Hey all,
I have a 800cc matiz SE ('T' plated) which has developed yet another problem which im hoping someone else has had and cured before
Car starts and drives fine but very randomly the engine check light will come on, all power goes and then dies... If i leave it for 5 min or so it will startup fine and drive away as if nothing happened, if i try to start it straight away afterwards it wont start and doesnt sound like its even attempting to. Has done this twice in a week and its used daily so its not doing it offen but always seems to do it in the most rediculous and embarrising time/place so i need to get this sorted lol.
I have read the 'flashing eror codes' and that comes back as a knock sensor which i cant see as the problem some how.
Im thinking this might be fuel related but dont want to waste time/money if someone else knows whats up for certain.
Thanks for any help
Sounds like the optical sensor in the distributor is faulty.
as "daewootec" said and this is one thing....
also if you notice that the car is doing this when hot, then it might be the ignition leads or ignition coil, dizzy cover, which might be cracked. even if slightly, will cause major issues.
check those first.
Thanks for the replies.
Just an update that ive now had the fuel filter changed as it was looking pretty old and rusty, hasnt sorted the problem but it does now give me an engine check light when the engine dies. Also its cutting out regular now, around 4 miles from cold it will die.
Ive checked the error codes and they come back as-
1500 – A/C evaporator thermistor malfunction (i dont have air con though)
0320 – Engine speed circuit malfunction
No idea what an "Engine speed circuit malfunction" would be? Any help with that would be great
the optic sensor inside the dizzy is bad. can be replaced a alone or comes in a new dizzy... cant think of anything else related to engine speed measurement.
forget about the A/C thing ...
Many thanks guys it was the optical sensor in the dizzy, bought a new complete dizzy unit for £70 and so far works a treat.
Well done with getting it fixed!
I’d love to know which bit of the dizzy fails. Does it fail because of mechanical wear and tear or electrical failure? Is it the electronic bits (solder joins, sensor, dust or an electrical component decoder chip failure) or just purely mechanical wear? Do you have to lubricate the dizzy?
Has anyone managed to fix a broken dizzy?
zitaM
(18-08-2010 11:24 AM)zitaM Wrote: [ -> ]Well done with getting it fixed!
I’d love to know which bit of the dizzy fails. Does it fail because of mechanical wear and tear or electrical failure? Is it the electronic bits (solder joins, sensor, dust or an electrical component decoder chip failure) or just purely mechanical wear? Do you have to lubricate the dizzy?
Has anyone managed to fix a broken dizzy?
zitaM
hello - glad you asked>>
well from my modest experience i can say that the distributor for Matiz almost never fails due to mechanical problems.
the distributor in Matiz (MK I) is responsible for advancing / retarding the ignition timing as it is manually adjustable.
regarding lubrication. the distributor receives a fine amount of the engine oil through a groove on its shaft butterfly bit, so its always lubricated as along as oil is running in your car. no worry here.
the thing about Matiz distributor is it has a dual function. one is to deliver the spark to the correct spark plug at a given time and the other is to till the ECM the camshaft position and engine speed so it will adjust the fuel injectors pulse width and hence the amount of fuel being injected to which cylinder. this last function is done through the optical sensor located inside the distributor (aka camshaft position sensor, engine speed sensor, butthe correct name is the optical sensor, mainly due to how it functions) and connected through a connector and a harness running to ECM.
the distributor in Matiz faces some known issues; after some considerable mileage the contact points inside the distributor cab are reduced due to hot jumping sparks and hence the gap between the rotor and contact points increases and the the spark weakens making the car cuts-off and acting sluggish. so the cap must be replaced. it would be a good idea to replace the rotor as well.
the optical sensor also is most prominent to failure and leads to no-spark situation or makes driving rough.
so the two consumables of a distributor are the cap, the rotor arm and the optical sensor. never replace entire distributor unless it is diagnosed with permanent mechanical damage (i.e. broken butterfly bit, bent shaft, worn bearings) which is very rare.
hope I have been able to give a modest idea here...
cheers...
Hello there,
I can understand the rota arm and cap going wrong with age… but just thinking about the optical electronics.. I see from the service manual that the dizzy electronics provides the ECM (car computer) with critical information like TDC and crank position signal. These signals are generated by the slotted disc wheel passing through the photo-optics electronics to create pulses. I’ve never opened a Matiz dizzy before… can you get access to the slotted disc wheel and electronics? Can the slotted disc wheel and photo-optics be cleaned? What about the electronics? Is any bits visible or is it covered in paint or someone kind of protective casing?
Has anyone taken a dizzy apart before?
zitaM
the optical sensor is a sealed case that can not be accessed without damaging the optical sensor.
anyway, this section of the dizzy is sealed section of the dizzy and nothing gets into it and no dust is produced inside this section and no need to think about cleaning it.
even if you open the dizzy after ten years its still clean in the optical sensor section. i've seen it.
so you are only able to take it out and replace it if necessary. but not to clean it or de-dust it..
Hi Shankosi,
Thanks for your help in clearing up that little mystery for me
zitaM | Matiz