wowblaauw

All, apologies for not getting back to you sooner and thank you all for your advice etc. It would seem that I have an issue with the new fuel lines I ran over the winter. I jacked up the fuel pressure and settled on 4.4 bar and the misfire disappeared. I'll be stripping out the new lines in a couple of weeks and will run an airline through them - have to fix the compressor first. Engine dies under load would you believe, seems the cap is failing, new one ordered so waiting for it to arrive. Will update you all soon.

That said I have a new issue, see my new post, beers, Craig

All, as a quick follow-on, with respect to knights_templar's post. He is quite right I have had loads of issues following a major upgrade over the winter which has dragged on for some months now, being beset by issues mostly created by my good self I must say - age, experience... Anyhow, it would appear that I am getting to the end game. Following another weekend of garage torture I found that the misfire under load was due to fuel pressure. At 3 bar it misfires and at 4.4 bar is perfect. Any thoughts on why this is would be will of course be gratefully received. My map is tuned for 3bar with injectors of 300cc. (Map supplied by GBS to get the engine going ahead of RR) My injectors are standard Ford 200cc - would this be the cause, a mismatch between injector and map? or am I barking again... I've also dropped an email to the good people at Emerald and hope to have a response later on a more suitable map.

I would however like to thank you all for your input.

All, thank you so much for your responses. Ok, coil pack replaced with (admittedly not known working) HT leads with the same result. Engine fired and runs very smoothly. Got it to 60d and applied throttle only to get an almost stall a few back fires and the rough revs. Logic tells me that if this coil pack and leads were good then I would get the same results but doubt it would have the exactly the same fault?

Spark plugs are new - same result

TPS is new and not over tightened

Just one thing though; the engine loom to ECU had an issue with not firing the ignition circuit. While I realise this may be a long shot, is there anything in this. The issue was with connection from pin 4 to loom block not making a good connection. A bent pin later and I had a spark and where I am today.

Checking earths now

Thank you chaps, much food for thought especially as I have a whole weekend (1st in many moons) to look closer at the issue. I have a spare coil pack and HT leads, spare plugs so will give it all another go. I especially wondered about the lack of flow so have already replaced the injectors. The MAF sensor is new from Emerald so am thinking I can check that off the list. As for the Lamda I haven't set the car up with this type of sensor.. yet. One of my future tasks. I will upload my finds come Sunday evening.

If I can identify what the issue is then its off to the rolling road.

Thanks again for all of your help, sometimes its good to hear it from others who have had similar/same experiences.

Craig

Wow, thank you so much.

The map is the GBS TB powermap for 2.0l Zetec. When it comes to the mapping side I have absolutely no idea as I kind of missed all of this during a time when all I did was buy and drive.Trying to play catchup later in life is like trying to teach an old dog new tricks...

TPS is wired correctly as per GBS instruction - as for 'ecu not seeing the change correctly' may well be the issue or not. Like I said, I am not up to speed when it comes to the mapping side of the engine management.

TPS has been reset several times as I balanced the throttle bodies and now is set and balanced nicely. Just missing under load.

Hi chaps, I have a Zetec 2.0 crate engine with 1000 miles on it. Last year I added AT iTB's and although I had a misfire at the time it seemed to sort it self out as the engine warmed up so I paid scant attention to it. However, since I started the big strip and rebuild; replaced the entire electrical system, new engine and chassis looms, a new dash board, dials etc, switches et al cooling system, fuel lines, pump filters all with new product I/we have developed a much more serious misfire under load. Since I started this big upgrade, I found that my Emerald K3 had some fluid ingress and was misfiring on 3 which was highlighted by the good folk at emerald and repaired I still however have a misfire under load. The engine will crank, fire and run at low revs very nicely but as soon as the throttle pedal is applied I get a cough splutter, lots of misfiring back through the air filter the odd back fire and generally no power unless applied slowly.

Any ideas?

Thus far I have replaced the manifold 'O' rings, the HT leads, coil pack and plugs (head and brain), think thats it for now, any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Thanks, Craig

Message sent

Hi and thanks for the responses. The map was used for the past 500 miles ahead of the loom replacement. Thee only thing that's changed is the loom.

