Can anyone help me out and save my Christmas. I have already searched the forums and no one has had this problem of a stuck fuel injector that I can find.
I own a Clio Trophy 182 with 42k on the clock which has been well maintained by Fred (but now Fred has shut up shop) and its now running on three cylinders.
On my way to work the car just suddenly started to run on three cylinders and sounded like a chopper motorbike and the smell of fuel was really bad. Smoke started to come out the exhaust and the toxic fume warning light came on and off. I managed to turn the car around and head home.
I bought new Renault spark plugs and HT leads from Renault Wolverhampton/Autoworld and my mechanic changed them but it was still running on three cylinders. This was done on my driveway. He checked the coil pack and it was kicking out a good spark which lead us down the injector route.
We got the car picked up and driven to his workshop as I didn't want to drive the car incase I damaged the Catalytic convertor. My mechanic ruled out a dropped valve and he then connected it up to a diagnostic machine which told us it was Cylinder No. 2 fuel injector. He then found out that this injector was stuck on and constantly spraying fuel. It wasn't modulating or pulsing like it should do. This explained the strong smell of fuel and smoke. He believes it is the ECU or possibly the wiring loom. We undone the battery overnight to reset the ECU (which I think is how its done) but this didn't solve anything.
Two weeks before that the temperature sensor was replaced because the temperature gauge wasn't working now and again and when it was not working the engine was running rich and the car would eventually cut out because it was being over fuelled. The RAC was called out and he wobbled the temperature sensor and it came back to life and this solved the problem. This is a common fault apparently so my mechanic simply changed the temperature sensor for a new one and I put on a new battery because that what the RAC man recommended to do as it looked like the original battery and winter is coming. Everything was fine until two weeks later.
Has anyone had this problem and what is the best route to go down now. Tomorrow my mechanic is checking the wiring loom but is it easy to simply change the ECU and how much does a new ECU cost?
If I need a new ECU, then is it worth upgrading the ECU to an aftermarket product? The only modifications on the car is a ITG panel air filter, the latest Yozzasport exhaust from Fred and the Pure Motosport front strut brace and solid top mounts. Other than that its all stock but would an aftermarket ECU screw up all the lights on the dash board etc. I don't really want to deviate from how Renault originally wanted the engine to run and perform and as I use the car daily I don't want to fall down the dreaded route of having a unreliable car like some people have after modifying their cars too much
Please can anyone offer any advice
I own a Clio Trophy 182 with 42k on the clock which has been well maintained by Fred (but now Fred has shut up shop) and its now running on three cylinders.
On my way to work the car just suddenly started to run on three cylinders and sounded like a chopper motorbike and the smell of fuel was really bad. Smoke started to come out the exhaust and the toxic fume warning light came on and off. I managed to turn the car around and head home.
I bought new Renault spark plugs and HT leads from Renault Wolverhampton/Autoworld and my mechanic changed them but it was still running on three cylinders. This was done on my driveway. He checked the coil pack and it was kicking out a good spark which lead us down the injector route.
We got the car picked up and driven to his workshop as I didn't want to drive the car incase I damaged the Catalytic convertor. My mechanic ruled out a dropped valve and he then connected it up to a diagnostic machine which told us it was Cylinder No. 2 fuel injector. He then found out that this injector was stuck on and constantly spraying fuel. It wasn't modulating or pulsing like it should do. This explained the strong smell of fuel and smoke. He believes it is the ECU or possibly the wiring loom. We undone the battery overnight to reset the ECU (which I think is how its done) but this didn't solve anything.
Two weeks before that the temperature sensor was replaced because the temperature gauge wasn't working now and again and when it was not working the engine was running rich and the car would eventually cut out because it was being over fuelled. The RAC was called out and he wobbled the temperature sensor and it came back to life and this solved the problem. This is a common fault apparently so my mechanic simply changed the temperature sensor for a new one and I put on a new battery because that what the RAC man recommended to do as it looked like the original battery and winter is coming. Everything was fine until two weeks later.
Has anyone had this problem and what is the best route to go down now. Tomorrow my mechanic is checking the wiring loom but is it easy to simply change the ECU and how much does a new ECU cost?
If I need a new ECU, then is it worth upgrading the ECU to an aftermarket product? The only modifications on the car is a ITG panel air filter, the latest Yozzasport exhaust from Fred and the Pure Motosport front strut brace and solid top mounts. Other than that its all stock but would an aftermarket ECU screw up all the lights on the dash board etc. I don't really want to deviate from how Renault originally wanted the engine to run and perform and as I use the car daily I don't want to fall down the dreaded route of having a unreliable car like some people have after modifying their cars too much
Please can anyone offer any advice
