Seems to run rough for a min then clears ?

[Minty1084]

Hi we have a Sportage 1998 2.0 petrol which recently had new plugs, new leads, coils, coil wiring harness and valve cover gasket due to leak onto plug. Also had a new lamda sensor and it was running sweet until a week ago. It starts fine and when driven for a few hundred yards it suddenly starts to die, it feels like there is no fuel getting through and it starts to die but after pumping the pedal working the engine for a few seconds it clears and off it goes with no further problems. I checked everything today and even ran some redex through the inlet and checked all pipes etc were connected with no leaks.
I am thinking it may be a blockage but seems strange it only does it the once each time its started then clears.
I am capable of doing my own mechanics but need some advice as if this is a fault that is common and if so what is it please.
Look forward to your help and thanks in advance ok.
Regards,
Dave

[Harry Morgan]

Dave

If you did the work you describe yourself, did you happen to notice if the throttle body was a bit plugged up with carbon when you did the plugs, etc. ?

Depending upon the miles and types of miles (city vs highway) on the vehicle, it could be the throttle body; the fuel filter; the EGR valve; the catalytic converter, etc.

Has the check engine light ever come on ?

Harry

[Minty1084]

Originally Posted by Harry Morgan

Dave

If you did the work you describe yourself, did you happen to notice if the throttle body was a bit plugged up with carbon when you did the plugs, etc. ?

Depending upon the miles and types of miles (city vs highway) on the vehicle, it could be the throttle body; the fuel filter; the EGR valve; the catalytic converter, etc.

Has the check engine light ever come on ?

Harry

Hi and thanks very much for your reply.
I had the throttle body off yesterday as I often have to clean this on my Vaixhall Astra once a year. The chambers look lovely and clean even around the intakes and butterfly flaps.
Don't know about the egr valve though.
Yes the engine light has come on now and again and mostly only when towing a horse trailer. I have little faith in trying to read the fault codes as they seem to be hit and miss looking at experiences on here.
To be honest it is a very regular thing, you start it up and it runs fine. Within a couple of hundred yards it starts coughing and spluttering, then dying as if there is no fuel, keep working the throttle then off she goes and doesnt play up any more until the next time she is left. May try a new fuel filter as the wife always runs low but the filter was put on last year and not many miles have been covered.
Wondered if there was a common fault that you guys were aware of.
One other thing, when I changed the lamda sensor several thousand miles ago it was replced with a cheap one. didn't think that would make a great deal to the extent of the problem.
One other point I thought of was the automatic choke. If it is not staying on long enough when cold then it will be allowing too much air in when cold. Just a thought.
Thanks and look forward to any help I can get to stop the wife nagging about the motor,
Dave

[Harry Morgan]

Dave

At this point, I would not bother changing the fuel filter again. However, you probably should have the codes read at a parts store (AutoZone, etc)... they should be able to pick up "live" ones as well as "pending" ones -- do this a day or two AFTER you have last done anything to the vehicle and they will likely not be the bogus codes, i.e., the ones that arise from working on a vehicle, testing it, etc. Meanwhile, you could check out the EGR valve.

If you have a vacuum tester you can disconnect the horiz hose and see if the EGR holds a vacuum of 10 (inches of Hg) for 10 seconds or so, if not, it is suspect. You should also check for a vacuum (with the engine running) on the horiz hose itself -- just stick your finger over the end of the hose and make sure it's sucking... or connect the tester and look for a reading of 4 or 5 at 2000 rpm.

If all of this checks out, then it could be that the business end of the EGR is just dirty and not able to fully close... just disconnect it; clean it with carb/choke cleaner AND the area that the business end mates to when closed. I think they cost about $30. On my 02 Conv it is located at about the 8 o'clock position down a bit from the engine oil filler snout... see attached pic.

Harry

[sportage4x4]

ATTENTION!!

that picture is not the EGR valve. it is actually the fuel pressure regulator. disconnecting its vacuum source with the engine running should cause the engine to run rich.

[Harry Morgan]

Matt

Sorry about that -- you are absolutely right -- I just removed the bogus photo from my previous post.

The problem with getting the correct photo up there is that I've had just about zero free time this week. I did take a slower look through the photos that I do have on my PC and it does not seem to be visible, which I'm guessing means that I'll have to remove the exhaust manifold heat shield to locate the tap tube that feeds the EGR, and just follow the tube to the EGR.

The Global Kia info/parts sites were of little help identifying the location of the EGR -- I might try searching for it using the 01 Conv search criteria, since I've noticed that the 02 Conv stuff is not always available/present/whatever.

Harry

[Minty1084]

Hi. Checked a few things but think the problem may be the choke.
The reason for this is the car starts fine, then after several hundred yards (WHEN FROM COLD START ONLY) it starts to chug and die. It is exactly like with an old manual choke - pushing it in before the engine has had chance to warm up. If you play with the throttle and get it to rev it then clears after a few seconds and it's off again. It will not miss a beat before or after so I guess this is possibly a choke problem.
Any 1 got any ideas on how to check the auto choke please.
Regards,
Dave

[Harry Morgan]

Dave

Are you saying that once it gets warmed up there are no problems ?

Harry

[Minty1084]

Originally Posted by Harry Morgan

Dave

Are you saying that once it gets warmed up there are no problems ?

Harry

Harry,

The funny thing is, the car will start every time no problem on the button. If you drive it for several hundred yards it suddenly starts losing power appears to be either missing or fuel starvation then after about 10 seconds of trying to pump the throttle all of a sudden it revs up and off we go. It will then drive perfectly and will not cut out again.
I started it in my drive and let it tick over for a few minutes and it does exactly the same, starts misfiring then after about 10 seconds it runs fine. It seems to have a set period of time where it will run rough then clear and then run perfect. It does this EVERY time its started I think only when cold.
I know there is not a problem with coils, plugs, etc as it is not a continuos fault and only seems to effect the running of the engine for about the same period of time from start up.

I would really appreciate help here as I was thinking it may be choke but I think if the chole was coming off too soon then it would take longer than 10 seconds to recover when cold if no choke was on. It also felt today as if someone was just turning the key on and off and definately felt electrical.

PLEASE HELP or give me something to try - I'm all ears.

Thanks again,
Dave

[Harry Morgan]

Dave

It's time to fire up the right-side of the brain here (i.e., "outside of the box" thinking) -- one thing to keep in mind is that most of the "AlGore" sensors are inert until the engine reaches full operating temperature, such that the PCM/ECM defaults to a "rich state" mode of control until those sensors are determined to be ready for meaningful dialog with the PCM/ECM.

The puzzling part in your case is that misbehavior is only transient while achieving that warmed up state -- and cured by briefly goosing the gas pedal. Given this I would start thinking about somekind of possible mechanical issue with the throttle linkage, etc. Perhaps just try tightening up the cable that connects the gas pedal to the throttle body control.

Another suggestion I would have is to try starting it the first thing in the morning and letting it reach full operating temperature before attempting to drive it and see if it continues to present the same issue.

Apart from all of this the only other thing I can think of would be that you may have water in the fuel tank -- maybe try some dry gas treatment during the next fill-up or two... as a last resort, get it low on fuel and just drain the tank.

Finally, what is the current status of the CEL (on/off; sometimes on; etc) ?

Harry