At the shop. Mechanic has a medical condition that required immediate attention and was out of action for a couple of weeks. I spoke to him on Monday and I am supposed to get the car back next week, assuming my only problem is the feul pump.

 

Mechanic has had car for almost one year. I have since relocated approx. 500 miles away. I'm bringing the car back with me. It runs, but only one side of the engine is running. Fuel pump has been replaced and injectors checked. The mechanic mentioned something about a computer problem -- which he doesn't know how to fix. Any ideas?

 

marelli rotor button.

 

That was the first thing I ruled out. Took the ignition apart and checked it thoroughly. No signs of burn on the rotor at all.

 

I was able to drive the car back home -- still very weak. I can feel the exhause sputtering on the right side, which is the side the mechanic said isn't getting enough fuel. He supposedly checked the injectors and they are fine. What next?

 

well since it didnt burn to the ground, its obviously not getting fuel.

i suppose the injector resistors are bad on that side, or the harness.

 

If you travelled 500miles with one side of the engine dead (assuming the car was cold when you started) raw fuel would have been pooring in the exhaust on the dead side and you would smell fuel. Is this the case?

Can you post a video of each side exhaust with the car running and your hand close to the pipe. I am trying to determine if the side is completely dead or just missfiring - a missfire will KILL your Catalytic converter.

 

To clarify - I live 500 miles away from home at the moment, but I only drove the car from the mechanic's garage to my home (about 1.5 miles).
No video posting capabilities, but I can describe it to you: the exhaust isn't a constant smooth flow; it is more like a sputter, coming out in small blasts of exhuast. When being driven, the power will go from weak to almost nonexistent, then back to weak again.

The mechanic suspected the injectors might be bad, but said he checked them and they appeared fine. He also suspected a problem with the computer.

 

i suspected a problem with my computer as well. and my injectors, etc.

you should go out and get yourself a 10 dollar mechanics stethescope. it looks like a regular stethescope, but instead of a little plunger, it has a long rod on the end. listen to your injectors and see if theyre all pulsating. theyre quite loud and percussive when theyre working.

 

Is this from both sides or is just one side spluttering?

Do you know someone that has a phone with video capability?

I would not suspect the ECU yet, these things are pretty tough

 

Just one side (the right). I was only in town to get the car -- back at my home away from home for the moment. I have someone who is going to drop by the house and let the car run for 30 minutes every other day, I'll see if he can provide the video coverage.

I'm thinking I'll just go ahead and replace the injectors on that side -- it couldn't hurt and I'm fairly certain that the ones in there now are originals. Thoughts? BTW, thanks to everyone for all the advice.

 

If it were me I would swap injectors, leads and then plugs between A and B banks to diagnose the problem.

First I would swap all injectors, if the problem moves to the other bank then you know what the problem is. If it does not move then swap ignition leads.

If both banks play up then you have a combination of problems swap injectors back one at a time until you have a change, bearing mind that there may be more than one bad injector

 

Fuel filter replacement first? If that doesn't work, remove the cats? What say ye? Would this be more practical and a better use of rare time than swapping all of the injectors.

 

Someone had asked me to post video in order to help diagnose my problem. I have made video with my iphone, but don't know how to post. Can someone please explain the process. Thanks.

I am still having the same problem. Right side not providing enough power. Right exhaust sputters, is colder than left exhaust. Please help.

 

Post the video on youtube and then post a link here

 

Here is the video. Thanks in advance.

 

Just out of the blue....
Is there an oxygen sensor on this car? Maybe one for each side?
If so, have they been crossed?

 

I'm quite sure sure there are two for each side. I am with the car, but away from my service manual, and am too ignorant to find them on my own. Any advice on how to check? Thanks.

 

He has an oil leak - do these engines have a problem with oil getting into the plug wells + shorting the plugs out?

 

Any specific reason you suspect an oil leak? I have seen no indications of one. Thanks.