PUMA 1.7...DIED AFTER GOING OVER A BUMP!! BAFFLED..HELP PLS

[cassi444]

WENT OVER A BUMP AND IT SLUTTERED AND DIED!!!
I am baffled! Any ideas?
Had a diagnostic done, and it has been running with these problems previously, variable cam valve and 3rd cylinder codes come up. However, they were present previous to and after the MOT in Nov/Dec time.

When it happened; I drove a bit fast over a small, sharp hump in the road (sleeping policemen type thing), it spluttered and died, it's like something came away/fell off/moved/broke, but I have no idea what. It will turn over, we have electrics, not checked every single fuse, but that would have shown on diagnostic, so.
Someone had a cursory look and suggested replacing the injectors and we decided to change the loom too, perhaps solving the cam valve problem, on it's way from ebay as we speak.
Not confident it will solve this problem tho, still think it's something more...what do you think???

Thanks for taking the time to read even if you can't help!
Regards
Cas

 

[oilburner]

I'm just wondering if the bump knocked the fuel pump cut off switch it cuts off the pump in the event of a crash

 

[cassi444]

whathe said hahaha

What do you suggest it might be then? You have lots of experience with cars, I would value your expert opinion
Cas

 

[Dal]

Looks like Kizza is agreeing with oilburner in that it might be the fuel pump switch - passenger side, in front of the door in a little hole.

 

[cassi444]

I'm just wondering if the bump knocked the fuel pump cut off switch it cuts off the pump in the event of a crash

The pump sounds like it is still working, I can hear it whirring when I turn the key, and we pulled off the petrol line see if it was pumping, and it is.
Thanks for the helpful suggestion, and taking the time to think about it
I don't even have an inkling where to start with this one, I've never had it happen before on any car I've owned previously. I suppose that's technology for you!!
Regards
Cas

 

[oilburner]

Have a look at the wiring connections on the coil pack and the leads if its not fuel then it may have disturbed something electrical

 

[S1_RS]

Start with the basics, whip a plug out and check to see if it's wet and smells of fuel, then check for a spark at the plug. At least then you'll know if it's fuel or ignition.

 

[Ian G]

If you've got fuel then the only other two things it can be are compression or spark.

Injectors and loom I wouldn't be changing if it ran prior to hitting the bump. There's nothing to fail on the loom and its highly unlikely that all four injectors would fail at the same time.

Loom connector on the offside behind the headlight becoming dislodged would cause the injectors not to fire though. Hence check the plugs and see if they're wet.

If they're not, fuel supply.

If they are, spark. And for all four, coil pack. That too has a multi-plug which if you identify the coil pack you will be able to see.

While you're there there's another multiplug under the coil pack which connects the engine block and all associated sensors to the ECU loom. Normally need the intake pipe off to get to that.

If you have fuel and spark then the next thing is compression which you would see if you've jumped a tooth on the cambelt. Compression test should assist you there.

 

[gav.]

sounds like the timing has slipped , i would advise having the timing checked before going any further or attempting to start again, you say it made a strange sound , imo i reckon there is a strong possibilty it has skipped the timing and the noise you heard was the valves contacting the piston...a compression test will show this up

this would cause it to stop running and give all the symptoms you describe

 

[lolly boi]

if the timing went amiss you'd know about it. I've had a couple of cars in at work with similar problems. one thing to try is mass air flow meter the motherboards tend to brake up inside. also check the cam and crank position sensors. good luck !

 

[cassi444]

Thankyou for all the suggestions, I will work my way through those!
Would some of your suggestions not be thrown up by a diagnostic, which I had done on saturday, it only came up with the 3 spark plug and an on-going issue with the variable cam sensor.
I have changed the loom already because of the cam issue, to see if we can solve that problem, it made no difference to it starting! :-( sadly.
I will report back when I have been through the list above of suggestions, hopefully one of them will solve it!

 

[cassi444]

Looks like Kizza is agreeing with oilburner in that it might be the fuel pump switch - passenger side, in front of the door in a little hole.

I found this, the red button on top is down/sunken, is this normal? As in, would it be up and flush if it was switched off??
Many thanks
Cas

 

[gav.]

the fact it will not run, its throwing codes for the vct would all point to the fact the timing has slipped ...im an ex ford mechanic and this is pretty common on the 1250/1400/1600/1700 engines with the floating crank and cam design , especially where water has been involved , i have just experienced this with my own puma except it turned out to have just slipped causing loss of power


id be very very surprised if this isnt the case in yours

 

[gav.]

if the timing went amiss you'd know about it. I've had a couple of cars in at work with similar problems. one thing to try is mass air flow meter the motherboards tend to brake up inside. also check the cam and crank position sensors. good luck !

i think the fact its not running speaks volumes for "knowing about it"

airflow meter would not stop it running, disconnect yours and yo will see my point

 

[red]

Has the power cable come loose from the starter motor? This happened to me a couple of times.

 

[red]

Ah, fair point. You can have electrics without the starter being connected though :grin:

 

[yippeekiay]

An easy way to check if fuel is getting to the engine is to undo the shrader valve. This is past the injectors so if fuel comes from there you know the pump/fuel lines are at least delivering fuel. The valve is on the front left hand side of the engine as you look from the front of the car and has (or mine had) a little blue cap on it like a tyre valve. And a shrader valve IS the same as a tyre valve so you need a valve removal key (or small screwdriver) to unwind the valve.

I only know this as this valve supplied the fuel to my nitrous kit instead of having to break into the fuel line.....very useful.

EDIT:- Found a picture to help :lol:

If it's not a fuel problem then ignore all of the above :lol:

 

[cassi444]

Where is the coil pack?
This could well be what it is as it happened so suddenly, it would certainly make sense of this mystery!!!
Cas

 

[Ian G]

Right hand side of the engine, behind the white and red fuel pipes.

 

[cassi444]

Right hand side of the engine, behind the white and red fuel pipes.

Is there a connection from underneath it to the injector loom? and is that the one you're on about? We have changed the injector loom and today also changed the injector rail. No difference. Checked the cam belt, it's off centre, which I would think is a bit of a worry, but it's ok and working when I turn it over.
It's turning over, but not firing, we have fuel as we checked the valve suggested, on the old rail and the new one (just in case the new one didn't work!)

Still stumped!! :roll: