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View Full Version : Surgy/misfire/hesitation???



warnzie
5th May 2014, 10:00 PM
Have noticed this for a while, under medium load I get this hesitation like feeling at around 1500 - 2000rpm...almost like misfire or something..it definetely there. Heard astra j 1.6t had issues with coils?? Would definitely explain the problem

delemonte
6th May 2014, 08:17 AM
I'm not sure if they had coil problems (someone on here will confirm/deny this, I'm sure) but how old are the plugs anyway? Don't know about the 1.6, but you can test the coils on the Z20LET with a multimeter... If the plugs haven't been changed/gapped though, I'd definitely be trying them first as they're a lot cheaper than coils

dutchy
6th May 2014, 12:17 PM
Have not had any coil fault on my J 1.6t not hesitation. Since the past few days, there is a slight hesitation when driving away in the morning but that quickly disappears as speed builds up. I think its to do with the extreme cold weather we've had. The hesitation is no tthere if the car idles for 30 seconds or so before driving off. Otherwise, when its no that cold, she'll all good. Btw, don't you have the 1.4 ?

warnzie
6th May 2014, 07:58 PM
1.6t big banger:) no it does it when hot...maybe another way to describe is it's like the turbo gets to full boost and it cuts it back a bit?

warnzie
11th May 2014, 05:57 PM
Ok, booked it into the dealer and as suspected...they did absolutely nothing apart from plug in a laptop. I knew this would happen so after 3hrs of wasting my time I thought I would investigate myself..is there actually mechanics anymore???

So I checkout my plugs and they were all good- I'm in no way a expert but from past experience I know a faulty coil will run amuck on the particular faulty coil plug...they were all good so I thought it has to be the actuator..reason I say this is because when it starts to gain boost it stutters like it looses boost on and off...I thought I wonder if the actuator pivot arm is opening fully/smoothly. So I greased and cained it with wd40 and took for a drive and walah...worked a treat. It now is smooth as smooth. I'm guessing when gaining boost the pivot arm wasn't opening smoothly to open the wastegate which would give the stuttering sensation. So just wondering who to send the invoice to;)

But it hasn't ended...I have an issue of loosing coolant!!! Had a msg 2mth ago on dash saying level was low..was just under hight mark so topped up and didn't much of it as new car sound factory didn't fill appropriately..look today and it's been used😳 I have noticed a coolant like smell when my wife comes home but no drips, leaks Or tell tale sign anywhere. Any ideas????

As you can imagine I am hesitant to take to dealer as they are useless as tits on a bull...actually the bull with tits would more useful I think

dutchy
13th May 2014, 12:51 PM
Had you adjusted the actuator by putting more tension on it ? It shouldn't stick because if it does, at times the penny valve or housing could be cracked if it does that. It is highly unlikely as you got a near new car.

For coolant leak, check to see if there's smoke coming from your exhaust.

warnzie
14th May 2014, 08:00 PM
No havnt touched the actuator, though wondering if I should wind down so ecu does all the guess work? Keep reading about it. Anyone know the standard preset of the bottom nut? Maybe my actuator adjustment is out?

dutchy
14th May 2014, 08:16 PM
it's very hard to see because there's some kind of clip over it which I think also prevents the nuts to come loose. I wouldn't think its wound up too much from the factory. I'll take a pic of mine and post it a bit later.

warnzie
16th May 2014, 01:39 PM
Has there being a software update for our Astras yet? Unfortunately my problem is back after it got a lot better..it's jerkier than ever when coming onto boost...say 1500rpm put foot down maybe 35 - 50% just to get boost started and it spools then feels like it leans out then spools up leans out so not a smooth delivery..hence the sensation of it hesitating? I'm thinking maybe faulty actuator. All I can think off unless software issue?

dutchy
16th May 2014, 03:17 PM
Has there being a software update for our Astras yet? Unfortunately my problem is back after it got a lot better..it's jerkier than ever when coming onto boost...say 1500rpm put foot down maybe 35 - 50% just to get boost started and it spools then feels like it leans out then spools up leans out so not a smooth delivery..hence the sensation of it hesitating? I'm thinking maybe faulty actuator. All I can think off unless software issue?

I've had 2 updates since new but both related to the Navi 900 system. On the service a few weeks ago, they checked for more updates and there were none. One other thing to check though are the pipes to and from the turbo. When I got the loan Astra, one of them actually popped off and giving a similar jerky feeling (not as bad as you describe it though). Upon checking I noticed none of them were done up properly and I re-tightened all of them. A faulty actuator or bcs, so that doesn't open the valve, might give an error message. Have you actually checked the actuator nuts ?

warnzie
16th May 2014, 04:16 PM
I can see the bottom nut and it's sitting about 8 threads from bottom...from my research it should be 6 or 10mm from bottom..mine definetely more than that so A: I adjust it myself and something happens or it will fix it or B: take back to dealers and stuff around for how many visits who would know

dutchy
16th May 2014, 08:48 PM
They are not all the same length. I'd go back to the dealer, you got warranty.

