Help please - car running terrible after fuel top up

"MadJen" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

This might sound like a silly question, but are you absolutely, positively, 100% certain that you put the right fuel in it...?

What car is it? Go and find the receipt for the fuel.

Yes! (Wasn't me that filled it up - was a MAN)

Renault megane

Yes, definitely petrol. Funny, the garage put a small amount (£5 or so) of fuel in it but it was only when we put half a tank in that the problem has arisen......

Could it be "dirty" petrol?

Sounds like diesel to me.. . tim.

"MadJen" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Strangely enough, I can't see the contents of your underwear from here, so please don't infer any sexism in my question.

What engine, what age?

It's entirely possible that the fuel was off, or the tanks had been filled wrongly, but I'd expect that there would be Quite A Few other dissatisfied customers if that was the case - and probably a few disabled cars on or in the roads immediately around the forecourt.

Sry.......feeling a bit p...ed off at the moment. Didn't mean to cause offence :)

Quite. I was just thinking of the dirty fuel thing a couple of years ago..

drain the fuel and put in some fresh petrol

Just to make it absolutely clear - is the car petrol or diesel? What fuel did he fill it up with?

It is petrol and was filled with petrol

Do you think that would help? If there is some kind of dirt in the system would taking the fuel out of the tank solve this? The car had stood empty of fuel (and I mean REALLY empty) for some time.

Well you could change the fuel filter. That should have caught anything orrible unless the garage had filled the tanks wrongly.

"MadJen" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Ah. Yes, that's a slightly relevant fact...

You're going to have some fun... Yep, drain the tank, new fuel filter, and hope like hell that solves it.

"MadJen" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

You didn't cause it, sounded more like you took it...

Not at all.. :)

Possibly, but probably not. There are several filters in a fuel system, including one in the tank itself. To have "dirty" petrol is possible but very unlikely. Your problem is more likely to be as a result of the period of inactivity than anything to do with the fuel. It may even cure itself after it's been warmed up and cooled down a few times.

There is also the possibility that the previous owner took the vehicle off the road, and then sold it, because it had this problem.

Steve

Sounds like the same problem as I had with an old VW Polo I borrowed from a friend several years ago. It had sat for several months and the inside of the fuel tank had gone rusty. Rust particles blocked the fuel filter which was the only thing I didn't initially check because I'd been told it had just been changed as part of a service before I collected the car. After weeks of stripping down and cleaning the carb, replacing every part of the ignition system one bit at a time, checking the valve clearances it finally turned out to be a 50p fuel filter full of crap. I bought a couple of new ones, swapped the old one out and then had to keep cleaning them and swapping them over several more times until all the crap in the tank had been got rid of. After that she ran like a dream.

Of course the fuel filter on an injection car won't be either 50p or as easy to change as the little clear plastic one next to the carb on a 1983 Polo and you might also have to do it several times if there's a lot of rust to get rid of.

If the filter is under the car near the tank like it was on my Astra GTE I'd be tempted to drain the fuel into a bucket while the filter is off and sieve it through a fine cloth before pouring it back. It might save several more filter changes.

You said earlier that the garage put about £5 worth of fuel in when you bought it, which suggests you bought it from a dealer, if this is the case, take it back and let them sort it out.

Thanks for all advice.

Turns out it was ignition coils..?? Now mended/replaced (free of charge of course) and purring along again!