Was driving home from work and noticed a little hesitation from the engine which calmed down, but then as going down a hill under engine braking at 40mph I noticed dense black smoke from the exhaust.
I pulled over and let the car cool down a little and on restarting it was the same, so let it rest a little while longer and started OK. I drove it home on low revs and if I attempted any heavy acceleration I saw excessive smoke again.
Under no load at home, acceleration on the drive saw nothing obvious.
No engine management light and filters were changed approx 8 weeks ago.
DPF fluid warning for a few months, but with 80 mile motorway commute a day, I was not sure that regens were an issue.
Fundamentally, it's because it's French. They have literally no idea how to design or build cars or engines.
Otherwise, black smoke is an excess of fuel/lack of air. Check for intake pipes coming adrift[1] or splits in flexi-hoses. Can you hear the turbo spooling up properly?
There's the usual "disconnect the MAF and see if that helps" test.
Do these ever suffer sticking open injectors?
[1] If it's anything like the bloody awful 1.6HDi they'll all be flapping in the breeze anyway.
Was the Pug non TD that was found in my old Rover 218SD not (designed and) made in France as I thought that had the reputation for being nearly indestructible?
I know driving it home 20 or so miles with no coolant in it (twice) didn't seem to phase it at all?
And at nearly 200,000 miles it was still doing around 50 mpg?
The only time it didn't start was when the Rover (Honda?) immobilised itself (which it did randomly).
Or is that engine the exception that breaks the rule (never owning a French car, the nearest being the Sierra Estate that I believe was built in Belgium ... which is nearly France)? ;-)
Well, that's confusing. I disconnected the MAF and performance was terrible, but no smoke. Reconnected the MAF and reset the fault codes and performance back to normal and again, no smoke.
I wonder if engine braking down the hill was enough to raise the temperature for a DPF regen to be kicked off. I have no other explanation.
To be fair, the old indirect injection stuff did seem to rattle on forever (pun intended), it just seems to be the modern stuff that isn't much cop.
My top 3:
Rigid crappy plastics with no plasticity. They seem to either warp out of shape or, when it's clips and mounts that need to come apart at service time, shatter.
EGR systems that throw the EM light but don't seem to actually have anything wrong with them. I think that it's down to poor mixture control that causes phenominal amounts of gummy carbon muck to be generated. This then ends up in the the horribly inaccessible exhaust feed pipe.
Stupid accessibilty of the engine bay. This probably affects many FWD things now but I've had a few French cars/vans come my way which are just loathsome in their layout.
I'm not sure where our 2004 Meriva was built (but presumably not France) but when removing the tailgate lining the other day to re-wire the hinge loom, most of the plastic clips broke. That said, they were probably not the sort of 'service' clips you were talking about.
That reminds me (to ask), when faultfinding the dead FI pump on daughters Transit Connect the other day, there seemed to be a lot of very very black 'gunk' in the bottom at the end of the plastic air intake hose and the plenum chamber? Is it just one of those things you get with old diesels and should it be removed or maybe it would cause any issues?
After having and working on (servicing etc) the 2L Sierra Estate for some of the 23 years I had it ... then to get the Rover 218SD, I fully appreciate the difference in the amount of room in an engine bay. Similar sort of thing with the MkII Escort based kit car where to remove the engine you basically just do that, no covers, panels or a myriad of hoses, connectors or cable-looms to disconnect.
Understandably.
The thing is, whilst I understand how / why everything has become so complicated, especially compared with yer average car from a few years back (there were 'complicated' cars, even back then), I'm wondering how much greener they are in the long run? How many cars are 'written off' these days because of some stupid bit that happens to be worth (or costs more to program) more than the arbitrary value of the thing as a whole.
It's like an old household boiler. Whilst it might not be efficient, they are often far simpler and so often more reliable and therefore require less in the way of parts or service visits (all of which cause pollution etc).
When you see how complex a modern car is, not only the bits that make it move but the bits that make it safe and the bits that add 'home comforts', it seems such a shame re all the effort that goes into designing and making each new model, often to satisfy the whim of fashion (or to create a new fashion), then to be treated like any other 'appliance and disposed of.
And from the looks of it, all IC vehicles are going that way and whilst it sort of makes sense from a kerbside pollution POV (when it's proven ITRW that such is reduced by new technologies, like hybrid), I'm not sure where we are going to get all the power to charge Plug-In EV's from when we are on the edge of our power supply and demand (during the winter) as it is?
Maybe there will also be a paradigm shift in how we get about?
The problem with most present "green" electricity generation mechanisms is that they require storage for electricity in order to be properly useful. This is true for solar photovoltaic, wind, and tidal. While not true for gas generated by digesting biomass, that gas can easily be stored, and would be better used where controlled heating is required.
An electric car is actually the solution to this since in order to move about it has to have electricity storage which it carries with it.
