fuel pressure regulators

what do they do?
Simple vacuum levels.
At idle  an engine  as a  certain  level of vacuum  that alters  depending  on  throttle  opening etc.
The fuel regulator  can if faulty give  rise to  serious  issues  including  an over rich  condition  if the diagprham controlling  pressure  is  ruptured

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

you dont know what is lurking in the pile of snow

Just snow?
Never take it for granted that  nothing is  lurking in that innocent looking clump of snow  in the road  ahead.
Bricks  rocks whatever  are all great  candidtes  for wrecking some vital  component  on your car.
The favorite is  of course  damaged  suspension  but  equally so  it can be  lambda sensors  lying very  close to  the road.
We have had  just this since the boxing day  snow.A bang followed  by the engine warning light coming on

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

well a quick one

okay so  we had   a  quick look at  a fiesta  with a surging idle  today.
no  engine  light,the  customer wanted a  diagnosis  on it there and then but not on boxing  day.
They were  due to  travel to bristol,if it was  just a  sticky throttle  plate then they can get away with it

lunar auto diagnostics

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

flat tyre struth

well the personal  motor here as a flat typical

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

thats it happy xmas

well weve done  for xmas  have a good  one everybody
Thanks  for all the business   see you again next year

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

We have no idea

Well if this  bloke turns up needing assistance we  will be  none the wiser to say the  least.
Could it be  injection  problems?reindeer cough  we   have some swatting up to  do

up the compression ratio

Back in its  day  increasing the compression  ratio was a quick fire way to  gain a few more horsepower.
Not something to be recommended with  today's fuels,far netter to  concentrate on head mods  ie  bigger valves porting etc

The spark plug

Well all  petrol engines  use them.
The  job they do is  a very stressed one,igniting the  fuel mixture under    massive  loads  without  breaking  down  in fact they are  little  miracles  of engineering
Claims  have been  made  for  different designs of plug in  mpg terms  but  they are just that we think  claims and  nothing more

is your immobiliser giving you more than just locking out thieves

All cars  now  have immobilisers.
They work by disarming key elements  of the cars  management system.Ignition  or  fuel  injectors  ie simply  disarming   the fuel  pump.
In older versions of this system the  immobiliser  may not  always   be left out of the picture causing you   running issues

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

beware of cheap car parts

Its  all to tempting to fit cheap car parts>Yes it saves you a few  quid  but in the long  run  it costs you  more
Obviously a dealer will fleece you  so  you need to seek out a  specialists  there are plenty around
If yo  own a volvo then braydons  in london is the place to go.
If you  have your car serviced by a garage ask them about  parts  and the sources  they use

testing the MAF sensor

This  little sensor performs  a vital  role measuring  the amount  of air flowing into  your  engine
Very sensitive to  poor quality  cleaners fibres from these  wreak havoc  with  hot wire system

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

Warning lights plenty of them

You need to sit down and read  up on  the various  lights that can appear on your dash board indicating you have a problem
Engine fault lights,oil warning lights
Oil lights  some explanation.The  most common is  oil pressure which  extinguishes when  you  oil pressure reaches  a certain level
OIl level lights are just that.
Both important,the oil level will tell you of  imminent problems where as the oil pressure light will pop on  to say  your engine is knackered  while doing  70  down the motorway
So the motto is  keep an eye on your oil level probably the simplest  maintenance task  going,and  check for oil leaks  from the engine,all a lot simpler and less expensive than a new engine

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Cars need this

Running a car is  expensive
Insurance  tax  regular maintenance are a heavy burden to bear.
This can  be eased by  regular maintenance and maybe teaching   your self some  skills  to carry out your your own  maintenance
A word of warning here   working on key areas of your car ie brakes and suspension  needs a lot of skill and knowledge,all to easy to drop your self in it.
The best way to learn is to attend  classes   many are available just ask at your local library.
Getting the basics of oil changing etc  is pretty straightforward

Service history

Buying a new car?
Service history is a major point in your decision  but  but  some great cars cab be missing a service history.
Golden rule if you dont know anything about cars don't  go looking  by yourself.You need somebody who is experienced   otherwise you risk falling into a hole and buying a real lemon
The rac  offer a check service as do the AA.
If you buy from a big reputable  seller then good but again  dont trust them to  destruction  always get some body knowledgable on ther case.
Buying privately as some  major rules,ignorethem at your peril
No1  what is the area like if its ashit hole then  very likely the car  will be as well.
Use a postcode checker to look at the areas  demographics ie what is the wage level etc.
If you know your area  then its easy to avoid  shit holes.However if your travelling to an unknown are its  a different matter.
Use google earth  along with your post code checker,don't just look at the actual post code have a good  shuftie wth google e earth get the feel for the area surrounding.................remember if the area is low end so will the car.....................don't waste your time taking it any further

