Colt gti 1.4 low power

[enzol1]

Can anyone offer ideas what could be causing low power in a 94 1.4 gti colt.
Engine has 80k but is not burning oil and has been well treated. Serviced regularily . Smaller cars pull away from it at the lights !

[enzol1]

Another symtom is that the car is very excessive on petrol.....

[larsen_huw]

Hi there,

Sorry it's been so long since i checked the forum - almost 6 months I think - been moving house twice and jobs 3 times! :) Got loads of car related news - but that's for another post, not this one.

I have no idea if your ECU (small computer that tells the engine what to do) runs an open loop (where the behaviour is programmed in and can't be altered) or closed loop (where the ECU gets feedback from a sensor and modifys it's behaviour to try and make the car run better) system.

But the basic problem you are describing is that the car is running too rich - so at any given time the ECU is feeding the engine more petrol than it can burn, causing the loss of power and the poor fuel consumption.

In Open Loop Systems, feedback is usually provided by a sensor mounted in the exhuast pipe (usually called a Lamda Sensor or HEGO Sensor) which monitors the air in the exhaust pipe and the ECU then adjusts the amount of fuel going into the engine accordingly to get the best running conditions.

If this sensor is faulty, then it could be making the ECU think it perminently needs to add more fuel - causing your problems.

Not saying that this is your problem - just that it might be a good place to start looking. Do let us know how you get on.

Also remember that a 1.4L car isn't going to be that fast at the best of times. :)

Sorry if my descriptions are overly simple or complex for you - let me know, and I'll modify the language / technical content for next time. :)