My 92 metro Xfi surges while driving, as if I were pumping the gas pedal. This occurred after I put in a new ignition coil. I read that when a new part is installed, the computer adjusts itself and, while doing so, the car runs erratically. Unfortunately, it’s been about 2 weeks and not getting any better. I had previously replaced the fuel pump relay. Since it is hard to find parts for this car, I need to have a pretty good idea what the problem is before I start a parts search (if I need to)
A 32 year old car is going to have some weird problems. There’s no way around it.
The first thing that came to my mind was a bad or failing Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor.
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On a car that old it’s unlikely the computer would have to make any adjustments to accommodate a new ignition coil. What was the problem with the original coil?
I used to have a 93 Suzuki Swift, a very similar car but with a 4 cylinder engine. Also briefly owned a 96 Metro with the 3 cylinder engine.
I’m doubting this is related to the fuel pump relay or the ignition coil. My 92 Corolla developed a similar symptom, made it nearly impossible to drive through the neighborhood at slow speeds, caused by a faulty idle air control device. On my car replacing that device requires replacing the entire throttle body, so my solution was to just disable that device.
I don’t think the TBI i3 in the Metro had a mass-air sensor.
Why was the coil replaced?? Try a different coil, could have bought a defective/damaged one, how many years was it sitting on a shelf and moved from place to the next, dropped etc etc etc…
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After the engine warms up to operating temperature, when trying to accelerate, the car surges going down the road as though I were pumping up and down on the gas pedal. This happened after I installed a new ignition coil. I installed a new ignition coil since the car had some hesitation during driving (nothing like now) and after turning the engine off on a hot day, it wouldn’t start. In older cars we would call that air entrapment (bubble in the fuel line). Granted, I only assumed it was the ignition coil, but even so, installing a new one shouldn’t be doing this.
I had a similar problem with a VW and the problem it was having went away. Granted, the new coil was an educated (?) guess, but even so, why should a NEW part behave this way? I’d like to try a different coil, but I’m going to have to pay for it first. I will probably do that anyway.
I was once told by a manufacture that the reason parts have warranty’s on them is because they can fail, sometimes from the start…
You should be able to take the coil back and exchange it for another one under warranty just to see if it makes a difference…
I would also look under the distributer cap for any corrosion and or carbon tracks, maybe even clean it really good, as well as the tip of the rotor button, check the ignition wire terminals on top off the cap for corrosion also… Make sure there is no up and down or sideways movement of the distributer shaft… Make sure no corrosion on either end of the ignition wires… I don’t know how old any of that stuff is, so if not replaced recently, good to check it all out… Check ignition timing and make sure it is not jumping around… Hope you can sort this out… Go back to the basics and start from scratch…
Thank you. Good advice, but I have to keep in mind this was not a gradual change. It happened abruptly and intensely as soon as the coil was changed. I should’ve taken all those measures BEFORE I changed the coil.
Checking the fuel pressure, not just for static pressure but also for volume and under some load probably isn’t a bad idea.
If you have the prior coil, you could re-install it. Might give you a clue what’s going on. New parts failing right out of the box isn’t an uncommon complaint here. Especially for non-oem aftermarket parts.
The fuel pressure does indeed fluctuate according to my mechanic, but why would it do that by simply changing the coil? Is the computer trying to adjust to the new part?
Unfortunately I don’t. I thought the new part would solve the difficult starting and slight hesitation problems and if not, at least it should show no change. Not so.
Maybe the coil wasn’t the original problem? Maybe you’re chasing the wrong tail? In other words, you’re stuck on the idea that your initial problem was the coil. Maybe it was a cavitating fuel pump instead. A fuel pump can “mostly” create the right pressure but not always be pumping liquid.
I understand that you perceive this as a “new” problem after the new coil. But maybe not…
Does this car have an easily accessible fuel pressure test port? And do you have a fuel pressure gauge?
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You might be able to find a known good used oem coil at a reasonable price at a car-parts recycler. Installing a known good coil is the test I’d do, either used or new from a dealership.
Suggest in the future to keep all parts removed from your car, at least long enough to allow a back-track if a problem develops afterward.
Does this only happen when the engine is warm and trying to accelerate? Does it always accelerate fine when cold? Does it surge at any other time (steady-state driving, idle, etc.) or only when accelerating?
Good advice. I usually do keep the old parts, at least until the problems is fixed. Lesson learned.
So far, it only surges when warm and accelerating.
Any chance the high tension lead from the coil to the distributor is not plugged in all the way?