Peugeot 306, no pulling power?

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Josh
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This isn't a problem cruising for ladies, but a problem with the car pulling itself along!

Any mechanically minded people have any ideas as to what could cause a car to struggle to pull away in first on a level surface and then have no power at all? Had to floor it in third to get to 40 on a level road and it took a good 10 seconds to do it! This problem seems very sporadic, some days it's fine but others it occurs, normally accompanies by exhause making rapid 'popping' noises. I have tried changing the spark plugs and having had a quick look at the exhaust can see no obvious holes along it anywhere.. But I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to cars. If it helps it's a 1997 Peugeot 306 1.4 Miami!

Thanks in advance people!
 
Not sure by any means, but does this car have a cat?...the ECU can send the car into limp mode and if it's backfiring it could be an emissions problem.
 
sounds like it might not be firing on all cylinders - have you checked the distributor cap and the Ht leads ?

I had this intermittent fault on my first car - a '83 ford escort - that turned out to be a loose HT lead that ocaassionally worked loose from the plug when the car went over bumps etc
 
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Yes you have a common fault - you bought a Peugeot!

However i all seriousness it could be several things but without knowing exactly what system that car runs for fuel and ignition I couldn't tell you what it is exactly but some possibilities are:

Clogged injector
Duff coilpack
Duff crank/cam sensor
Dodgy HT lead
water in the fuel is a possibility (although unlikely I'd have thought)
 
Not sure by any means, but does this car have a cat?...the ECU can send the car into limp mode and if it's backfiring it could be an emissions problem.

I think it may well have, not sure if it's backfiring though it's not particularly loud. Sounds like driving a canal boat!

sounds like it might not be firing on all cylinders - have you checked the distributor cap and the Ht leads ?

I had this intermittent fault on my first car - a '83 ford escort - that turned out to be a loose HT lead that ocaassionally worked loose from the plug when the car went over bumps etc

I'll double check the leads before I leave college, thanks!

Yes you have a common fault - you bought a Peugeot!

However i all seriousness it could be several things but without knowing exactly what system that car runs for fuel and ignition I couldn't tell you what it is exactly but some possibilities are:

Clogged injector
Duff coilpack
Duff crank/cam sensor
Dodgy HT lead
water in the fuel is a possibility (although unlikely I'd have thought)

Haha I have no idea what posessed me! :wacky:

Thanks very much for the suggestions, I'll check the items above and see what I can find! (y)
 
Had this fault on my sierra, turned out the plug leads where shot. was intermitant at first then it judt packed up altogether.

spike
 
All my working life in the motor industry, whenever a customer has told us about 'no power' it has most often been a worn out clutch.

Sure it's not that? :|
 
if it was a worn clutch surely flooring it in third would make it worse (greater torque = greater slippage) rather than better
 
Likely suspects are the plug leads, ignition coil or injectors gummed up.

Next time it happens stop and get out, see if you can smell fresh petrol. If you can, then fuel is being pumped into the cylinders but isn't being (fully) ignited, which of course would mean lack of spark. If you can't smell petrol, then the cylinders aren't being fully fuelled.

Other half's ZX 1.4 (same engine) had a similar problem whereby it would occasionally only fire on 3 cylinders. Similar symptoms as you described - plugs and coil had been changed, but the leads hadn't. Fiddling with the leads helped for a while but it never completely went away until they were changed, obviously a faulty connection on one of them.


sounds like it might not be firing on all cylinders - have you checked the distributor cap and the Ht leads ?

That car won't have a distributor cap - it's got solid state timing.


if it was a worn clutch surely flooring it in third would make it worse (greater torque = greater slippage) rather than better

And it wouldn't cause the popping from the exhaust. I'd bet my house on this being an ignition or fuelling problem.
 
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Selective editing, Mr Moose, and no offence intended, I'm trying to be helpful, but -

... what could cause a car to struggle to pull away in first on a level surface and then have no power at all? Had to floor it in third to get to 40 on a level road and it took a good 10 seconds to do it! .... I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to cars.

The actual problem could be many things but I suggested one place where I would start looking.
 
The problem is most definitely that it needs a mechanic to have a look & listen. :)
 
Yves Geza said:
All my working life in the motor industry, whenever a customer has told us about 'no power' it has most often been the most expensive component we could think of.

Sure it's not that? :|

There, fixed that for you. :naughty:
 
My old Nissan 200SX had a problem like that, which was a little inconvenient when it started a couple of miles into a 75 mile drive to work. I managed to get there and called the AA who had it diagnosed and fixed in about 10 seconds. A lead had come loose which took readings from the airflow sensor and fed them to the ECU in order to calculate the fuel mix required. That sent the car into "limp mode". He gave the lead a bit of a jiggle and a firm push home and the car was right as rain. No further incidents in all the time I owned the vehicle, which was a good couple of years more.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys, checked the HT leads earlier and they're all on firmly but don't know if they're packing up! Will try and source some replacements and see if it makes a difference otherwise it's on to the more complicated stuff!
 