Currently I have made adjustments to the loom and ran this morning ok. I'm just thinking ahead as a just in case gbs say no to replacing the loom. If that is the case, then I'll make a more permanent mod to the existing wiring or preferably a change to the map injector configuration.

Eureka! I was measuring outputs from the ecu to injectors and then matched to the map driving the ecu and here's what I found

Cyclinder 1 injector - correct

Cylinder 2 injector is cyclinder 4

Cylinder 3 injector is cylinder 2

Cylinder 4 injector is cylinder 3

My next question is this; any ideas on how to change the injector sequence in the ecu - why because my engine loom now resembles something of Heath Robinson affair.

Thanks again in advance

Craig

Update, the issue is with the block to ecu connector with the engine loom. One problem solved by bending pin 4 on ecu to make better contact with connector. Did try closing the connector female pins but couldn't make the connection reliable. My only worry here is one of reliability. Anyhow one problem solved leaving the misfire.

I have a misfire on cylinders 3 and 4. I removed the manifold cleaned all surfaces and fitted new jenvey O rings. No change. I've replaced the ht leads, coil pack and plugs - no change. I had a spare set of injectors kicking around so changed these but without change. Any ideas would be gratefully received. The map I'm using was supplied by GBS and was running successfully before I changed the looms.

Thanks, craig

After spending nigh on £900 on the factory loom (engine and chassis) - its predecessor was a bit of a birds nest so in my constant search for perfection I went the way of the GBS P&P loom - I am reluctant to throw it out and start again. That said, I wired the dash from scratch which was simple enough - just a case of following the routes. I have dash switches rather than stalks. I don't have an issue with electrical work per se but this loom is an absolute nightmare. I have no schematic and to be honest I was hoping that someone else may have had the same experience and was willing to share not that I would want this on anyone else...

The loom is definitely coming back out tomorrow and will be on the bench ready for my meter. I am determined to find out why this loom is functioning the way it is and my wish is to make others aware that this may be the case despite what GBS say. Anyhow, I'll get back to you when I have this apart with a level of understanding so I can share it.

Cheers, Craig

HI Richy, seems you got a post in just before my last response.

When I switch on, fuel pumps start, ECU LED goes red and when I crank the ECU goes green as it should. I do have a decent earth (one of my many mistakes), and having rechecked several times am happy with the way the loom has been run. When I asked a local pro to come and help he started at the misfire to number three cylinder worked backwards and found that the ECU was missing on this pot. He also stated that the ECU was not switching. However having sent the ECU off to Emerald they concluded that the ECU was missing on three but there was no fault with switching the ignition feed relay. We did bypass this and earthed the ground pin on the ignition relay which did bring the engine back to life only to misfire on three. I played with this for a bit and sent the ECU back to Emerald who after much coercion on my behalf re-ran all of the tests again only to find that the ECU is good to go. I also put a new map and Emerald informed me that they updated the firmware. I haven't as yet checked the output from pin 11 and 28 - which I will do this weekend ahead of stripping out the loom. If the readings are anything but what is expected then the loom comes out.

That said, I now do not have an ignition feed even with the bypass - this is becoming really strange even (I think) my alternator has failed again. If it has it would be the third time the reg has popped - anyone with experience on failing alternators?

The ignition feed comes directly from the loom's fuse/relay block and as such and because this is a purpose made loom with no schematic I am rather in the dark with it which is why I think removal and a strip of the fuse relay box is in order. Like I said in my last I was rather hoping someone else had a similar issue which I could work with and circumvent this additional work. However, I am 7 months in with this loom. No pain no gain.

Thanks again, the hep is very much appreciated.

Craig

All, many thanks for your replies - also, please accept my sincerest apologies for my miss post - fit of exasperation and frustration and wasn't watching what I was doing...

Ok, engine is a crate engine with 1k miles on it - haven't checked compression yet. The inlet manifold has been checked and reseated just in case with new seals. New plugs, coil pack and HT leads have been fitted. Not much else to say other than I have this issue between the engine, loom and the ECU. Having spent some time with Dave Walker at Emerald we have come to the conclusion that this is a loom issue and as such my next task is to de-instal the loom out of the car and strip the fuse relay box down to check see what is going on with connectivity etc. I was rather hoping someone else had had this issue...

