Hi all,

My xr3i is only running on 3 cylinders. The one nearest the distributor cap doesnt appear to do anything! I removed the lead whilst the engine was running, and there was no change whatsoever, whereas removing the other 3 in turn caused the engine to cough and splutter until replaced.

Ive changed the plugs and leads but still no joy.

Has anyone got any suggestions?

Cheers,

xristy007

It may be the rotor arm in your distributer cap. May be worth a check

I took the cap off and replaced the rotor arm, but did not remove any leads from the cap. When I put the cap back on, the leads are tight and not as they were, suggesting to me that maybe the cap wasnt on properly?

Its too dark now to do anymore, so Ill have a crack in the morning and report back!

Thanks for the suggestion mate

No problem, hope it works

Just replaced the cap and repositioned the leads, and while it started better it didnt cure the problem sadly!

The pipe on the exhaust manifold to the front and directly under the offending lead/plug/cylinder (the pipe on the end on the right) is cold when running, but the other 3 are red hot as you would expect.

With new leads, plugs, cap, rotor arm and coil not making any difference, any ideas anyone?

Cheers

(a cheesed off) xristy007!!

have you done a compression test?

Not yet. I'll have to get a compression gauge and try it. If theres little or no compression is it serious money to get it fixed ? (whatever the problem may be)

it could be a head gasket problem or a stickey valve without further investication is hard to say how much its going to cost.

Just did a compression test and all 4 cylinders are giving out the same reading which is 12.5 BAR or about 180 psi.

The oil looks a good colour ie not a hint of creaminess.

The spark plug from the rogue cylinder was cleaner than the other three and was wet with petrol which suggests to me the fuel injector isnt blocked

Just did a compression test and all 4 cylinders are giving out the same reading which is 12.5 BAR or about 180 psi.

The oil looks a good colour ie not a hint of creaminess.

The spark plug from the rogue cylinder was cleaner than the other three and was wet with petrol which suggests to me the fuel injector isnt blocked

any luck with this one?

sorry don't know anything about these cars but if its injected I would be looking at the 12v supply to the injector. Assuming all the high tension stuff checks out ok.

Have you pulled the suspect cylinder's plug cap and put a good spare plug in and tested that the plug is sparking outside the cylinder ? obviously earth the plug on a good chassis earth like the strut not anything aluminium .

If you definitely have a spark then...

Remove the electrical connector to the suspect injector and turn the ignition on without starting.

Check with a multimeter that you have a constant 12v+ from the wiring loom .make sure you have a good connection inside the plug.

Assuming that when you crank the car the injector should then get a pulsed 12v+ supply from the DME then your injector must be blocked or the supply from the fuel rail to the injector.

Its all I can think off.

Hi everyone,

Sorry been away for a couple of weeks!

So far, I've had the injectors cleaned professionally and they said apart from a poor spray flow, they couldnt find anything wrong with any of them.

Well with high hopes anyway, I started to put them back in. 3 of them went in fine, but when I was putting the forth one in, the teardrop shaped piece of metal that pushes the injector in snapped as I was tightening the retaining bolt!!!

So Im at a standstill until I can make another!

Thanks for your suggestions weseeyou. I have replaced the plugs, and def have a spark, but when I get the car up and running, I will try the other things!

Thanks again for your help.

have you checked the timing ? could be firing but at the wrong time

sure the firing order is 1-3-4-2 but better check my memory is not all that

No, but I will when the car is up and running! Thanks for the suggestion S-Max Bob :)