Bogs, stalls, won't go.

[JohnGunn]

The problems you describe could easily be the result of a failing fuel pump. Whenever you have any engine running/starting problem the first thing to establish is whether the fault is related to the fuel system or the ignition.

I would wait until it looses its power and turn the engine off. Then spray about 4 seconds of starting fluid into the hole which the brake booster hose attaches to on the plenum of the engine. Reconnect the hose and start the engine. If it suddenly seems to have more power, suspect the pump. Test the pressure, and replace if necessary.

There is no EGR system on an EFI Festiva - don't trust any mechanic who thinks otherwise.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[jamesmc]

I haven't been able to do much to it. (Different country...nowhere to work on it.) Today was the first warm/dry day in a while and it pulled just fine. Still running very rough/rich though. Stumbles a bit. Hopefully I'll have the answer in a couple days.

[jamesmc]

Turns out it's running on 2 cylinders. The mechanic said it probably needs new rings, and to take it to an engine shop. If it's too much, it might be staying up here in Canada. =\

[JohnGunn]

Turns out it's running on 2 cylinders. The mechanic said it probably needs new rings, and to take it to an engine shop. If it's too much, it might be staying up here in Canada. =\

Something doesn't sound right about all this.

It seems your car ran fine for 1,000 miles and then one rainy day, suddenly, without any warning it would barely run at all. Now, that is possible, it probably happens somewhere in the world every day, but, when it does, the problem I would say is never to be traced to a deep engine problem, like two cylinders with bad rings. Those kinds of failure, unless you overheated the engine severely or let it run out of oil, take years to develop and normally give warning well before the system collapses.

At the very least, a second opinion about the compression, from a mechanic not recommended by this last one, is advised. Better yet would be to buy a cheap compression gauge, less than $10, and test all cylinders, with engine warm, yourself.

I'm sure you must be aware of the conflict of interest whenever you ask any mechanic what is wrong with your car. Even if he is honest, it is in his interest to find as much wrong as he can. But, if he is dishonest, and the customer appears uninformed and under time pressure, anything, no matter how absurd, can and will be recommended. Such as repairing a nonexistent EGR system.

I'm sure you'll feel a lot better about what you decide if you are able to confirm for yourself whatever you have been told.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[jamesmc]

Thank you so much for that JohnGunn. Took it to someone else, and the compression is fine. I figured out that unplugging the MAF sensor makes it run perfect. A bit high at 1100 rpm, but it sounds good. (Revving it kills the engine.) A while back, my brother accidentally broke the plug. I had to reseal the top. Maybe it wasn't sealed fully. Could this be the MAF?

[WmWatt]

I'd remove the igniton wires one by one and wipe them clean, also the distributor cap and the coil. You can coat them with oil or grease to water proof temporarily. Some people spray them with WD-40.
One temperature related issue is the engine runs in open loop mode until the O2 sensor heats up and then the ignition control module kicks in. Don't know which temperature sensor controls the change over.

[JohnGunn]

Thank you so much for that JohnGunn. Took it to someone else, and the compression is fine. I figured out that unplugging the MAF sensor makes it run perfect. A bit high at 1100 rpm, but it sounds good. (Revving it kills the engine.) A while back, my brother accidentally broke the plug. I had to reseal the top. Maybe it wasn't sealed fully. Could this be the MAF?

This information makes me feel a lot better.

I don't have time to consider what these new facts might indicate as the cause of your problems, but there is something strange about the car running with the MAF (it's really called a Vane Air Flow meter, VAF, on this car) disconnected.

Power to the fuel pump relay, once the engine is started, is controlled by a switch in the VAF which is activated by the change of the position of the vane inside. Did someone rewire the fuel pump relay to get power from somewhere else?

Got to go. Will write again after I've had more time to ponder.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[jamesmc]

This information makes me feel a lot better.

I don't have time to consider what these new facts might indicate as the cause of your problems, but there is something strange about the car running with the MAF (it's really called a Vane Air Flow meter, VAF, on this car) disconnected.

Power to the fuel pump relay, once the engine is started, is controlled by a switch in the VAF which is activated by the change of the position of the vane inside. Did someone rewire the fuel pump relay to get power from somewhere else?

Got to go. Will write again after I've had more time to ponder.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

It will only Idle when the VAF is disconnected. Any rev will kill it, If that makes any difference. I unplugged all the disty wires to wipe them clean just in case...and the plug that connects to the coil was corroded, and disintegrated when I pulled it out! I got a new set of plugs, problem is still there. Not sure about how good that coil is...lol.

[link5186]

There could be a short in the vaf wiring. That would let the fuel pump run and cause a bad signal to the ecm. Like johngunn said, fuel pump relay is triggered by the vaf. The car shouldn't run at all with it unplugged.

Sent from the bathroom via tapatalk

[FestYboy]

the other question is how long will it idle before stalling? (start car, let idle, don't touch anything else).

[BCSpokerider]

MAF sensor failed on my 93 after I power washed the engine. It ran for less than 1 second with each turn of the key. I thought WTF? If worked well before I washed it......... A good used one from the wrecker solved it.
Might be your fix??

If you have the haynes manual and a multimeter, me thinks it has the troubleshooting info in it.

[Pu241]

MAF sensor failed on my 93 after I power washed the engine.

OEM '93 equipment is a VAF, did you do an engine swap?

[JohnGunn]

Here is what may be happening when you run the car with the VAF meter disconnected.

1. The engine starts and idles at around 1,000 RPM, which is about the speed you would expect from a cold engine.
2. Pressure in the fuel system is built up while the key is in the start position which powers the fuel pump relay. (The pressure is regulated at 36.3 psi from the output of the fuel pump in the fuel tank through a line to the fuel filter and from the filter to the fuel rail and to the fuel pressure regulator.)
3. When the key is released, the power to the relay coming from the ignition switch stops and is taken over by the switch in the VAF.
4. With no functioning VAF the fuel pump should immediately stop, but there is a valve in the fuel pump which works to maintain the pressure that has been built up during the time it was running. I don't know how long that amount of fuel under that pressure would power the engine, but it might keep it going for some number of seconds at idle and die pretty quickly should you press on the accelerator.
5. I will assume that to be the case unless you tell me that the engine idles indefinitely with the VAF disconnected.

We don't have enough information to know whether you can patch up the VAF meter/plug the way you did before or not. But your first objective is to have a VAF meter that at least keeps the fuel pump running so that the car will idle indefinitely, no matter how roughly.

That means you need to fix the VAF you have, or you need to acquire a used one from the "for sale forum" on this site or at a local junk yard.

That may be all that you need to be on your way. If not, you will need to describe the problem as it newly exhibits itself, so we can all start over again from the same page.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[jamesmc]

I did notice that I hear the fuel pump when the ignition is "ON" (engine not started). If the VAF is unplugged, the sound immediately stops. I drove it home the way it was, no other choice really. It was good for about 30mpg, much less than the 50 it got me a week ago. I'll have to go around to the junkyards and look for a festy. Thanks so much for the help. I appreciate it. Once I get a good VAF, I'll get back to this thread.

[FestYboy]

is it me or is the problem he's having not making any sense?

how did you drive the car if it stalls and can only idle at 1000rpm?