Thanks again

Craig

All, my first post on these here parts - that said, I have found most of the issues with my Zero were answered by the good people on previous posts on the RHOCAR. So here I am a newbie although I've been a member for the past couple of years asking for some good old fashioned help - apologies for the longwinded first post.

I purchased a built Zero with many issues from a misfire to electrical problems from a home made loom and as such I wanted (before buying a new kit) test my skills before taking the plunge. So, the loom; I purchased a new GBS P&P loom at the end of last year and fitted while taking out the old home made job - in fact an almost complete strip, a new cooling system, etc and other jobs along the way. So, once the new engine bay and main loom were in these are the faults I came across.

First issue bad earths - oops, since rectified and sorted

Second issue, alternator regulator blown - out, repaired and sorted and installed

Third issue, no oil pressure - replaced sender and hey presto

Fourth issue, no water temperature, sender replaced and sorted

Fifth issue, the ECU not switching the ignition circuit - ECU sent to Emerald and...

Sixth issue, misfire on three - ECU sent to Emerald and misfire detected and repaired, no fault found on the switch for the ignition circuit

Seventh issue, failed alternator - again? sent off and repaired

Eight issue, ECU back and no change, sent back - Emerald kindly too a video showing the ECU fully functional

Ninth issue, Alternator failed again, I think, no ignition light on on dash - and the ECU still not switching and a misfire to three and fourth not firing at all - before the alternator failed again I had the engine running post replacing the spark plugs with new, the HT leads with new and the coil pack with new. No change, still missing on three and nothing on four.

I guess what I am asking for is some sanity. I have Emerald saying that the ECU is fine

Having replaced just about everything electrical I still have some fundamental issues

GBS say that their looms are fully tested before leaving the factory and therefore cannot be at fault

Any advice is good advice, but if someone could lend me a hand here I would be eternally grateful.

Thanks in advance, Craig

Tim, I still am wondering he the or not this ŵill fit a standard gbs Zero. Any ideas?

Thaw is

Craig

If you're still after a screen and frame for a 2b, then I have a spare complete and ready to bolt on. Looks like I'm just down the road from you too.

Cheers

Craig

Hi, images will be good. Thanks

Success, proud new owner of Sierra cosworth (dubious) handbrake and switch, although I thought £30 delivered was a bit steep and vey nearly lost the auction. Anyhow, will be fitting this when it arrives and all being well....

Thanks very much, always get the bet from this forum. I did see the eBay item and am following closely. If I don't get it, then its follow Florin.

Cheers

Craig

Hi All, hoping this isn't too much of a long shot but while going through annual maintenance and re-wiring my Zero I found my handbrake dash light switch has failed during testing. I wondered therefore if anyone had one knocking around gathering dust. If so, then please let me know soonest, I would be very grateful as these now seem to be hard to get.

Cheers

Craig

All, me again. As per title, any spare wet weather gear out there for a std Zero?

Thanks in advance

Craig

All, thank you for all of your efforts in trying to coerce me into 'home made' efforts. Well I did this with a stock Ford thermostat and housing and used various bendy bits to connect my own rail and various other scavenged parts - I'll take a picture when the temperature gets above -1c so you can see what I mean. In the end I bit the bullet and succumbed to the GBS offering and ordered a kit this afternoon to be delivered next week. I just wanted to thank the energy and the imagination of this forum and the Hoodies - I did start with a 2B and in the end went over to the dark side and bought a GBS Zero. Happily in love with my mucky hands, ripped jeans, bad back and neck and of course the constant cuts and bruises to hands and other accoutrements with the constant changes and maintenance of being a kit car owner.

Big thank you to all who responded. All sounds very positive, back to the drawing board me thinks.

Hi, many thanks for the replys. I originally used something similar to a hoover hose connected to the standard thermostat housing but having had lots of leaks etc I decided to comply to the pro version. Not only will this make the engine look good, but will be fit for purpose.

Hi all, my home made water rail has failed and wanted to replace it this winter and wondered if any one has a system surplus to requirement. Engine is a stock zetec 2.0lt blacktop.
Thanks
Craig