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Re: loss of power and poping

To: td214 <td214@cam.ac.uk>, spitfires <spitfires@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: loss of power and poping
From: Richard B Gosling <Gosling_Richard_B@perkins.com>
Date: 14 Jul 2000 03:02:48 -0500
Tim,

Two thoughts occur about this - tuning or fuel starvation.  If you've tuned it
 using a Color Tune then tuning should be OK - I've never actually used one of
 these, so I don't know how good they are.  What I do know, after a fair few
 attempts at tuning myself using the
 push-up-the-lifting-pin-and-seeing-what-happens-to-the-engine-note method, is
 that I am no good at it at all, and now tuning is one of the (very) few things
 I leave to a professional who does know what they are doing!

The other thought is fuel starvation.  Have you checked your fuel filter (in
 the top of the pump on the LH of the engine) - could be blocked?  Also, does
 this happen particularly when you are low on fuel - you could be picking up
 crud in the tank and that could be causing a blockage - my wifes Panda used to
 do that if the fuel ever dropped below 1/4 level.  If neither of these are
 correct, then it could stil be a blockage, but it could be something lodged in
 the system somewhere - this may require dismantling and cleaning out parts of
 the system, which sounds like a hassle!

Although, thinking about it, a fuel filter blockage shouldn't cause a problem
 until after several seconds of sustained acceleration, unless it is a very bad
 blockage - after all, the carbs have their own little float tanks, so until
 those are empty there will still be fuel for the carbs.  Very small particles
 from the tank, that pass through the filter, and then block the carbs may be
 more likely.  I'm not going to go into this any further, as carbs remain
 beyond my comprehension, I still don't really understand what goes on in
 there!

As for the funny coolant temps, have you checked your voltage regulator?
 Admittedly, when these go, you usually get a high reading not a low one (I
 spent a couple of months fighting what I thought was an overheating problem
 until I replaced the regulator), but it might still be this.  If it is, your
 fuel guage will be funny too - does it read full when the tank is full?  If
 not, then it is almost certainly a regulator problem.

Hope this helps!

Richard and Daffy

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