Whats up with my saxo this time?

Ian84 · 23 Oct 2006

I had a run from Rotherham to Matlock in it on saturday via the M1, through Chesterfield & then up that steep 1 in 7 gradient, bad idea! I managed to keep up 60-65 on the motorway but it didn`t feel as responsive as usual when I was overtaking & then I hit the 1 in 7 gradient at 60, right foot flat down but I only got halfway up & I dropped it into 3rd & struggled to keep at 30 but the further I went, the slower it went & it only managed 20 but it made it.

I took a longer route home with less hills and joined the M1 at Nottingham & then as I went up the sliproad at whiston, the engine management light came on & it sort of spluttered & coughed & died. I managed to get it to start after several attempts & set off but coughed & lurched again but it didnt die this time. After about 10 mins it drove like nowt had happened.

Its a 98 Saxo X 1124cc, 78425 miles, slight head gasket oil leak. Does this sound like the head gasket is getting worse or is it electrical?

Ian84 · 23 Oct 2006

I forgot to mention that it ran fine after I sprayed various connectors & plug leads in WD40 & now there seems to be summat wrong with the throttle. Sometimes while i`m accelerating the pedal seems to drop a little & then come back up, but when it drops the revs stay the same or when I lift off in between gear changes the revs drop but the pedal sticks for a second & then comes back up. I was told by someone that it could be the idle stepper motor. Could it be a combined ECU, stepper motor problem?

Ta
Rich

jonnyfishing · 24 Oct 2006

As it could be many things and your engine light has been on I think your best bet is to have an ECU readout done.It will point you in the right direction and should be cheaper in the long run.

Ian84 · 24 Oct 2006

Can I get a faultcode readout done at any garage or is it a job for citroen?

Ta

jonnyfishing · 25 Oct 2006

You should find plenty in the yellow pages that can do it,ring up and ask if they can do your model.

Ian84 · 26 Oct 2006

My dad said a clip or summat was lose on the throttle cable & I managed to get work with it but it`s still down on power & now when I startup it cuts out straight away. Time to open my wallet

suffolklad · 26 Oct 2006

have you ever had new ht spark plug leads? they can sometimes break down which can cause miss fire loss of power

Ian84 · 27 Oct 2006

It`s had new plugs but its never had any new plug leads & I was told earlier that I may have damaged them with WD40

Heyyouitsme · 31 Oct 2006

sounds like ht pack or leads, when the car is warm it will be exagerated

Ian84 · 31 Oct 2006

It now seems to be running ok apart from it nearly stalling when idling, but i`m going to try and live with it because I bought a new car yesterday(and it isn`t a Citroen!) and i`m just going through that process of changing the insurance & V5.

Ta Rich