General My new purchase stalls literally every time.. can't even make a 5 miles trip in 2 days

[Sylvester22]

Hi all, I've just posted my newbie-thread, unfortunately I've mentioned there's been a very odd and big issue, and I'm looking for some opinions please.

Just in nutshell: my Bravo, The Tazmania Devil, according to the previous owner, had no issue like this before. He looked very honest, even told me stuff I'd no chance seeing, had all paperwork, M32 was done as well, car seemed well taken car off.

After buying the Bravo, driving back home 20 minutes on a bumpy road went fine, but then reversing on the driveway, after few seconds the engine slowly died. I thought it has Start-Stop, which hasn't got, so I didn't think much of it, but a bit later it didn't want to start again.
After 30min wait, it started right up.
Talked to the seller, I said let's wait and see.

Then next day, I went to register the car on my name, a few quick engine start-ups went fine, as the station had to checks vin numbers by law, but when all was done, the car didn't start again. After 45 minutes it fired up suddenly, but 2 streets later the engine CUTS OUT during drive! I barely managed to pull off a busy street. Bit of wait and car starts again, I'm very stressed, but thinking it must be something of a small issue, I drove home those few streets.

Next day, on Saturday afternoon I went for a 30min drive, it was really nice, but after reversing to the parking bay, the engine slowly cut again, and didn't want to start.
Hill-start and ASR, ESP lights come on usually, but they dissappeare after few minutes drive.

Sunday I drove to the seller, we checked the car and found the fuel cap broken. I was thinking that may be the issue, the seller felt bad and gave me 4 alloys, which I payed 50% off, I needed them for winter anyway. I didn't want to give up on the car, so I carried on.

Unfortunately I couldn't even driven off, the engine didn't want to start. I waited an hour, still nothing, so left the Bravo there and came home. Thanks mum for the lifts.
Today, I went back and engine fired up right away. Changed the fuel cap too. Then 5 min later, I had to reverse back due road closure, then in 2nd gear, with a sudden jerk, the engine cuts out again. I bought a not-cheap but simple OBD scanner, only one in my area, and the fault code mentioning Turbo Solenoid came up. I deleted as could've been an old code, but the car still didn't start, even after an hour wait. No more fault codes after that either.

2nd time the car has been parked on some street far away from me, as it stalls so often, it can't even make a 5 mile trip back home.

What I've noticed:
-the battery was suspicious, but it's only a few months old and has 13v.
-Half of engine cuts happen shortly after reversing
-No EML light. The occasional ASR and ESP lights go away after 1-2 minutes drive.
-apart from the Turbo Solenoid code, no other codes shown, but it's a cheap scanner. I'm getting Multiecuscan, but order takes over a week.
-Brake light switch has been changed, brake lights don't show when they not supposed to.
-engine temp solid around middle
-no beeping sound, the engine just cuts out like it has Start-Stop.
-Chip tuning is 2.5 years old
-Oil bit dark but been changed 4 months ago.
-After a few hours wait the engine fires up, but cuts out soon enough, then requires many hours of wait again
-During driving sudden jerk and engine dies(2 times) or after reverse parking (8-10 times). These happened in a span of 4 days. For now, my only suspicion is Turbo Solenoid failure, perhaps the turbo over-heats and cuts the engine.

QUESTIONS: I've found the 1.4 t-jet Turbo Solenoid part number, 55203202/70060700, but can't find info on it's location, and how to change it. Any link on that?

With the chip-tuning is around 150hp, so should I look for part for original 120hp verison, or 150hp version?
I've good basis with cars, I'd changed Throttle Bodies, adapted EGR etc, but never had a Turbo car.
I'm going back tomorrow as well, I may even make it back home...
Thanks in advance, any help is appreciated.

 

[the green vanper]

Check also the vacuum hoses and electric connections to all sensors related to the turbo.

 

[aschiuta]

Look at the pictures. It can be the waste gate blocked and that can be fixing by cleaning the turbo, can be the waste gate valve actuator = nr2 in picture and it can be checked or the solenoid valve = nr1 in picture. Also solenoid valve can be checked.

 

[Sylvester22]

Look at the pictures. It can be the waste gate blocked and that can be fixing by cleaning the turbo, can be the waste gate valve actuator = nr2 in picture and it can be checked or the solenoid valve = nr1 in picture. Also solenoid valve can be checked.

Thanks a lot, I'll check as much as I can.

 

[Sylvester22]

So....I've checked the engine and found these:
-This line has a lot of play, is it normal?

-This line has a bit of play as well, the one below the yellow crank position sensor(?), is that normal?

-Battery cables looks good, only has very few split bits, earth points are solid:

3 IN 1 picture:
-Turbo solenoid tab is broken, been held by ziptie/1 bolt is missing from battery positive, not sure it matters/ 1 spark plug connectors has bent top

That's all I've managed to find for now.
Could any of these cause the engine cut, especially the cables with play?
Thanks for any info.

 

[bugsymike]

Re the crank position sensor, I didn't see if it has been mentioned , but usually the rev counter will not even flicker if that fails.

 

[Sylvester22]

Look at the pictures. It can be the waste gate blocked and that can be fixing by cleaning the turbo, can be the waste gate valve actuator = nr2 in picture and it can be checked or the solenoid valve = nr1 in picture. Also solenoid valve can be checked.

Hi, I've checked the engine today and posted what I found with pictures just above. The most concerning are the lose lines, show in the video, not sure those are normal. Any idea any of those issues may be related? Thanks

 

[Sylvester22]

Rough roads .... cut out when reverse gear used....

Suspect battery main cables , especially the negative cable . On other models the main battery negative wires are very prone to disintegration under black covering.