This is what you need in good condition

Your cars battery as a  certain life span,treat it well and you will get the most out of it.
if your car  engine is turning over sluggishly then  its not always the problem
Your alternator must be producing the right voltage all cables clean ,it takes very little crud on the batteries terminals to  allow voltage to faltten the  battery while stood overnight.
Parasitic current draw are another  point easily tested by measuring amp pull with everything off,obviously there will be some due to say the clock or alarm but his is measured in milliamps
Its worth checking all your interior lights actually extinguish

engine sensors and their location

Some sensors lay in the  most inhospitable spots  needing major dismantling to  just to give them a visual
And its the most difficult to get t o one that wil be at fault.
Often a full  continuity check is needed on the entire wiring  of the cars ecu  system   needing full access to  all sensors including the little blighter  lurking under a  manifold or power steering pump

lunar auto diagnostics

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

now resigned to history

the old ignition points  these  were  a regular   maintenance item  either the   points faces  wear out or the   heel wears and sends the timing   haywire
Wel they are still here on the old classics and  more and more old classics  are being restored
It was always better to measure dwell angle to finalise the points gap,in fact our up to date unit  still as dwell angle   in its functions selector


Tel:07891903013

lunar auto diagnostics

Full range of engine fault diagnostic services Contact us for help

125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

psst ferraris are actually rubbish

Seems the epitomy of cars is a ferrari........well we have to tell you they are a  big  bag of  unreliable mess.
One of our customers a rather wealthy characyer owns one of the italian jobbies.After  a year of ownership he as  chucked the towel in and now owns  a ford mondeo.

lunar auto diagnostics

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

This beastie used to lurk in every car ..........almost

Heres  a  little gauge that used to feature in virtually every car back in the seventies
The vacuum gauge
Used for economy driving and to diagnose running faults in your car yep in fact economy meters that are built into your car still use engine vacuum to  judge your fuel usage.
But a vacuum gauge in yoour car and watching the needle to keep it in the economy tange is a skill to be learned.
Better MPG  boils down to not sticking your foot  down so hard

lunar auto diagnostics

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

The rpm waveform

This a typical waveform from an rpm sensor using induction  rather than the hall effect method
Notice the  large difference in the waveform that is  the cut-out our TDC  position   on the teeth ring.
There are more  advanced sensor  signal but this is the most common

Tel:07891903013

lunar auto diagnostics

Full range of engine fault diagnostic services Contact us for help

125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

clutch cables

a clutch as one very link the operating mechanism.
either hydraulic or cable both methods are under a lot of stress.
hydraulic will give you a warning cables simply fail and drop you right in the do do

lunar auto diagnostics

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

The knock sensor

Knock sensors can be seen hee in the centre of this picture attached to  the block
They are literally microphones listening for  the tell tale sound of an engine pinging,which if detected   retards  the ignition.
An easy waty  to test these are operatimg properly is to hook up the oscilloscope and watch for a signal.

lunar auto diagnostics

Full range of engine fault diagnostic services Contact us for help

125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

the fuel pump at the heart of all matters

The fuel pump on an injection system performs a vital role.
If it fails or gives troubles it will land you in the proverbials and big time.
Usually they are very  reliable and give no problems,its the electrical supply that usually speaks up and gives you troubles not the pump itself.
Two parameters effect  pumps rate and pressure.
Rate  can be checked by simply measuring how fuel is delivered over a certain time and pressure with a gauge,however the various fittings make life very interesting

A little on injector spray patters

Here is a  nice  image giving you some insight on the state of an injectors spray patter when   deposits have built up on  or rather  in the injector body.
We donr recommend the use of in tank cleaners,other than to keep the deposits building up to anything other than light levels.
Every 30k all the injectors need removing and cleaning ultrasonically.After cleaning flow rates leakage test need carrying out  and ensuring flow rates are  very close to each other on all injectors either 4 or 12 it doesn't matter