Thanks for all the replies guys, checked the HT leads earlier and they're all on firmly but don't know if they're packing up! Will try and source some replacements and see if it makes a difference otherwise it's on to the more complicated stuff!

Grab ahold of one whilst the engine is running, if the insulation has gone you'll know soon enough :D
 
Run the car in the dark with the bonnet open. You should see arcing if they're that bad.

As it is a 1.4 it's hardly going to pull the skin off a rice pudding anyway.... :)

Check the oil for signs of mayonnaise looking stuff as loss of power can indicate a head gasket failure too.
 
Hey guys, thank-you all for the suggestions. Just been outside in the dark checking for arcing on the distributor cap and there's nowt, then the old man took me for as spin in it and sods law nothing went wrong at all. Seems to only happen in the mornings (when it's cold?) does that change anything?
 
If it happens usually in the mornings when cold=dampness, the plugs leads would be damp and if knackered this would aid the spark to arc away and therefore loose power.?
 
Coil packs are a common failure point on this engine, a cold engine needs a higher high tension voltage to jump the plug gaps and fire the mixture. It's quite probable that the insulation within the coil pack is breaking down and the voltage is leaking to earth.

You'll be lucky to see an arc from it, but removing the coil pack and looking very carefully will often show small areas of discolouration in the problem area.

I'd not recommend pulling leads off a running engine, these coils can generate far more voltage that old distributor equipped engines and believe me it hurts!!!
 
If it happens usually in the mornings when cold=dampness, the plugs leads would be damp and if knackered this would aid the spark to arc away and therefore loose power.?

If its that a good spray of WD40 to drive off moisture should sort it at least temporarily
 
It may be worth changing fuel filter (if it's clogged up it will be running lean) and the air filter. The oil, coolant? The battery? Try 'cheap' things first.

Does it produce any particular kind of smoke from the exhaust?
 
All filters etc are topped up and clean, only did it all a month ago :) Going to spring for a new ignition coil pack! Pricey little things! Assume best to buy new and get one that def works rather than a used one from a car of similar age.. Worth doing the leads while I'm at it?
 
try the leads before the coil pack. much cheaper and as the problem is intermittent it is just as likely. If it turns out not to be the leads, you at least have a spare set, as well as plugs if you kept the old ones (hope you did)

The ZX (same engine as your peugeot) now has a whole spare set of ignition components in the boot from when we went through this rigmarole, so I'm not just talking out of my arse when I give these suggestions... also, did you try and see if you could smell unburnt fuel just after you had the problem? that would tell us whether fuel is actually getting to the cylinder, which could thicken the plot quite a bit.
 
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try the leads before the coil pack. much cheaper and as the problem is intermittent it is just as likely. If it turns out not to be the leads, you at least have a spare set, as well as plugs if you kept the old ones (hope you did)

The ZX (same engine as your peugeot) now has a whole spare set of ignition components in the boot from when we went through this rigmarole, so I'm not just talking out of my arse when I give these suggestions... also, did you try and see if you could smell unburnt fuel just after you had the problem? that would tell us whether fuel is actually getting to the cylinder, which could thicken the plot quite a bit.

Hi there :) Got an ignition coil pack on the way which happily comes with leads and managed to get a good price because I know someone who works at a garage down here! I appreciate the help and will post back when they arrive with results. I've never smelt fuel when this happens which I'm assuming is a good thing! The spare parts sounds like a jolly good idea! (y)
 
Day 1 after replacing the ignition coil pack and leads on Friday and being left to sit over the weekend. Car was absolutely great this morning, no problems pulling or funny noises! Hope this lasts, thanks for all the help guys!
 
shogran said:
Hey guys, thank-you all for the suggestions. Just been outside in the dark checking for arcing on the distributor cap and there's nowt, then the old man took me for as spin in it and sods law nothing went wrong at all. Seems to only happen in the mornings (when it's cold?) does that change anything?

Distributor? I thought they got rid of the old non injected 1.4 engine before the 306 came along??
 
Lol It doesn't have a distributor... Its all solid state ignition.

I know that the citroen ZX did have the carburetted engine for a short while before it was rreplaced with fuel injection, but I don't know if the 306 has ever had carbs.

Also you can have a fuel injected engine with a distributor for timing... The porsche 944 is an example.
 
To be totally honest it's more than likely I used the wrong term/name. I don't have a clue! Thought it was a generic term, I'm just pleased the problem has resolved :D fourth day going strong tomorrow!
 
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