"El Puma"

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JAC said:
So, after a a few days of driving the car normally, it still stalls now and again, but it seems to have gone back to it's old self which means it only does it occasionally and at random times (normally at the most inconvenient times :) )
Trouble is, there is only one thing worse than a stall and that is a random stall. I had that on a borrowed Vauxhall Astra automatic and it's damn dangerous, as other drivers are predicting where you'll be by the time they get to the same place!

Could be anything, just be wary of any 'Sounds like the coil pack to me' guy as I'm sure he's related to the same 'Sounds like a virus to me' guys who used to give that universal answer to everything in the early days of the Net. :p

JAC said:
When I got the car, you could really feel the VCT changing the engine at around 4000rpm. However, now the engine power is just one long smooth acceleration. There is no lack of power at any rpm, but accelerating from low revs all the way up to the red line there is no notice in change in the engine, just like any normal engine. I'm guessing that this is a good thing, but could you confirm that this is the normal behaviour of the Puma 1.7 when running properly?
I can't say I'm aware of any sudden 'kick in' at 4K, mine is alert and responsive right through the rev range and the pick up is instant. Certainly my 0 - 60's are as good or slightly better (early Pumas don't have a limiter on 1st and 2nd) as they should be - I practise these every so often, so I'm ready to very quickly bail out of trouble, if required.

Two things, back in the day any fast/brisk car was distinctly unhappy at 2 - 3Krpm. I recall sometimes dropping to 2nd just to stop, what seemed like, the ill-tempered camel continually complaining that he wanted 4K at least. With more modern and, and certainly with the Puma, you don't get this. At 3K you could genuinely be driving a happy, contented Astra and be somewhat initially surprised by the brisk response you get when you put your foot to the floor.

The reason I mention that is this - from what I understand (i.e. could be wrong) the ECU continues to 'learn' after its initial reset. It's possible that it's learning whether you prefer economy/sedate or performance, etc and so a Puma that hadn't been floored much by its previous owners might well initially have a more pronounced 'kick-down' feel at 4,000+ ? I seem to remember that when I got mine, 2.5 years back, that it did this, but these things are subjective.

Merry Christmas,

Frank :)
 
Thanks Frank as always.

I wish you a very merry Christmas!! (and to everyone else also of course!)
 
From the Ford TIS disc (Note, the disconnect is for 1 hour):

Official ECU reset procedure:

Disconnect battery for 1 hour:

After reconnecting battery, engine should be allowed to idle for 3 minutes, as stored idle and drive values contained within the powertrain control module have been lost. This may cause a driveability concern if the following is not carried out.

Once engine reaches normal operating temperature, revs should be increased to 1,200rpm and maintained for approximately 2 minutes. This will allow powertrain control module to relearn idle values.

For powertrain control module to complete its learning strategy, vehicle should be driven for approximately 5 miles of varied driving.
 
Hi All, long time no post!

Well, all I can say is that it hasn't been for wan't of trying.

After a 2 month oddysey trying to get new disks and drums for my beloved Puma, I finally had to give up and go with what I could get.

You couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of calls, trips and emails I have made, and all of them ended up with zero.

I know that this car wasn't sold very much here in Spain, but the lack of parts is just ridiculous!! And the lack of motivation of the spare parts places is even worse, to say Spain is in economical crisis, no one seems to giva a ... about making a sale or getting a happy client.

Anyways, enough complaining as I am starting to sound like an old woman :p !

On a positive note, I know at least have brakes, which is a lot more that I had last week ;)

I spent the first month trying to get the larger size drums and disks... fail
The following month was spent trying to get perforated disks and decent pads... fail.

In the end, I have installed some by a company I have never heard of, because that was "all I could get".

But, at least these should keep me going for a while until I can get around to sourcing the upgrades.

Here are a couple of photos for proof, but I won't go into detail as it has already been covered many times, unless anyone wants any tips or advice, then just let me know.

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JAC said:
[post]347365[/post] Hi All, long time no post!
Hi JAC, good to see you around. As you can see, your flying visit here passed me by at the time.

Good to see you've done a temporary (?) solution for your brakes. Look forward to the next progress instalment. :)
 
Hi Frank, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately my visits are far too brief at the moment, work is very busy at this time of year.

Regarding the fix, yes it is temporary (I hope), and not a very good one.

I still have virtually no back brakes and the front discs overheat and stop working as soon as I push the car through a couple of bends, but at least I can stop at traffic lights now :D
 
Hi all, another "long time no post"!!

Happy New Year to you all!

One of my New Year resolutions was to stop abandoning the Puma and either put the car to use or sadly sell her. The poor soul has been sitting outside on the street for 3 months, and has even had to sit through 2 weeks of virtually constant rain, which is very strange for 'round these parts.

Well, yesterday I decided to take the car out for a run and give it a good clean, unfortunately the battery was flat. As it was dark at the time, I just locked the door and left it for today.

So, armed with jump leads, I got in the puma in the daylight, and it seems that there may have been a little humidity problem. The whole windscreen was completely soaked on the inside, there is what seems to be mould growing up the door rubber, and the door card has "shed it's skin".

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So, I have brought my car to work this afternoon to park it inside with the doors open, to try and let it dry a little. I will also try to clean off the mold from the rubber. The door card will have to wait until I have chance at the weekend (I hope) to dismantle it, for now I will just try to clean off the glue and rotted foam from the card (as it covers my elbow in the stuff).

