Clio Phase 1 16v...More Problems

[damianshaker]

I put a post on here last week regarding trouble I am having with my phase 1 16v and thought I had got to the bottom of it, but hey its a Renault!

Last week I was having some trouble with idling and misfiring, and so checked and replaced the usual culprits. The cars idling was all over, and it was really badly misfiring, except under heavy acceleration. This problem developed over roughly a 24 hr period. I replaced the plugs and leads, dizzy cap, idle potentiometer, and air control valve. The plugs and leads had no effect, the potentiometer brought the idling steady and back to 900 rpm, and the air control valve steadied the misfire, though it was still present whilst driving at very low revs or decelerating. I then left the car for as few hours and when I started it again it was just as bad as before, Idling erratically and misfiring throughout the rev range. The next day I inspected all the air hoses etc and couldnt see or hear any faults. I started the car again, it was still misfiring and then died. I could not get the car started again. I then inspected the last thing I thought it could be. I opened up the ECU and sure enough, about 2 inches of the circuit board looked burnt out, and the smell confirmed the problem. I managed to get an ECU this morning from a reputable renault breakers in Accrington (ill post the URL at a later date for anyone in the NW area, they had loads of bits from valvers etc) and then fitted this. The car still wouldnt start, and judging by the fuel gauge lack of petrol may have be the problem. Upon consultation from my haynes manual, the valvers have 2 fuel tanks, the second one is used when the main tank is empty. I filled the tank with required 2 gallons of fuel, to fill the secondary tank and when totally full the main tank gets the fuel. I started the engine again, and this still had no effect, I coudnt get the car started. What is going on??

From what I just said I need to know the following:

Could the fact that the car is now not starting have anything to do with the misfire and idling problems? Is there something simple I may have overlooked. Bear in mind the car seemed to behave itself a bit better after fitting idle controller and air intake regulator.

I know this sounds a bit silly but I live on a fairly steep hill and the car is facing up the slope. Would the fuel pump be able to draw fuel to the injectors whilst the car is on such a gradient?

I think the ECU definately had something to do with it, with the circuit looking burnt out in places. Could the ECU have been giving the injectors too much/too little fuel and maybe this could have damaged the fuel pump. When I turn the ignition I can hear something buzzing for a second or two, I presume this is the fuel pump. Is there any way a faulty ECU may have damaged the fuel system in any way. Is there anything I should be checking for?

The fact now is I cant get the vehicle started. I have checked the simple stuff, the car has just had new plugs, leads, and dizzy cap so ignition system should be fine. I believe there is a fuel cut off switch fitted to some clios in case of accidents etc, does anyone know if they fitted these to the 92/93 16vs and where is it located?

The thing that has pi**ed me off more than anything is the car was running fine last week, and I was thinking about some new alloys! Need to get the thing going again before any of that. Any help/pointers would be more than appreciated as I am now completely stuck. Thanks.

 

[Rajk]

just guessing but if your fuel pump is shagged you would not hear the thing pump on ignition, but it could also be a clogged or choked fuel filter just not putting the right amount of fuel into the engine. Or you may have to get that ECU looked out to see if the one you brought from the scrappy is not F***ed.

Other than that it could be a very costly trip to Mr Renos or a reno specialist.

 

[djmcfish]

May sound silly but a very simple thing that Ive seen over looked before is have you tried jump starting her? May still turn over but not with enough grunt due to not running for ages? The starter motor is on the small side for the size of the engine anyway so tends to demard a well cahrged battery?

Failing that know some good Reno guys but there down here in Essex!

 

[damianshaker]

Thanks for replies. Will check fuel filter tomorrow though im sure this would be apparent over a long period of time and not be so sudden, though im not ruling anything out. I had my girlfriends Polo jump starting it today, but no joy on this either. Luckily one of the mechanics at my local garage is Renualt trained, and it was a phonecall with him that instructed me to check and change air flow regulator and idle potentiometer and check ECU. Ill have to presume that the new ECU is ok, as im having same problems with both ECUs and it would be damned unlucky to get 2 knackered ECUs. The new one was nice and dry inside with no obvious signs of water damage to the circuit board, and no sign of burning out of any of the circuits.

I was really wondering if any of the fuel system had been damaged due to previous misfiring problems, and now I have replaced faulty parts and ECU have I got a whole new problem to sort, which is the reason for the none starting. Or could this be one big problem and the new parts have made no difference or made the original problem worse. Ill spend another day on it tomorrow and if still no joy its off to the garage for some diagnostics. Any other ideas will be welcomed. And im up in Preston so I dont think the renault guys in Essex will be too happy recovering the car from Lancashire!