QuestionHope you enjoyed your vacation!
There's been no problem starting the car until approx. 2 weeks ago. Now I can't rely on the car starting hot or cold, also after finally starting it can run "Lumpy" occasionally at approx 600 RPM or fast and smooth at 1200RPM. The fault appears to be fuel related as strobe flashes ok when trying to start and when plugs are checked they are a light tan in colour and always DRY even after several attempts to start.
The only fault code recorded is 1 2 1 which is Mass Air Flow, although this doesn't come up every time! After finally starting today, I blew into the MAF and it slowed the car revs until it stalled, does this indicate that the MAF sensor is working correctly? I've checked all the vacuum pipes and all appear intact and are a tight fit. If anything the car starts easier when cold!
Another query is that, when the ignition is switched on, the petrol pump runs for approx 3 to 4 seconds, this still happens even when the petrol pipe is disconnected from the fuel rail; I would expect the pump to run continuous as there was no back pressure (this was to check that the fuel pump was working, with no water in the fuel line).
Hope you can suggest an answer to my woes, because it's so frustrating and costing me loads of time and effort. Many thanks in advance.
AnswerBrian,
If the MAF codes has returned replace the MAF. They go bad and do strange things to starting and running. Common replacement part.
The fuel pump is designed to run those 3-4 seconds to prime the system. If it always ran then in an accident that could be harmful.
