Hello All. I purchased the above vehicle for my daughter and we decided to take it on a long trip (1000 kms). About halfway through the trip during hard acceleration, the car lost power until I backed my foot off the gas pedal and then it coasted alright. If I attempted to push the gas pedal down again, it would die until I eased off. At the halfway point of the journey I replaced the fuel filter, spark plugs and HT leads. The car ran well until the return home when it started doing the same. Hard acceleratio for more than 10seconds caused it to lose power.
It got us home and I had it checked for a blown head gasket because the coolant resevour was full but turned out to be a faulty radiator cap. My daughter has driven the car for the past 6 weeks 40kms a day along flat ground and at slower
speeds (provisional license) with no problems until she attempted to climb the steepest hill in out locality. The problem momentarily reappeared. Do these cars have a history of fuel pump/pressure regulator faults or could it be a sensor type problem? We have had no check engine lamp on the dash illuminate at any time.

i'm having a similar problem.... any expierence or suggestions would be really nice!

Update: Have checked fuel pressure with engine at idle (no regulator vacuum) and
it was approx 50 psi. With reg connected about 40 psi. This seems O.K. to me.
I read alot of people having problems with cat converter and Throttle position sensor. I will look at these and update when I have more.

I haven't had any problems with mine however although 50 psi does sound good you need see what it normally runs at. My mechanic was telling me that the GM's run around 54 psi but if you go even one psi below the specified range it will run like crap so you need to check to see what it normally runs at. Mind you the Hyundai's probably aren't that tempermental.

A buddy of mine just had his ignition coil replaced because his car would almost stall trying to accelerate hard so that maybe something you want to consider also. He has a VW BTW.

Just an Update. Have checked diag output of computer and it is normal (no codes).
Checked Throttle position sensor and it is smooth with no erratic output. I don't think I have a sensor problem. I'm thinking fuel pressure during hard acceleration
or plugged cat converter. I'm going to remove cat and fit a piece of pipe with flanges in its place. I don't want to destroy the cat because it may not be the problem. Thanks for the reply Da_moose as I haven't considered the coil because of the infrequent nature of this fault. Its possible the coil could be at fault. I have found another excel at a wrecker so I will try to obtain the parts and update on my progress.

Cheers

Just another update. Pulled the Cat converter out of the car and it was like new.
I could see through the honeycomb and there was no buildup to speak of. That theory is out the window. Can anyone tell me how to monitor fuel pressure whilst driving the car? I could hook up the pressure gauge but I can't see it whilst driving.
Is there a electrical sensor that I could connect to my multimeter to give me info whilst driving?

Hey Alfy12 I know this is a late reply but i've had a similar problem with my `93 Excel Sprint.

I have 260,000Kms on the clock, so my car may just be getting old, but about 6 months ago I was doing a 200km trip and about 3 quarters of the way the car started cutting out and turning itself off. Kinda scary stuff if you're on a freeway.

I had it running VERY tentatively and got it to a repairer who replaced both the *fuel line,* *fuel pump* and the *radiator cap.* After that it was running fine, but on the mechanic's diagnostic the compression test ran as follows:

cylinder 1: 200 (psi I think?)
cylinder 2: 90
cylinder 3: 200
cylinder 4: 200

So you can see why it was running crap. I will post more details from the diagnostic when I dig up the receipt later and I hope it helps.
But from what I can tell it's generally a fuel line build up that's generally buggering up your compression ratio, and in turn your timing.

As I speak the car is in the shop getting the transmission repaired (replacement is an extra $1000AU) which is costing me anywhere between $800-$1200AU.
I've also given the mechanics free reign to repare/replace any other visible faults, which may cost me a bit.
Then again I live in WA and the current road death toll is 105, so i'd rather be out of pocket than dead.

Hope this helps, will post results of repairs as I get them.

Good luck

-Gabe

You can monitor you fuel pressure by using an aftermarket fuel pressure guage with an electronic sender. However these are not cheap! The Autometer 0-100psi full sweep guage that I have costs over AUS$500!

However I think you may be a having a problem with with either your injectors being clogged or the fuel pump and/or its wiring is marginal given you've replaced the fuel filter.

Hey there! I have a 95 X3 excel in Townsville, Qld, Australia. i have had the same problem but mine is not related to the fuel pump or anything, last time i noticed it, it was so severe that the car shook at idle violently and would not go anywhere, this lasted for 3 days and my car was stuck in a local car park. I have had similar problems that lasted from between 30 seconds to 30 minutes before hand, some i would relate to increased power drain and vibrations from my sub, but even after i took it out i have had some problems. It is a tempermental problem, i have had 2 mechanics look at it and either; it fixed itself while they were checking it or they could not figure out the problem. I have had a play while the engine is messing up and i have occaisonally got results from adjusting (wiggling) the connections to the EFI unit. My best guess is that it is electrical in nature and possibly from a bad/dodgy/dry join somewhere in the system. My car works as normal under all circumstances and only plays up once every 8 to 10 months, for a random period. Presently working fine and i am about to attempt my 2nd 1700Km journey in this car, totally confident that the car will make it there and back (3400Km). The car has done just over 300,000Km with all original components, and while the auto box needs some work, it will last some more yet! Do not give up hope, just try some wiggling etc, maybe check the sensor log for the EFI/ air input sensors at a workshop and see what they say. I have seen in the forum that this has happened to X2, X3 and the later 1998 models, rare, but not unique. Personally i now just swear alot then try talking nice to the car, doens't always work, but sometimes, maybe it just makes me feel better, maybe it's just luck... who knows? Good luck with your endevours everyone!

My 92 Excel has very similar problems. Have spent hundreds of dollars with mechanics changing this and that, promising the problem would be fixed. The last thing tried, about 12 months ago and the car has been fine since, maybe coincidence. X2's have a second fuel filter right on the fuel tank. This was removed because it can affect fuel flow if bolcked. Apparantly they are pretty much useless so it was removed and just replaced with normal fuel line. No problems since.

Phew, this is a late post, but it'll be for anyone else who has this problem. i myself suffered this problem, im thinking its faulty or clogged fuel injectors. i ran a bottle of fuel injector cleaner through it and its been fine ever siince. just a friendly tip :)

I have the same problem in my carburated version of a 94 excel and I have no clue on what to do, where is this fuel filter located at, is it inside the tank or next to it? what else can I check? please help.