warnzie
17th May 2014, 03:57 PM
So today I took my heat shield out of the way as best as I could and I greased the rod at the base of the actuator. No difference stuttering still present so it rules out bad actuator (rod stuck). So pulled off all hoses on BCS and checked to makesure there were no cracks ect and all fine. From other astra forums the problem I'm facing and experiencing stems from the BCS and it hardly ever presents a MIL. As described when it boosts it fluctuates which causes the stuttering/misfire sensation and this is from a common BCS problem....now to get the dealer to actually replace / test it

warnzie
19th May 2014, 12:34 PM
Just want to check, on full boost should you get like a air hitting blades sounds from the turbo...like ch ch ch ch ch ch ch when you have reached full boost? I just assumed this was normal as it releasing air as not to over boost?????

dutchy
19th May 2014, 01:13 PM
pity opcom doesnt work on our cars as there is an option to test the bcs. That turkey noise shouldnt be there mate. Go to the dealer and point that out. Your penny valve isn't opening due to bcs fault, vaccuum/boost leak, internal bov diaphrame problem or actuator causing boost not dropping when needed. Also check the connections on the vaccum box (black rectangular box) at the back of our engine. But yeah, go to any Holden dealer as you do have full warranty and Holden must fix it.

warnzie
21st May 2014, 06:05 PM
Well, after my 3rd visit to holden, i took a drive with the foreman who after driving it said.."yep there is a problem". At this stage it looks like a whole new turbo assembly will be ordered and fitted under warranty. Aparently they have had a few cruzes with the same issue and its either been a bent actuator rod, bad turbo so they just replace whole assembly just to makesure..i wont complan:)

dutchy
21st May 2014, 06:54 PM
:) strange there's no error message then as it would be overboosting and the ecu would correct that by the sounds of it.

warnzie
1st June 2014, 02:38 PM
Just an update, car being in dealership for little over week and a half now and still not fixed. Seems Holden doesn't know how to fix it. It's got a "tech call" - suppose that means Holden engineers or help and advice from Holden is involved but there is no fix at this stage. Pretty disappointing really..haven't even being given a courtesy car even though have asked numerous times. It would seem that the hassle of having to fix a opel is the altitude I get. I can see this the beginning of some things - yet to resolve coolant loss.

dutchy
1st June 2014, 09:00 PM
Just an update, car being in dealership for little over week and a half now and still not fixed. Seems Holden doesn't know how to fix it. It's got a "tech call" - suppose that means Holden engineers or help and advice from Holden is involved but there is no fix at this stage. Pretty disappointing really..haven't even being given a courtesy car even though have asked numerous times. It would seem that the hassle of having to fix a opel is the altitude I get. I can see this the beginning of some things - yet to resolve coolant loss.

That seems a bit bull.... if they wanted to renew the whole turbo assembly they could easily do it. Guess that that is not the issue with your car then ?!

warnzie
4th June 2014, 02:53 PM
Well got a call to say come pick it up...this is the response...holden don't know what the problem is, we don't know though we can feel the stutter/flatspots...holden has advised to keep monitoring it. I will leave everyone to ponder over that while I take a breather...oh and a beer:)

dutchy
4th June 2014, 09:43 PM
I just read on the Dutch Opel forum that 2 members had similar problems which the dealer could not find as they were intermittent.No error codes were stored either. Turned out in both cars that wiring to the maf was broken. Couldnt see anything from the outside. When it does it again, stop, wiggle the wires to the maf , maybe see if you can pull them into another direction temporarily in place with some rope, and see if it still does it. That part of the wiring loom was renewed and problem gone.

warnzie
5th June 2014, 05:35 PM
Could you send the link dutchy;) thanks buddy. At this stage I'm looking at taking it to a retired European mechanic for him to look at

dutchy
5th June 2014, 10:20 PM
Could you send the link dutchy;) thanks buddy. At this stage I'm looking at taking it to a retired European mechanic for him to look at

yup, will look for the link.

warnzie
5th June 2014, 10:49 PM
After some more research the stock plugs have been known to cause trouble? They are already platinum plugs but can't find alternatives?

I took out all the plugs to check colour and whilst they were ok they wernt all even in colour. When not on boost it's fine, it's only on boost, like uneven boost which cause a staggery build in power rather than smooth..I'm still wondering if I have a boost leak??

warnzie
8th June 2014, 11:25 AM
I decided to check my coil pack for resistance and what I found was 3 were at 20ohm and 1 was at 19ohm. Now it's only 1ohm but when under load could drastically cause the stuttering? I'm no expert but I do know they should all be the same. Will have to try and find some more info as holden still arnt coming to the party. The new response I got was basically unless it shows on the dash or it goes bang in Holden's eyes it's not a problem!!!!

delemonte
10th June 2014, 01:36 PM
Was that resistance measured just after the engine had been running or was everything cooled down? I've noticed that differences in resistance between coils are greatest when the coils are warmer

warnzie
27th June 2014, 01:04 PM
Sorry lads but my astra is long gone now. Too many issues occurring and it seemed the coolant loss was more to do with a cracked head/gasket so I decided to cut my loss and move on. Beautiful car unfortunately let down by GM crap mechanicals. I may of got a lemon but with any lemon it leaves a very sour taste in your mouth. So I now have a mazda 3 sp25 and it a great car. Anyway thanks for everyone's help and comments;)