Mmmm. Sounds as though, rather than a vacuum forming, it actually needs to be pressurised. I'm at a bit of a loss now because making it die by taking the cap off doesn't mean that the fault actually lies here.
Does someone know whether these tanks are meant to be slightly pressurised to make the fuel flow?
Rob Graham
Just read this thread - it's a right B******* of a fault. On my micra there is always a rush of air *into* the fuel tank when I take the cap off so that's normal. (As someone else has already said), so I think as you said before Rob, it needs a vaccum. I've never tried starting the car with the cap off though. Will try tomorrow (it's 01:30 here so better not try it right now :-) )
A complete aside - does the engine run more roughly when the dipstick is removed? I know that can case real lumpiness on running engine. A long shot but ensure dipstick is fully home for good seal.
Longshot no. 2 - how about bad connection/loose fuse in the fusebox for the petrol pump? It's under the steering wheel in a small compartment. Pull the cover off and check all fuses pushed home. In fact there's a fuse map on the cover (damn thing is upside down to reality). Try and identify which fuse it is, pull it and check, then replace. Make sure you know where it comes from!
Car starts and runs just fine with petrol car off. Only tried for a few minutes though.
pressurised
I guess that pump is fine. I can hear it working for about 5 sec when ignition key turned on after engine died. It's also doing fine when throttle pedal pushed hard (high fuel consumption) when not died yet. Doesn't it look like ignition system/sensor overheating to you?
/KL
OK. But I cannot see any MIL led on my ECU (car is '95). Where do I find it? Is it possible to read them again if read once or they dissapear from memory?
/KL
I had this on a micra, the connector to the injection body gets loose, in the end I used a cable tie to secure it and the car was fine. The bit that would have been a carburettor in days of old has a connector onto it, when it dies, get someone to spin it over while you wiggle the connector, I'll bet it fires up, this is a common micra problem,
mrcheerful
You either have a lamp on the dash to show faults or one on the side of the ecu, maybe even both, but it is there somewhere
mrcheerful
If it's any consolation, My Dad's Micra ('95, 1.3LX) started doing this today (it was hot today, coincidence?), it did cut out once last year but had been fine until today. It'll be going to the garage in the week, if I find out what the solution is I'll post back here.
On my '93 K11 it's on the side of the ECU. To even see it you have to take of a cowling off that's under the steering wheel (easy to do though). The led is recessed into the ecu and is *very dim*. AFAI remember the code cycles around - but see it once and it's clear what it's trying to signal. I have the codes somewhere - let me know if you want them and I rummage for them and post here.
Got something. There is no spark when it dies, have checked with screwdriver put on cylinder head instead of spark plug.
/KL
Garage's verdict is that the throttle body needs replacing (or one of the sensors not available separately, Google has plenty of information on the subject). Will likely happen on Tuesday due to the bank holiday.
Check the TDC sensor connections & the sensor then.
Yesterday I opened the spark distribution box. Some nearby clever mechanic helped me to check the coil and the module. According to him they both were fine, we even tried to heat them a little bit when dismounted. The way he did the check was he turned IGN on and rotated the "crankshaft" (I guess this is the silver plate with 4 holes that "simulate" the crankshaft?) but it was firing all the time. After he had put everything back together the engine was working all the time and it's still working today! Could it be the bad connection *inside* the spark box? What should I do now? Can I trust it anymore? Regards
/Krystian
I guess this is a common Micra fault. My air mass meter died a few months ago and I had to replace all the throttle body (50-100 pounds for used, 200 for remanufactured).
/KL
Run it till it gets hot & see, connecters are the least reliable bit of most systems
It has just died like before, but the engine is much hotter then before...
/KL
Pop down the scrapyard & get another one , if that cures it then you've won, if not it's still cheaper than any other approaches I can think of (it's probably curable with a soldering iron but unless you're going to do that yourself it'll be cheaper to go to the scrappy)
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