Vauxhall Meriva 1.4 petrol - Misfiring engine

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 9 Jul 2020 09:32
Vauxhall Meriva 1.4 petrol - Misfiring engine - John Kenna

Hi my daughters car has suddenly started showing the engine management light and I have checked with a handheld diagnostic tool and it is showing as misfiring on cylinders 1 & 4. I have changed the ignition coil which made no difference but when I checked the plugs the ones from 1 & 4 have a little oil on them (2 & 3 are ok).

What could be the main cause of this problem?

Thanks

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 9 Jul 2020 13:37
Vauxhall Meriva 1.4 petrol - Misfiring engine - elekie&a/c doctor
If it’s only running on 2 cylinders, then it’s likely the plugs are fouled up . Always a good idea to replace the spark plugs when replacing the coil pack .
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 9 Jul 2020 15:25
Vauxhall Meriva 1.4 petrol - Misfiring engine - S40 Man

You don't say which year this is, but it's it a direct injection engine? Some GN can suffer LSPI low speed pre-ignition. Pinking in old money. This can damage the pistons, chin rods or cylinder heads. All of which could give the oily spark plug and poor running/EML

ASTRA 1.4 t have this problem but don't know if it's the same engine on your family car.

It's worse in low rev acceleration.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 20 Jul 2020 00:55
Vauxhall Meriva 1.4 petrol - Misfiring engine - Nezza
I had this same problem on my 05 Astra a few month back. I too changed the plugs and coil pack and had no change in fault. The cure was a new battery surprisingly. (I always expected if the car started the battery was fine). Not missed a beat since. I hope yours is as easy to cure.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link