Hi, I've checked the leads, they looks good, but a few things look a tad out of place, posted all with pictures too, cheers.

 

[Sylvester22]

Lamba and cranks sensor's are common things to fail when the engine is hot and prevent the engine restarting at least they used to be

I've checked a few things today, the yellow crank sensor looks okay from outside, but I'm definitely looking into it as well. There's a few wobbly lines, posted all with pictures, cheers.

 

[Sylvester22]

Re the crank position sensor, I didn't see if it has been mentioned , but usually the rev counter will not even flicker if that fails.

Hi, yes it's been mentioned, I'm looking into it as well. I know its difficult to access, but other than that, does a new one need adaptation or some software calibration? I've done TB and EGR adaptation on my previous car, but not sure about crankshaft sensor. Cheers Mike.

 

[aschiuta]

What is the thing with play cable or pipe?

 

[bugsymike]

Hi, yes it's been mentioned, I'm looking into it as well. I know its difficult to access, but other than that, does a new one need adaptation or some software calibration? I've done TB and EGR adaptation on my previous car, but not sure about crankshaft sensor. Cheers Mike.

Checking the crank position sensor when engine will not start is simply a case of seeing if any sign of movement of the cars rev counter when turning the starter, if the rev counter is trying to flicker or move, generally that would indicate that the crank position sensor is working and sending a signal to the cars ECU telling it when to fire and that the problem lies elsewhere.

 

[Sylvester22]

What is the thing with play cable or pipe?

I've managed to get a number off of it, it's 55352050, Clutch Actuator Cylinder Pipe Elbow.
As a part of clutch, I assume it supposed move then, the connector space around the engine block has marks, which allow the movement. I'm getting suspicious of the crank sensor, even though it has been changed according to the previous owner, I can't seem to find much other issues related to random stalling. Cheers

 

[Sylvester22]

Checking the crank position sensor when engine will not start is simply a case of seeing if any sign of movement of the cars rev counter when turning the starter, if the rev counter is trying to flicker or move, generally that would indicate that the crank position sensor is working and sending a signal to the cars ECU telling it when to fire and that the problem lies elsewhere.

I've read yesterday about the rmp flickering test to check crankshaft sensor, which is getting very suspicious with all the symptoms, but apparently it's been changed recently, hence I didn't prioritised it until now.

If I recall the rmp needle only moves when the engine actually fires up, but I'll check later today for sure. Cheers Mike

 

[Sylvester22]

Checking the crank position sensor when engine will not start is simply a case of seeing if any sign of movement of the cars rev counter when turning the starter, if the rev counter is trying to flicker or move, generally that would indicate that the crank position sensor is working and sending a signal to the cars ECU telling it when to fire and that the problem lies elsewhere.

Hi, I've checked and when the warmed up engine stalls again, upon trying to restart it, it doesn't fire up, but the needle does moves slightly, picture shows the difference.

Does it mean the crankshaft sensor is actually good?
Are Crankshaft Sensor and Crankshaft Pulse sensor are the same?

I've noticed a bolt is missing from the positive battery lead, not sure that's important or not.
Cheers Mike

 

[bsks]

wrong post, ignore this.

 

[bugsymike]

Hi, I've checked and when the warmed up engine stalls again, upon trying to restart it, it doesn't fire up, but the needle does moves slightly, picture shows the difference.
View attachment 455690

Does it mean the crankshaft sensor is actually good?
Are Crankshaft Sensor and Crankshaft Pulse sensor are the same?

I've noticed a bolt is missing from the positive battery lead, not sure that's important or not.
Cheers Mike

So rev counter moving a little when engine not working should indicate crank sensor less likely to be the issue as it is sending a signal back to the ECU and on to the Rev counter.
Loose battery terminal can cause cut out so worth correcting anyway.

 

[Sylvester22]

Loose battery terminal can cause cut out so worth correcting anyway.

I've checked the leads, all tight and looks good, even under the battery tray, apart from that 1 missing bolt on positive lead. The engine shuts down literally always at the same time, so few minutes after engine warmed up.

I was really hoping the crankshaft sensor was the issue, hot-temp stalling issue has matched that accurately, but now I'm back to square one.
I hear some clicking in the engine bay and a "puhf" after reving the engine, but that could be normal.

Btw how to remove the yellow tabs from things like sparks plugs and sensors?
It's a push, pull or lift it?
Thanks

 

[bugsymike]

I've checked the leads, all tight and looks good, even under the battery tray, apart from that 1 missing bolt on positive lead. The engine shuts down literally always at the same time, so few minutes after engine warmed up.
View attachment 455710
I was really hoping the crankshaft sensor was the issue, hot-temp stalling issue has matched that accurately, but now I'm back to square one.
I hear some clicking in the engine bay and a "puhf" after reving the engine, but that could be normal.

Btw how to remove the yellow tabs from things like sparks plugs and sensors?
It's a push, pull or lift it?
Thanks

The yellow tabs are slightly different to my Fiats, but generally they are locking to prevent pushing the release bit that allows the plug to pull off.
So the yellow tabs are usually released first.

 

[Sylvester22]

The yellow tabs are slightly different to my Fiats, but generally they are locking to prevent pushing the release bit that allows the plug to pull off.
So the yellow tabs are usually released first.

I've tried to move it around a tad, don't want to force it too hard, but doesn't seem to buldge any direction. Anyway, I'll figure it out tomorrow, cheers.

 

[aschiuta]

I've tried to move it around a tad, don't want to force it too hard, but doesn't seem to buldge any direction. Anyway, I'll figure it out tomorrow, cheers.

Pull yellow tab as much you can then keep press on black tab and pull from this part of the connector.
I do not see anything wrong with = batt terminal.