3 new injectors an still not working HELP HELP HELP

[ruthwitham007]

Morning All,

i need advice. I own a ford Smax TDi 58 plate. Was driving down to West country when car started making a whooshing noise when accelerating over 40mph. over the next 20 minutes the car sounded worse, gradually slowed to a stop with no warning lights and refused to turn over again. Car has been in a garage 300 miles from home for nearly 2 weeks now. They removed the injectors and 3 of the 4 have since been replaced but the car still wont start unless they spray eezey start in the engine. The ECU has now been removed and sent off for testing. Anyone got any idea what the problem might be? The cost is escalating now. The diagnostics isn't flagging anything up at all. Still no warning lights. And there is 200 miles of fuel in the car.

[johnnyroper]

Whooshing sounds like a boost leak,have they started with basics like checking hoses and turbo before whipping injectors and ECU off?

[Mirez]

Morning Ruth,

I would agree with JR that whooshing sounds are normally the sound of air escaping, especially if they do it on acceleration. If that's the case then the ECU can't fuel properly so deffinately check they have ruled out turbo issues, intercooler cracks/stone damage and boost hose splits.

Personally, if a garage wanted to send the ECU away I would get a second opinion first as that's really a last resort. ECU failure is EXTREMELY uncommon on any modern vehicle.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

As always, wise advice has been provided on this forum.

When a garage tells me the ECU needs testing, I always run a mile. Computers tend to either work or not work. Itââ,¬â,,¢s a bit like saying thereââ,¬â,,¢s a fault with your TV hardware because it shows all the channels except BBC2. Thatââ,¬â,,¢s just not how electronic devices tend to break.

Now, may I respectfully ask, is the car a bit of a banger? Rather than spending a fortune on having a garage change expensive bits and bobs and take random guesses, to the point of blaming the ECU (yeah right, as if thatââ,¬â,,¢s gonna be the fault...), could there be an argument here for cutting your losses and just buying a new car?

As mentioned earlier, a whoosh noise is probably gonna be a turbo leak. Check pipes and intercooler.

I hope you get your car fixed soon, for a reasonable price.

[TobyTransit]

Fook me a bit of a banger? Wouldn't call a 10 year old smax a banger, it's barely going to be run in!

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Yes, sorry didnââ,¬â,,¢t mean to imply it was a banger but more whether it would be economically viable to investigate this challenging problem rather than just cutting losses and getting a new car (injectors and suchlike sound pricey and it doesnââ,¬â,,¢t sound like the garage is getting anywhere)

My old Ford Focus was a crate, an absolute rust bucket shed of a banger, but it ran so smoothly and was one of the nicest cars I ever had. I only had to get rid of it because it got so rust in the end. A real shame, that car otherwise would have gone on forever. Also I never worried about parking it next to trolleys in the supermarket or leaving it parked in rough parts of town. That car gave me real peace of mind and I had so many pleasant journeys in it

[johnnyroper]

Fook me a bit of a banger? Wouldn't call a 10 year old smax a banger, it's barely going to be run in!

No nor me I would be more inclined to think the problem is something fairly simple that the garage has missed. Sounds to me like they have jumped head first in to serious problems without looking at the basics.  The whoosh sounds would be the clue for me that it is losing charge air pressure.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

What is charge air pressure please? Is that the pressure from the turbocharger, before it goes into the engine?

The puzzling part of this is that the car has trouble starting. Turbo etc doesnââ,¬â,,¢t usually affect startup I think. I wonder what it could be. Also why did the garage replace the injectors I wonder, what led to the conclusion that the injectors needed replacing. I find car problems like this very challenging.

[johnnyroper]

Charge air is the boost air post turbo.

With modern direct injection diesels a severe boost leak can cause starting issues as the fuelling would be way off. The fuelling will be adjusted by ECU in relation to incoming air passing over the MAF if that air is charged and lost then the fuel being injected will be a lot greater than what can be combusted properly due to lack of air.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Such impressive knowledge and so clearly explained, thank you!!

[SirDavidAlhambra]

I have a question about this car. Once it is started, if you rev it up really hard, do you get loads of black smoke coming out the back. If so, I believe you may have a leak in the turbo hoses or the intercooler.

Also why did the garage replace the injectors please (just curious). Thank tou

[Michael Bennett]

I had a smilar problem on another vehicle - a chrysler grand voyager.  garage said i needed to replace 4 injectors.  i told them dont be stupid, you cant have 4 failures in one go....

took the car away,  and my friend said,  check the fuel rail pressure release valve.  but one for 30 quid and it fixed it..

saved me 1200pounds.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Wow your friend sounds really good, I love it when people point out really easy little fixes and it saves a fortune!

[Michael Bennett]

Yes the garage was doing fuel line cup tests.  (irrelevant to the issue).  my friend is an excellent and honest guy in caterham. but he is unwell at moment.  my thoughts go to him as he tries to get better).