QuestionI bought a Vauxhall Astra 2001 few months ago.
the car start:
-occasional missing
-starting moves from half self to full self
-starts cutting out during driving
as the fuel level in the tank goes down. this problem is severe at fuel tank level of last quarter. the problem after some times starts increasing to higher fuel levels too and finally it cuts off at full tank with heavy missing and would not start until i take it to a garage.
History: i bought it in dec 2010. the chap sold it to me with i full fuel tank. few days later the catylatic convertor choked and i put in the second hand one. the garage noticed the problem and changed the fuel filter and told me that there was probably some thing in the fuel. i took the missing car to nearest garage, filled the tank and the sound became fine.
i kept the tank usually filled and after some days went to Birmingham. the car in the meanwhile kept on cutting out occasionally on low fuel but on the way to back to Aberdeen, broke near Edwin. the tank level was at last quarter mark. it was towed to the garage. they found nothing and handed it back to me with a full tank saying that probably the suction pipe had gone off at the fuel pump.
The car ran fine for some time, started occasional problems on low fuel, then at higher fuel levels and then one day broke down last week on full tank.
the garage replaced the fuel pump and fuel suction line and said that they found nothing else wrong. today the car started loosing power on high accelerator, giving jerks and cut out again on the way to office. the fuel level was last quarter of tank. i stopped for a few minutes, started again and drove to nearest garage and filled to half tank.
it ran fine to the office again. The workshop say they are baffled and don't know what to do next??
AnswerMy first guess* - fuel pressure regulator intermittent failure.
But they aren't meant to be diagnosed like this, it's done electronically.
Really the best way to find out is to read the self-diagnostic diagnostic error codes given by the E.C.U. - Vauxhall dealers can perform an in-depth, complex test giving precise, detailed results - this is what you may need with such a complex problem.
Otherwise a normal garage should scan for codes, especially on a vauxhall
Its ECU/Injection system is ODB.. on pretty much every car these days.
(as a matter of fact, the fuel-system diagnosis on the vauxhalls is rarely wrong,
old-fashioned guess work is a good way to waste money{unless you REALLY know what you're doing}
If you have not had a diagnostic scan yet..... get it done!!
you will get error codes from this scan, they correspond to certain incorrect votages and values - the code(s) is a good clue as to what is wrong.
1: Get the code.
2: Relay it to me/ your mechanic
