182 Exhaust warning light flashing, car stinks of rotten egg/sulphur

[jay-clio182]

Hi Guys, I've got a major problem, I picked up my car yesterday drove it back 60 miles everything fine, drove it today no problems, then tonight all of a sudden the exhaust warning light starts flashing, exhaust sounds like its spluttering like a tractor and loud, no power and it stinks like rotten eggs/sulphur. i'm gutted any ideas what it can be? I dont have a diagnostics kit. Help! :dead:

 

[MicKPM]

That'll be unburnt fuel entering the cat causing the sulphurous smell. Most likely an ignition coil or injector fault.

 

[Bluebeard]

If you bought it from a garage, my guess is they steam cleaned the engine bay and soaked the plugs and coil pack.

 

[jay-clio182]

I brought it from a guy who runs a car detailling place, dont think the engine was steam cleaned.
Any ideas how to find out for sure what it is? or is it a trip to the garage?

 

[Bluebeard]

Got a mate with the same car? Just spend a saturday swapping bits until you pinpoint it.

 

[jay-clio182]

No unfortunately not, managed to find someone with a diagnostics kit, will that point me in the right direction?

 

[jay-clio182]

I've just hooked up the diagnostics, error code is P0301 Cylinder one misfire. How do I sort this? Sorry for being a noob

 

[MicKPM]

Find out what is causing the misfire on cylinder 1

Is it the injector or the coil/plug. My money is on the coil

Mick

 

[jay-clio182]

I have managed to find the problem. It was water in the plugs! The guy who I brought the car off had cleaned the engine bay a few weeks earlier, so maybe it was that causing the problem. But I would have thought it would have happened earlier but the car had only been driven a few times.
Could there be anything else that caused it, or am I worrying over nothing?

 

[MicKPM]

If it was a Mk1 there could be a few scenarios but not on a Mk2... It'll be because someone jet washed the bay.

Glad you sorted it

 

[jay-clio182]

cheers, I just had a thought, the car was also serviced on the day I brought it surely they would have noticed water in the plugs or wouldnt they check this?

 

[MicKPM]

LoL - Yeah, you'd *think* wouldn't you but a "service" to most places these days is nothing more than screwing on a new oil filter and chaning the oil for £99. This is not a proper service so they proberbly wouldn't look or even care if they did.