Hi,

First post here and I've got a Ford Fiesta 1.3 Endura-E petrol manual P-reg.

Been driving "lumpy" recently (that's the words of a friend) and I noticed when it does this black smoke can be seen out the back.

There was another problem with the accelerator over-revving during gear change which I've cleared by resetting the ECU as I'd taught the car to over-rev when it went lumpy - I'd press on the clutch and rev the engine up as this mostly cleared the lumpy temporarily.

A couple days ago I cleaned the MAF and reset the ECU at the same time and today while visiting the garden centre the lumpy came back. Once it comes back it doesn't take long for it to get very bad where it won't drive in 4th on a flat surface (30mph) like it used to but it does if I reset the ECU.

It's actually got so bad today I bought a 10mm spanner so I can disconnect the battery every time I park up.

I don't know what it's called but I think it's the "stop solenoid" on top of the engine - this was recently cleaned out using WD40. All I can describe it as is silver on the top front of the engine held on with 2 bolts.

Another thing I've done is carefully clear the dirt away from around the butterfly valve on top of the engine where the air intake connects to the black pipe.

Everything I've done has been at the advice of a garage mechanic/parts specialist who have all helped to stop us maybe wasting money uying parts we probably don't need.

You can probably tell cars aren't my thing - I'm more at home with IT and can't afford to take this to a garage.

Any assistance with this would be gratefully appreciated. We're stuck in a small village cut off from everyone and the car is our life line.

Thanks for reading :)

PS. I don't drive like a nutter either - not being "ragged" around as I try and keep to the speed limit.

Is no-one able to help me?

have you checked the simple stuff like air filter,plugs and leads?

Yes. The oil filter and air filter got changed first along with the thorough check of the spark plugs - they all came out and gaps checked and cleaned.

I have the same problem so what was the answer?

Black smoke, too much fuel. Given the age check the engine temperature sensor wiring and the sensor itself. If there is a corroded connector or a duff sensor it will give the wrong signal to the ECU and overfuel the engine. This gives the lumpy sensation.

Thanks I'll have a look.

Is that the inlet temperature sensor or cylinder head sensor?

Cylinder head sensor first, then try the lambda sensor in the exhaust before the catalytic converter

Thanks for that I'll try them both, cheers