Problem with my 172 :(

[Mark_Petty]

Hi

Started the car up this morning and it wasnt idling as it should. Next thing while it sat there warming up the emmisions light started flashing. I turned the car off then tried again but the light still flashed.

I took it to renault for a diagnostic check on the way there it was lacking power I originally thought it was the exhaust

They said I shouldnt drive it as they reckon its either the ignition coil, the spark plugs or the ht leads, they say its only firing on 2 cylinders. They want to do a compression test aswell.

Has anyone had similar problems? Does it sound about right what renault are saying?

Also how many ignition coils are there?

Thanks

 

[Mark_Petty]

Anyone pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[Monkey636]

sounds like an ignition coil problem to me, simple to fix, 1 coil per cyinder i would have thought, not sure what the price is for 172 coils though.

 

[Mark_Petty]

thanks for the reply mate.

knowing renault they will be expensive, oh well im hoping its just that.

 

[Mark_Petty]

Does anyone know how much they cost for a 172? Thanks

 

[benji&eka]

172 is not one coil per cylinder - its a coil pack (just one unit).



sounds like youve got a missfire, they should have found the problem there and then, its not a difficult engine to diagnose problems on.

 

[Clarkie172]

id have said it was the coil pack too

 

[Mark_Petty]

Quote: Originally posted by Clarkie172 on 27 August 2005

id have said it was the coil pack too

cool, how much do u reckon one of these are from renault?

 

[Simf40]

i have no idea probably around £40 is usuall for one coil but as yours has a coil pack on it, may be about £100 but thats just an estimate,

usuall faults come up on the computer but if it dosent show an ignition coil fault then it may not be the coils?

weve had another 172 with the same problem and it was lacking alot of compression on 2 of the cylinders, just a thought though?

 

[Loopz]

i had the ignition coil problems with my 1.6 16V, but the symptoms were a bit different...when i started the car, the revs were jumping form 500-1500, when i pulled out, they stopped, but then all off the sudden the power dropped, just like there would be only two cylinders left...



the 1.6 had separate ignition coils, and eventually i had to have all four replaced, wich costed me bout 150 qiud...

 

[Mark_Petty]

Thanks for the response

Sounds like it is the ignition coil I will let you know the outcome when I get it back

 

[eugegall]

my mk1 172 is exactly the same

 

[Day]

What dealer did you take it too?

Please dont tell me you took it to the bunch of cowboys that begin with the letter O?

You wont see your car for a week if so

 

[Gus]

Its something you could change yourself pretty quickly.

To check if it is the coil pack:-

remove the engine cover, and locate the coilpack to the back right, it will have 4 plugs that look like they are set in glue/gel .

Start the car

Using some plastic grips or tongs pull each cable from the coil pack one by one.

You should notice that as you pull the cable off the coil pack you will see fierce sparking. Keep going till you find the 1 or 2 in your case that arent sparking. If they arent sparking , then you have a dead coil pack.

Turn car off.

According to the AA Renault will replace any coil pack free if the car is in warrenty. Otherwise its £50 -£56 .

The coil pack is dead easy to replace. Just remove the old one and slot the new one in.

The AA will do all the above for you, even drive off to get the part if you are a member. Renault will charge you so much it will spoil your weekend.

 

[Gus]

Oh forgot to say , really important, dont touch the sparks or you will likely be knocked out.

 

[Day]

^ Excellent advice there.

Lets hope he read your second post before dashing out to change it!! LOL

 

[Mark_Petty]

Hi

Thanks for the advice, I wish I read it before I took the car in

I took the car in on Saturday and its still there as they said they wouldnt recommend me driving it as it could damage the car even more. Also they are waiting for the parts to be delivered.

Otherwise I would of done what optical said, very good advise mate thanks for that

Day: I have taken it to Olympian Renault in Bournemouth, Its not what I wanted to do but I had no choice as my light was flashing and due to my work I cannot get the car to any other garage in the week. Oh well as long as it gets fixed.

I reckon they said it wasnt driveable because they wanted it for the weekend

 

[wide]

i had the same light come on & the car was over reving but very little power was coming through,turned the car off started it again same thing. left it off for a few hours and started it again and it was fine had it diagnosed & it was the accelorator switch

 

[Ben j]

cant u just buy a coil pack from euro car parts?

 

[Martin_172]

u was £60 for a new coil pack from renault for my 1.2 16V if thats any help. the revs were jumping up and down from 500RPM to 1200RPM. the coil pack didnt fix it

 

[Mark_Petty]

right I got the test back from the compression and all is fine

They took the spark plugs out and they are in a bad condition they said rusting away. I thought these plugs dont need replacing until 72k??

My question is my car has only done 31k surely the plugs shouldnt go that quickly, do u think they will replace them at a discounted amount because it states clearly in the book 72k?

HT leads need replacing too.

They tested the igntion coil and thats fine.

 

[Mark_Petty]

anyone??

 

[benji&eka]

rusty spark plugs?? sounds like head gasket to me!!

......or do they mean rusty outside??

 

[bean]

Quote: Originally posted by benji&eka on 30 August 2005


rusty spark plugs?? sounds like head gasket to me!!

......or do they mean rusty outside??

I imagine they mean corroded, 72k miles seems a lot on one set of sparkies

 

[Mark_Petty]

Quote: Originally posted by benji&eka on 30 August 2005


rusty spark plugs?? sounds like head gasket to me!!

......or do they mean rusty outside??

I think they mean rusty on the outside as they have done a compression test and it was fine. Bloody cost me £50 for the compression test on its own

They are saying somehow water got in to the plugs and it has caused them to rust. Also one of the ht leads was damaged so they are replacing them as well


[Edited by Mark_Petty on 30 August 2005 at 4:20pm]

 

[benji&eka]

nice of them, when theyve done it, take it home whip the plug leads off (one at a time- so you dont loose the order!). and spray them and the plugs liberally with duck oil (wd40, plusgas, whatever you got)

 

[Mark_Petty]

Quote: Originally posted by bean on 30 August 2005

Quote: Originally posted by benji&eka on 30 August 2005


rusty spark plugs?? sounds like head gasket to me!!

......or do they mean rusty outside??

I imagine they mean corroded, 72k miles seems a lot on one set of sparkies

They probably do mean that actually, im not actually speaking to the mechanic its the receptionist and I personally dont think she knows whats going on

 

[Mark_Petty]

got it back at last, it was the spark plugs and ht leads. It seems quicker now

Just glad i have it back

Thanks for all the help guys