So if the car is always connected to the grid when parked it could be charged intelligently whenever there is available power. With a bit more cleverness it could even deliver stored power to the grid if the user can tell it when it will next be required for travel.
Of course there is a problem if the car is used frequently and regularly for long-distance journeys such as commuting, because of the fluctuating availability of green power. But such journeys - exactly because they are predictable - would be better made by public transport.
So I don't see much of a problem with the power requirement as a whole.
More generally, I see travel as an unproductive drain on resources. Particularly in business, many decisions are made to move things about rather than produce them locally; or have people commute long distances rather than work near where they live. The tax system encourages this by allowing transport costs to be set against tax.
Arguably better for the environment, but infinitely worse for the traveller.
Have you used a train recently? I did, once. Never again.
Forget about the huge costs, if you can ever work your way through the complex options. Forget about the relaxed attitude to what was once called a
*time*-table. Just the disgustingly filthy condition of the carriages, and the total lack of control of those passengers from the lower end of humanity would stop me from getting on a train again unless there really was no other option.
Also, the rail system generally is close to melt-down. The level of investment, and the huge amount of (environmentally-unfriendly) work that would be needed for substantial increases in traffic volume, means it's never going to happen.
Dodgy connection on the MAF perhaps that's been reseated (here, grab this straw) perhaps?
Odd it started on overrun - sounds like it was clearing out accumulated muck. I had a split intake hose on my BM the other week. Could hear it to start with and then did about 500 miles of long trips before I could check/repair. Was hazy normally and smoky as sin under high load. Fixed it and all was well. However, first time I booted it out of a junction it dumped so much soot out of the exhaust that it actually drew a line on the tarmac.
Agreed, unless we want to go back to the 'good old days' were we can only mill flour or pump water when the wind is blowing or the water flowing.
Agreed.
Other than the still low energy density of batteries and the fact that it really wants to be both light and have a long range and reasonable acceleration. By comparison the fit of batteries in say a narrow boat would be nearly perfect (low power requirement, no issues with battery weight (as boats often require ballast in any case), no surge loads, loads of surface area for solar panel charging plus space to carry onboard generator (either 'built-in' or external) plus ability to take plug-in charging. Plus low and fairly constant loads on a big battery (with possibly lower depths of discharge) would mean the battery would last longer.
That could be workable, depending on the potential usage and the maximum range. Eg, if you come back from a journey with 50% charge remaining, that would be ok if any further travel could be completed with the remaining charge.
Whilst that could work for someone who only uses their car to go shopping on Thursdays, I'm not sure many would like the idea of the car not being fully available when *they* wanted it (accepting the std recharge time but they would know of that up front etc).
Quite.
As I see Chris has replied, I'm not sure there are many instances that I would consider any (current) public transport 'better'. The only time we have used it successfully (and without it being a chore etc) was when on our motorcycling holidays when we used once we had made a new camp for sight seeing etc.
But we still don't have sufficient capacity in the grid *now*, should plug-in EV's take off big time. If you consider the worst case situation being the winter with short days, little sun and often no / too much wind ... and battery efficiency at it's lowest (temperature) and local demand at it's highest (lights, heater, wipers etc), I'm not sure we would have the capacity to charge all the electric cars out there now as it is?
Agreed (big time).
Agreed.
Whilst that may sound reasonable (tax relief) to both the transport company and the customers they serve, it (obviously) also costs all of us in increased pollution, longer travel times and increased frustration (to name but 3).
The irony of the situation we are in now is that cars are getting heavier and heavier (safety and added features) and that is in spite of weight saving in the materials and CAN busses etc, so any increases in fuel economy have been consumed with all these extra features (compared with say my Morris Minor doing ~50 mpg all those years ago).
So, to get the best out of any plug in EV it would need to be as light as possible, possibly restricted in top speed (reducing aerodynamic drag) and without many of the 'must have' features that all add weight and consume energy like PAS, AC and even electric windows!
FWIW, I have had a 4 seater, road going plug in electric car for around 30 years now, also still have my Sinclair C5 and designed, built and raced an EV so have played a bit with these things ITRW. ;-)
I'm also about to buy a lithium battery for my electric outboard motor as my existing lead acid traction battery weighs exactly the same as my 2.5HP Mariner 4/ outboard at 17kg! [1]
Cheers, T i m
[1] Again, electric propulsion works well on the water, even in a dinghy, specifically because it's silent, introduces no pollution (at the point of use) and there is no fuel / oil slopping about (fire risk, smell / fumes (> carcinogen), damage to stuff etc).
And that's the thing isn't it ... like the 'cost' to the environment from tidal barrages, wind turbines and solar panels etc where it has been suggested that the pollution created during their construction, installation and maintenance may never be equalled by the pollution they save compared with burning fossil fuels?