I am hoping that I will be able to just add a new thin layer of foam and either reglue or staple the fabric from behind (I haven't seen the back of a door card yet). I may actually remove the passenger seat one also, and throw both pieces of fabric in the washer to get them both clean (pity the seats don't fit aswell ;) ).

Any hows, if any one has any tips that I should consider, I'm always grateful!
 
Well, testing the battery after a full charge, it is only putting out 8.3V, so new battery ordered. Hopefully I will be able to get the car moving again tommorow.

I guess I will need to do an ECU reset. Maybe it could be third time lucky and the ECU reset could cure the random stalling that the car has since I bought it :p
 
I got the new battery and after a slight hiccup (dropped the damn socket inside the engine bay and had to play fisherman), the Puma´s heart beats once again!

I don't want to tempt fate, but I did the ECU reset procedure, plus a little more "fun time", and the car didn't stall once when coming to a stop. It will probably start again tomorrow now I've said that, but is it possible that a low voltage level could have been causing the stalls?

(just as a recap, every now and again, usually after pushing the car a bit, the engine would drop to below 500rpm when slowing to a stop and just die).
 
JAC said:
[post]359573[/post] but is it possible that a low voltage level could have been causing the stalls?
In a word, no. Once the car has started, it's pretty much running on the alternator which gives out about 14.2V. In fact, on older cars you can disconnect the battery once started and the car will still run. Don't ever do that on a newish car (inc. Puma) as it frightens the ECU.

You need one of these - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B58VNZW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Tells you what the battery voltage is, without getting dirty, and what the alternator is up to as you drive along. It's clean, slips into a briefcase and also good for checking out hire cars when you pick them up. Don't leave it plugged in for ages on a stationary car though - parasitic drain, etc.

The proper bit of kit everyone should have is this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/XL830L-Testing-Digital-Multimeter-Multi-Tester/dp/B008U96UQQ/ref=pd_sim_23_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NY592Y6EZBFNFYM3810H ...but yeah, if you are suited up you will get dirty using one.

Just been reading your previous posts, yeah, use the Puma otherwise it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy, where the longer you leave it sitting there the worse it looks and the more likely you are to want to get rid. If you leave a motor for a long period, then spraying the steering wheel and seats with kitchen anti-bacterial surface cleaner (if it says it's safe for pets then you've found the right one) is a good idea as that stops that white mould.

You shouldn't really have had that windscreen full of condensation though, you might have a slight leak where the wiring loom goes through the engine firewall, etc (common on Pumas) - lift the carpets and check the bare metal floorpan under the dash area, I reckon, and see if anything is amiss there.
 
I thought it was a little weird, but worth the optimism ;) But then it just stalled on me again when I dropped my son off at practice, it didn't even wait until tomorrow ;p

It has been suggested that I should clean the throttle body as that could be the issue, I guess it's worth a shot (unless you advise otherwise for any reason). But at least it's running ok, and I'm actually finding it fun doing some "heel and toe" again at crossroads :D

Regarding the voltage, I have various voltmeters and multimeters, I guess I could plug one into the socket while driving and keep an eye on voltage, but I just think that the battery was not used much in the last year or so, and the 3 month stand still killed it completely. Electrically the car seems fine.

Hopefully I can get some time this weekend to take the door cards off and also give it a good clean on the inside.
 
JAC said:
[post]359577[/post]
I thought it was a little weird, but worth the optimism ;) But then it just stalled on me again when I dropped my son off at practice, it didn't even wait until tomorrow ;p
That's a bit rich, you'd think you'd get at least a day or two's peace from it!

Assuming no related DTC error codes, it gets tricky. Certainly no harm in cleaning the throttle body (Carb Cleaner) and MAF sensor wire (never touch wire and spray wire with Contact Cleaner or similar, but never with anything that leaves an oily residue). Dirty fuel filter is always a good obscure one for stalling problems, but I recall you've already changed yours.

Yep, usual tiresome slog as though you were tracking down an intermittent fault problem which, effectively, is what this is. :)
 
I need to add another random item to the list, which is the Rev counter. Now and again it just stops working, then starts again on its own after a while.
 
The Arch Bishop said:
[post]359650[/post] Mine does that. A short, sharp slap to the top of the cluster usually brings it back to life! :)

I have tried this, but to no avail, maybe I am following the procedure wrong :-D
 
Thanks for the effort, but my Puma only speaks spanish!

I'll give it a go with an "Olé" tomorrow :thumbs:
 
Hi All, again, long time no post.

I haven't really been working on "el Puma" much, just keeping it clean and using it for work while I have been doing some small mods on the bike and the Crossfire. Funny thing is, I took both the Crossfire and the Puma to the ITV (MOT) last month, and the Crossfire (with 30k on the clock and in great shape) failed and the Puma sailed through :D

I am still having the issue with the stalling. I haven't had much time to look at it, so I took it to a mechanic that I use who found that the electric motor that controls the throttle body was seized. He unseized it and it ran fine for a few days, but then started slowly to reappear.

I didn't have chance to talk to him much about it (I was in a rush when I picked the car up and he was busy) so I am not exactly sure what part he is referring to. I am guessing that I need to replace the throttle body?

I will try to find time to swing by his garage and ask what part I need to order.

I also need to pick up a back light, as I have a small hole in one of the plastic covers, which means one light looks lovely and clean and the other is full of dust!

I guess that now summer is coming to an end, I can drive the Crossfire more (it's too hot here in summer) and spend some time giving the Puma some TLC.
 

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