Hi all,
I have a 1996 (N) Ford Fiesta 1.3EFi. The car was producing blue smoke and as a result someone I know replaced the Valve stem oil seals for me.
Since this has been done the Fiesta has 2 new problems that I cannot solve - And he has since moved out of the area :-( .
1. It "runs on" when changing gear
2. It now produces white smoke when cold
I have tried giving the car a long 20mile ish run to make sure the ECU is no longer in learing mode and I have adjusted the throttle cable to no avail. The same applies to the white smoke.
Any help would be grately recieved.
Thanks in advance
Dave
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Dave
Running-on is the engine failing to stop at key-off. I suspect you mean "idle flare" between gears - which is a well-known issue with these engines.
It's all to do with the ECU getting the message that the throttle has closed; if it doesn't, then the idle valve stays in the "part-throttle" position - fully open.
Make sure that the throttle position sensor plug has been correctly replaced and that the in-line engine loom connector plugs aren't corroded.
White smoke when cold can be anti-freeze burning; is it using water?
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Hi,
Many thanks for your quick reply.
I will check what you suggest.
The car doesn't seem to use any water.. i have been keeping an eye on this as i thought white smoke was something to do with water getting into the exhaust.
Many thanks,
Dave
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Are you sure that the white smoke isn't just the condensation in the exhaust?
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Hi,
Many thanks for your help so far... I have sorted the "idle flare" out by removing a triangular shaped plug located at the rear of the engine as mentioned on some other forums.
However the smoke problem still persists. The smoke is blue for a second or 2 then white and only lasts for about 20 seconds in total but it is excessive.
Any more help that can be given would be much appreciated.
Many thanks,
Dave
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Sorry,
Correction on the smoke... it would appear that it remains blue and does not change to white as I indicated
Dave
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Dave
Do not remove the vehicle speed sensor plug; that's an "idiot fix" as it only creates a second fault-code that disables sections of the ECU by making it think the vehicle is stationary. That merely masks the true fault and can cause further knock-on fuelling problems.
Blue smoking at start-up is often burning oil from worn valve stem seals; the ones supposed to have just been replaced....?
Check all the crankcase breathers are clear.
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Hi,
Thanks for your advice... I will investigate further.
Excuse my ignorance on this matter but does the fact that the "idle flare" was solved by disconnecting the vehicle speed sensor indicate that, that sensor is faulty?
the stem seals have definately been replaced, although I cannot verify that they have been fitted correctly.
I will check the the breathers and see what hidden wonders they hold! :-)
Many thanks for your help.
Dave
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Dave
Disconnecting the speed sensor doesn't solve the problem - it just confuses the ECU even more. If the vehicle is stationary for more than a few seconds; the ECU eventually assumes the throttle is closed - even though it's not been getting proper throttle position info from the TPS sensor.
Driving it with missing vehicle speed info and wrong throttle position signals will cause incorrect fuelling - an "idiot fix." There was nothing wrong with the VSS - you proved it was working when disconnecting it had an effect. However it wasn't the idle fault's cause; that is still the TPS signal to the ECU not getting through and it's now just hidden - not solved.
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Re the blue smoke
Are you sure it was the valve stem seals causing the blue smoke in the first place? Not worn rings/bores?
Is the compression up to standard, did the carbon emissions get flagged at the MOT?
How much oil is it using ( litres per 000s) , finally, what sort of miles has it done, they do wear out at around 100K- depending on how well looked after.
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Hi,
Not 100% sure, replaced the valve stem seals as everybody said that's what was causing the problems. The compression is fine and the car does not seem to be using any oil.
The MOT was done last November and passed fine but the smoking problem only started a month ago.
The car has done 92k Miles and has full history which documents regular services upto 71k.
Hopefully this may help?
Many thanks,
Dave
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Just a thought.. If the rings/bores were the problem would it only smoke when cold?
I thought that if either of those were the problem it would smoke all the time?
Many thanks,
Dave
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I have similar problem.
I got a lot of blue smoke when cold which ceases immediately when the choke switches off and initial revs return to idle. After that, engine and car run perfect.
Tried some Wynn's stop smoke but now I just get a lot of white smoke instead of blue
Any ideas?
Col
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