Unless everyone accepts we have to 'suffer' in the name of the furtherance of humanity? ;-)
The last time I used one I happened to get into a 1st class carriage (over the xmas period, empty train, the door that happened to end up in front of us) and (of course) a ticket inspector came though. We offered him our tickets and he pointed out they were second class and we were in a 1st class carriage. I looked around (at the state of it all) but offered to move and he told us to stay were we were. ;-)
Ironically a packed rush hour train when it isn't 'summer' can be better for shielding against the dregs of society.
Daughter (26) recently to my Mum (86) to the Sherry reign of Spain and she said the trains there were clean, on-time and good value for money. When they weren't using the train the local cabs were also cheap and reliable, as was the horse drawn carriage. ;-)
I don't often, but made my way from Sheffield to Brighton by train recently. Very relaxing and quick - about an hour quicker than driving. Had a snooze, read the paper, couple of beers. But this was way off-peak and crucially, I wasn't paying ;-)
Just me in an uneconomical car would have been about half the price.
And that's the $100 question of course. And then you have the 'how much more efficient can the country work (> earn money and pay tax etc) with a good, cheap public transport network ...' ?
In the old days with few people able to own their own car it was the only real way to get about and so that's what people did. They had to because there was no alternative.
Now pretty well everyone has at least one car so the only people generally using public transport are those who have to because the 'cost' (in money or time) of (owning / parking or) using their cars are prohibitive.
Whilst I'm sure there are people who like traveling by train, bus, coach or plane, I can't say I would generally use any of them, if our car was a realistic option and for all sorts of reasons.
Over here (rather than say Spain) it's often more expensive to go by train rather than drive, especially if there are two or more of you. Flying can be cheaper but unless you live by an airport and want to go to another, the interlinks can consume as much time and cost as you save from driving point to point. Plus you can't easily also take bulky / heavy stuff with you so public transport is really only good for people just needing to carry themselves on their own (like commuting).
When I was a lad and had my first private transport (cycle) I would often go out for a ride, just for the fun of it and exploring etc. Similar when I first got my first moped, motorcycle then car. After the novelty had worn off I mainly only ever traveled because I had to.
The only exception was when we were on holiday (in the UK) and so typically cycled / rode / drove, to / between campsites etc.
Now we really only travel (by vehicle) because we have to and further try to combine as many things in each trip as we can.
Maybe if we lived in 'the country' things would be different but with most things we need (or want) within a walk, that's generally what we do.
When I went to the Festival of Human Power at Milton Keynes we were using the numerous and well segregated / wide cycleways as our own C5 roadways and it worked very well. Consequently, things like the C5 or even full lightweight / 'personal' EV could be a viable alternative to a car (IC or EV) for local town runs.
I dare say that the MAF may need replacing/cleaning. I had to replace the air temperature sensor (right behind the MAF as it threw up an anti-pollution fault and was covered in crud. Maybe I should check.
When using engine breaking down this hill, it lasts a while ... in second at around 3.5k rpm to maintain 40 mph. Perhaps I should just sit on the brakes like everyone else does :)
I've added 1l of Eolys into the regen tank and updated the ecu on planet so maybe it will start regen'ing at lower temperatures like it used to.
Still, I have a DPF for my local mechanic to fit (don't fancy doing it on a gravel drive on ramps) so maybe all will be well then.
It's funny. I've seen various one time clips used to hold trim together and, I reckon, they design them differently depending on where they are in the car. Some seem quite chunky and survive being pulled apart and put back together (several dash surrounds I've encountered) even if it's a "I'm gonna break it!" situation, while boot trims do seem particularly pathetic. I wonder if that's down to the pieces being of a thin and flexible material that prevent the creaking plastic effect where they rub against something else.
Down to EGR. Exhaust soot combined with turbo/breather oil mist forms varying states of black muck. Some cars it becomes a sponge cake mass that can be wiped and scraped off, some it forms a sticky mess when hot that then sets like glass when cold and sticks like epoxy. Old, old Diesels can have the EGR mindlessly disconnected/blanked off, newer ones need it mapping out to stop the EML.
For a long time this was badly overstated. Go back only 15 years and this group still had people moaning on that they'd never touch electric windows as they'd be forever going wrong. The reality is that almost all of the tech introduced in the early 90s is bombproof - with the windows the common-to-winders regulator fails but not the motor.
Apparently it's all change now with all these parking sensors and cameras costing a fortune to replace and calibrate but, if they do become ubiquitous, then the price will fall and more people will be able to do it. Or, at least, they will by the time we can be bothered with such things!
Virgin from Liverpool to London, out Friday, back yesterday. Newish, clean tilting trains (Pendolino), comfy reserved seats, table, power point for my phone charger, quiet, clean bogs, edible sandwiches (for those with memories of 3-day -old BR sandwiches with curling edges), departed on time, got there early both times (2h10), for a tenner.
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