Hi there everybody. 

 

I'd be really grateful if someone could give me any clue as to what is going on with my poorly car! 

 

He's a fabia 1.2 (SE, I think), just hit 50000 miles and suddenly started misfiring and losing power. A lot. Engine management light came on. EPC light intermittent. Fault reader sometimes says ignition coil one, sometimes says misfire cylinder 1.

Things I've already tried:

Changed spark plugs, ignition coils, injectors. Still the same. When you reset the light the engine immediately stops juddering, but it is getting shorter and shorter between turning EML off, and issue restarting. 

Compression test came back fine. Anyone have any insight as to what is happening? 

I'm skint right now, (like almost everybody else!) so can't afford to just keep guessing and replacing everything! 

Has anyone else had this problem? What fixed it?! 

 

Thank you for any help you can give! 

 

Oh, just remembered, one time the code reader said "secondary circuit" but that went away when I swapped ignition coils 1&2 over! 🤷🏻‍♀️

I suspect a coil pack wiring loom issue or a faulty new coil which is not unheard of with cheap coils.

I've got a Yeti of a similar age and the 1.2 petrol engine. I know from that part of the forum the early models suffered from problems with the ignition leads - one of them ran too close to the engine and wasn't sufficiently insulated. This was a regular problem and was solved with modified leads and, I think, with cars from about the time mine was built by re-routing the affected lead. There may not be the same problem with Fabias but at 50,000 miles and accepting you don't want to go throwing money at it would it be worth changing the leads, even if you had to get a second hand set from a scrapyard just to see if it confirmed this as your problem? 

 

I will admit I'm not very technical so hopefully someone will be along that can give you better and more specific advice but I thought I'd mention it. Good luck.

It was cylinder 3.

1 hour ago, Hayley294 said:

He's a fabia 1.2 (SE, I think)

No registration documents? Everything is in there. Engine type is necessary to get a proper answer. Is it a 3 cylinder engine? What power? Tell us and we will go on from there.

1 hour ago, Hayley294 said:

I'm skint right now, (like almost everybody else!) so can't afford to just keep guessing and replacing everything! 

Of course you got skint by just throwing parts at your car and hoping to solve the issue. Computer faults are far from telling you what is really wrong. Especially when it's about misfire.

1 hour ago, RicardoM said:

No registration documents? Everything is in there. Engine type is necessary to get a proper answer. Is it a 3 cylinder engine? What power? Tell us and we will go on from there

1 hour ago, RicardoM said:

No registration documents? Everything is in there. Engine type is necessary to get a proper answer. Is it a 3 cylinder engine? What power? Tell us and we will go on from there.

.

 

Thanks for the replies, Is the information you need in here? 

Yes, it is the 3 cylinder engine 

Oh, also, the brand new spark plug in cylinder 1 was completely blackened after 1 five minute drive. 2&3 fine

Definitely a wiring issue with coil pack number one or a faulty coil.

So, the engine is the one shown in the attachment.

From my experience as an auto mechanic, the engines in 3 cylinders from the VAG group have the bad habit of burning exhaust valves. Some sooner some later. It looks it is not about a design flaw but about valve guides out of tolerance.

I disagree on "Compression test came back fine" part. Repeat the test when the engine is warmed up and the idle is rough. You'll get low compression on cylinder 1.

Swap coilpack 1 and coilpack 3 and see if misfire moves.

 

IME almost always faulty coilpack. Can sometimes take take a couple of restarts and a bit of revving to clear the fault down and resume fuelling on faulted switched off cylinder.

 

If a faulty coilpack is confirmed, you should have 2 good ones in the 3 you pulled (you said you replaced them all). 

 

Check you bought the correct coilpack type for the engine (CPGA)

Edited 20 October, 20205 yr by xman

On 20/10/2020 at 19:56, xman said:

Swap coilpack 1 and coilpack 3 and see if misfire moves.

 

Thanks for your reply.

Tried that, the fault stayed with cylinder 1. With the original coils and with the new ones. 

 

I'd hoped that with the advice you received from others your problem would now be sorted. Have you definitely eliminated a dodgy plug lead? You say you have changed the spark plugs. Many years ago my now retired mechanic told me about a customer who was going grey (and into bankruptcy) trying to chase down a fault and had worked his way through the obvious and obscure options replacing parts as he went. In desperation he took it to Ron who started by checking the spark plugs the owner had fitted as part of a routine service. One was faulty. Apparently it was known in the trade that there would be small number of new but below-quality plugs in circulation all the time so garages routinely would test them as soon as they came out of the packaging. Problem solved. This probably isn't the root of your problems but if you have a friendly garage might be worth asking if they could test them for you.

He has a wiring fault to number one coilpack but is ignoring it, call an auto electrician if you're stuck.

On 25/10/2020 at 09:55, Paul52 said:

I'd hoped that with the advice you received from others your problem would now be sorted. Have you definitely eliminated a dodgy plug lead? You say you have changed the spark plugs. Many years ago my now retired mechanic told me about a customer who was going grey (and into bankruptcy) trying to chase down a fault and had worked his way through the obvious and obscure options replacing parts as he went. In desperation he took it to Ron who started by checking the spark plugs the owner had fitted as part of a routine service. One was faulty. Apparently it was known in the trade that there would be small number of new but below-quality plugs in circulation all the time so garages routinely would test them as soon as they came out of the packaging. Problem solved. This probably isn't the root of your problems but if you have a friendly garage might be worth asking if they could test them for you.

 

So move the spark plugs around and see if the fault moves.

 

On 25/10/2020 at 12:35, sepulchrave said:

He has a wiring fault to number one coilpack but is ignoring it, call an auto electrician if you're stuck.

 

Probably as its unlikely that a valve problem would be a sudden event unless something broke (did the old spark plug have any bit missing?) 

 

Check for rodent damage somewhere on a loom. 

On 25/10/2020 at 12:35, sepulchrave said:

He has a wiring fault to number one coilpack but is ignoring it, call an auto electrician if you're stuck.

"He" is a she, and she is not ignoring anything. She just has a bunch of other responsibilities to juggle, and unfortunately the car is quite low down that list so she hasn't yet had chance to investigate every theory put to her. 

 

8 hours ago, Hayley294 said:

"He" is a she, and she is not ignoring anything. She just has a bunch of other responsibilities to juggle, and unfortunately the car is quite low down that list so she hasn't yet had chance to investigate every theory put to her. 

 

 

I don't care how you identify, just trying to 'prod' you in the right direction on a technical matter.

On 20/10/2020 at 19:44, RicardoM said:

 

I disagree on "Compression test came back fine" part. Repeat the test when the engine is warmed up and the idle is rough. You'll get low compression on cylinder 1.

 

@Hayley294, what were the figures for each cylinder?

I think Ricardo's suggestion is sensible, knowing these engines.  

 

 

13 hours ago, Wino said:

@Hayley294, what were the figures for each cylinder?

I think Ricardo's suggestion is sensible, knowing these engines.  

 

 

225 on all 3.

Will try again on a hot engine when I get a chance

Just wondering if you ever got to the bottom of this problem. As I’m having the exact same issue.

35 minutes ago, Akrapovic said:

Just wondering if you ever got to the bottom of this problem. As I’m having the exact same issue.

I don't think she's even posted in the last 3 years.

1 hour ago, Akrapovic said:

I’m having the exact same issue

Also on a 2013-ish mk2 Fabia 1.2 12-valve?