have already been liberated, but they have one for a 1.6.

also, will one from a 1.3 favorit be ok?

nop, any will do, but some throw out a bigger punch i specialy like the bosh silver "blue coil"

You sure it's a carb model?

It might be the 1.3 SPI the same engine in my Skoda Favorit.

You sure it's a carb model?

It might be the 1.3 SPI the same engine in my Skoda Favorit.

nop, it's not a carburetor model, he first sayd it was a GLX so that's why i presumed it was, but, he latter stated that it was a LXi, witch should be the Magneti Marelli multi-point model, but i think he has the Bosh mono injector model witch kinda look like a carburetor and does not use the coil pack

Cepheuz, you don't have a UK car. No offence but everything you've said thus far has been largely incorrect.

Fool, you need to check first the major fail points on this car. The coil unit is number one.

this is the same on a 94- on favorit, any felicia 1.3 or 1.6, or octavia 1.6. You need to check for a spark from it using the central HT lead and place it beside a metal part (the engine!) and wathc for the spark. I assume that's simple enough, I don't know how technical you are is all.

For reference the firing order is 1-4-3-2 [EDIT: mistype, it's 1-3-4-2] and the 1 on a fav/fel is the 'top' one... ignore Cepheuzs diagram.

Next, the flywheel position sensor, also referred to as crank pos. sensor but its clearly not. This is a black 'knub' you could call it, on top of the gearbox as you look down on your engine, near the block. connected via one thick black cable. 10mm bolt, take it out, clean the sensor with a brillo pad or whatever, replace.

next, very near to that you will see a little metal tab poking up with 4 10mm nuts on it holding in place 4 brown earth cables. these earth key components including the ECU and can get corroded and stop working. that will cause a non-start, and they aren't the first thing you'd think of!

next, ECU. you'll need another to test with. they can fail, it is uncommon, but I've had a good 3 or 4 die on me...

and, unlikely it may be to be the main cause, but you have a pierburg injector unit under that air housing, and they're crap. More likely to cause stalling when driving at a constant speed though rather than what you're suggesting.

But I'd go with those things, in that order. Even if it is the first couple of things that solve it, do the third point anyway and make sure all the plugs to the injection unit are plugged in tight to solve any idle issues you might have.

now, hopefully that will work!

Edited 10 March, 200917 yr by surprising_skod

Cepheuz, you don't have a UK car. No offence but everything you've said thus far has been largely incorrect.

no i don't, i have a skoda felicia GLX that has a carburetor is left side driven and live in the dominican republic....

i think i stated that i'm not a technician, just a simple dude, i've also stated to check with others in this site, and i've stated that is the way i have it in my car, my apologize.

i did say that i would check the coil fist, and then work my way to the spark plugs so i and others in this post agree with what you've said.

now that sayd i'm checking my previous post,

and to the guy that started this thread, sorry dude if i misled you, wish i can make it up uin the future, but aparently you are now in good hands.

Edited 6 March, 200917 yr by Cepheuz

give it a rest both of you...

what woulda fuel pump sound like?

if you lift up the back seat, there's a small circular cover, put your ear to it and you should hear it whiring, if you cant hear it i'd suspect the fuel pump relay

and fyi the correct firing order is 1 3 4 2... and the earth point for the ecu is on the inner wing(right hand side as you face the car) on a felicia, under the strut brace

had any luck with this yet phil?

edit: oh and yes the coil from a 1.3 spi is the same as the 1.6 model, also it will be the same coil in a 6n polo (1994-1999)... you will need a 10mm spanner to take it off. it's not a conventional coil as such you might find on old motors, it's a kind of combined coil, transformer and ignition amplifier in one module they are about £40 new but i would strongly suggest doing a few of the tests i've mentioned before splashing out any money

Edited 6 March, 200917 yr by TeflonTom

Cepheuz it looks like a bit of a misunderstanding here. Surprising Skod was referring to the original poster as Fool as that is part of his user name.

Cepheuz it looks like a bit of a misunderstanding here. Surprising Skod was referring to the original poster as Fool as that is part of his user name.

That's how I read it too.

Cepheuz it looks like a bit of a misunderstanding here. Surprising Skod was referring to the original poster as Fool as that is part of his user name.

shucks!, my bad... guess i was just cranky because of my period, jajajaja (the punch line i'm a guy lol) editing previous post to correct that

i guess that shirk i went to to deal with my past alienation problems rip me off, lol but all's good.

For reference the firing order is 1-4-3-2 and the 1 on a fav/fel is the 'top' one... ignore Cepheuzs diagram.

oh and by the way, the firing order you mention was the same on my 86' VW Golf GL and i check my engine again (when i took the picture) and it read (on the block) 1 4 2 3 and it maches the order in the dizzy cables (clockwise) could the 135, 136, and the VW engined Skoda have that discrepancy ? or does the numers in the block mean something else ?? (i'm a bit confused) :confused:

and while i'm at it, my humble apology for reading the thread wrong

it's definately 1-3-4-2 on all vw and skoda stuff... take my word for it, think of it like this.... two cylinders always rise and fall together, the inner two and outer two are paired, if it were 1-4-3-2 then number 4 would be firing when it's an BDC... end of

it's definately 1-3-4-2 on all vw and skoda stuff... take my word for it, think of it like this.... two cylinders always rise and fall together, the inner two and outer two are paired, if it were 1-4-3-2 then number 4 would be firing when it's an BDC... end of

there is a contradiction there.. (please review and answer)

the iner pistons are like and the outer ones are linked, since the ignition is at the end of the compression stroke then the next in line should be starting the compression stroke and the second in line starting its intake stroke so;

2nd in line (#3 in firing order) should be paired with #1

1st in line (#2 in firnig order) should be opposite to #1

that leaves only two options if the crank is in ^\__/^

its eyther (from left to right) 1 2 4 3 or 1 4 2 3 (like the numbers are in my block left to the spark plugs)

further more, if the inner pistons are paired the 1 3 4 2 firing is imposible cus the outer pistons (#1 and #2 in your firing order) are starting a down stroke, since two cylinders cant fire at the same time, it means that the outer linked cylinder is on its intake stroke and there can't be two strokes for 1/4 dizzy movement (dizzy moves @ 1/2 CS)

please review this logic and rectify if necesary, but i've been pondering and my mind can't think a different scenario for ^\__/^ crank configuration

Edited 7 March, 200917 yr by Cepheuz