Do you feel the car belongs in a scrap yard

How do you feel about your   car?
Do you feel it belongs in the nearest   scrap yard.
Buying second hand is a game fraught with risk.Take the trouble to learn about the cars history.How many owners?
Owner numbers is always is a good pointer.People get rid of cars  for a reason and the no1 reson is problems.
Thrashed cars are the biggest concern.Always let somebody other than yourself drive a  car for you so they are giving you an objective view or whether or not it drives like a dog,don't let your heart rule your head

Teaching basic car maintenance

We believe in teaching  any car owner the basics of maintenance,so if your  not scared of getting your hands mucky and   like it hands on  give us  a  call

Secondary ignition waveform analysis

We have touched on this before,however it needs  running over again the  secondary ignition waveform
This is little understood by the  majority of mechanics,sad because it a  massive diagnostic  information
Like any thing worthwhile it needs input from the user,it doesnt simply fall in your lap.
Here is a  shot from a typical use of the waveform for diagnostics

The clutch in your car

A cars clutch wears simply because it uses  friction like your brakes  in fact  a clutch is a brake in reverse.
Sticking the clutch pedal down  releases the fraction plate and bingo no drive enabling you to change gear.
AS you lift the clutch pedal up the friction plate  is squashed again by the  pressure plate with roughly ten  tons of force
Clutch wear is caused   or rather speeded up by clutch slipping,either the clutch fully down  or fully up is the motto.
Clutch problems can be mistaking  for engine running faults especially clutch slip or the pressure plate not being driven properly due to either oil or

lunar auto diagnostics

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
sRegion">south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

Is your engine reaching full temperature

Your engines temperature is  a vital factor in  how  well it runs
Its a fairly simple device that  from start stops the flow of water through your engines radiator.
Only when it starts to open at say  89c does water  heated by the engine begin to flow through your rad.
In fact thermostat  can open way to early   allowing your engine to run far to cool

an old picture but still with lots of information

Here is a view of our hameg 407 taken some time ago now being used to  check sensors on a volvo  850
Beside it is laptop that can  be used to run the oscilloscope remotely giving even more flexibility.
Of a course  a DSO unit can be attached to the laptop  using the computer processing power   to capture very fast events  involved in secondary ignition waveform analysis

Learn how to drive?

Sounds daft but yes learn how to drive.
Over revving an engine when cold,or just trying to take an engine to its  rev limit all conspire to  cause your engine stress and  wear.
From a  cold start  keep your revs low and dont   push  things  in a high  gear.
Oil only circulates round you engine properly when  it as reached its full operating temperature

Tel:07891903013

Current pull and voltage

Checking the current draw of any component is a  very useful diagnostic tool.
Usually measuring current means  tapping into the wire which is to say the least a pain in the butt.
Instead  a current clamp is employed that  encloses the cable using the magnetic field to check the units  current pull.
This can be very useful in the case of fuel injectors checking for poor wiring

fuel trims and their diagnostics power

Fuel trims?
Not that complicated really the engine in an ideal world needs no  fuel  trim corrections to  keep things centred around the 14:1 ratio.
As things change in the engine and its state so the engines ecu  needs to either  add or subtract fuel ie air leaks cause  +values or fuel added to allow for  the excess air drawn into the engine

lunar auto diagnostics

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125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

The internals of a fuel injector

Here is a neat little animation  giving you the low  down on the operation of a fuel injector
Tue most accurate piece of engineering on your car

TEl:07891903013

lunar auto diagnostics

Full range of engine fault diagnostic services Contact us for help

125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

ECUs strapped to engine blocks

Vauxhaul really did have a case of the heebies when it decided to strap ECUS to engines
Loads of temperature changes,loads of vibration all acting to mess up electronics within
If you have any vauxhaul fro 2000 say up to  2003 then you wil have this little  no  no lurking under your bonnet waiting to rear its head.
Fault codes coming and going strange behaviour all point to the ECU.Considering a new one is £400 its all to easy for the car to end up in the scrappers
zafiras,omegas,astras all fall into this  position

Tel:07891903013

lunar auto diagnostics

Full range of engine fault diagnostic services Contact us for help

125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq

You are the best diagnostics tool

Your car your issue.
Driving a car is a question of  wearing it,it becomes an extension of all your senses.
How many times have you sat next to somebody driving a car and had them say can you hear that or listen there is that tick.
Your car becomes  a friend a lover even

lunar auto diagnostics

Full range of engine fault diagnostic services Contact us for help

125,east bawtry road
Rotherham
south Yorkshire
s60 4lq