Lack of power in Ford Laser!

Fair man · 13-12-2007, 07:47 AM

Hi

Can anyone help?

My daughter has a KQ Laser which at operating Temperature has a distinct lack of power on take off.

When cold it takes off well from stand still, but once up to operating temperature there is virtually little to no throttle response until you actually get moving above about 60kph & around 3,000RPM!

The car has done 136,000 kms & I believe the timing belt was done at 100K mark.

My suspicions are - Spark Plugs, Injectors or Catalytic convertor?

Anyone with any suggestions?

Regards

Casablanca · 13-12-2007, 08:58 AM

spark pugs i would say had the same problem with a laser that i had replaced spark plugs= fixed problem lol

swanee · 13-12-2007, 10:58 AM

Coils are usually a problem in the lasers.

But wouldn't hurt to check other things first.

Cheers

Fair man · 13-12-2007, 11:21 PM

Thanks heaps Guys.
I'll let you know.

ac351 · 15-12-2007, 10:03 AM

Had a similar problem in the wifes KN Laser. Changed the coils and plugs but no difference. Then changed the air flow meter (about $300) and that fixed the problem. Your problem could be either of these 3.

marellano · 07-01-2008, 10:28 PM

Hi,

I've got Laser KN as well and before you buy anything, try cleaning the MAF sensor. I cleaned mine and what a difference in fuel economy and response.
You should also clean your throttle butterfly while your in there..

Also I'm not sure if this is allowed here but here's a great link to a site I found on how to do this...

http://www.mazda6tech.com/index.php?...id=62&Itemid=1

Mick

swanee · 04-02-2008, 09:44 AM

What was the problem?

numbnutz69 · 16-07-2011, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fair man

Hi

Can anyone help?

My daughter has a KQ Laser which at operating Temperature has a distinct lack of power on take off.

When cold it takes off well from stand still, but once up to operating temperature there is virtually little to no throttle response until you actually get moving above about 60kph & around 3,000RPM!

The car has done 136,000 kms & I believe the timing belt was done at 100K mark.

My suspicions are - Spark Plugs, Injectors or Catalytic convertor?

Anyone with any suggestions?

Regards

Hi, I realise this is an old post (and my first) but I am at a loss as to what to do. I recently bought a 2001 KQ LXI 1.6 Laser for my son to learn to drive in. It exhibits the exact same behavior as described above.

When cold, the car runs perfectly, however as it warms up to operating temp, it gradually develops this horrible lack of power until the car is a dog to drive.It seems like the car has these multiple flat spots through various throttle positions with a couple of very small sweet spots where the car will run reasonably ok.

Once you hit a hill though, everything all but dies and in some cases I am back to first gear to get up the hill. Back on the flat the problem improves till the car drives almost ok. When the car is under load & the problem occurs, it feels like it bogs down & it gets this deep groan out the standard exhaust.

What the mechanic has found.
1) The timing seems to retard (hence the exhaust groan) but doesn't seem to want to advance until the revs get up above 3-4000 rpm.

What has been tried.
1) Timing belt checked to make sure all is OK and it hasn't skipped position. Recently installed belt prior to my purchase.
2)New AFM & TPS
3)Coil packs checked for spark to make sure all ok.
4)Fuel pressure checked (Not while driving the car though)
5)No fault codes

The car has 185000kms on the clock and is a 5 speed manual. I am at an absolute loss as to what is going on here or where to go from here. This is the third mechanic (& only one willing to put some effort in) that the car has been to and what started as a $5000 car is working out to be very expensive. At this stage we have forked out another $1000 in costs and yet no closer to getting the car working as it should.

I have come here hoping someone has any suggestions or possible fixes that we can try?

Many thanks in advance.

fasty73 · 16-07-2011, 05:25 PM

Blocked cat.

numbnutz69 · 16-07-2011, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fasty73

Blocked cat.

Hi Fasty, thanks for getting back so quick. When the car does run ok it does rev right out & the car does not over heat. I would have thought a blocked cat would prevent the car reving out and would overheat the engine?

fasty73 · 16-07-2011, 08:25 PM

Doesn't cause overheating, just lack of power and won't rev past about 5000rpm. If it's loose and moving, that will cause intermittent problems.

numbnutz69 · 16-07-2011, 10:12 PM

It does rev freely. The new AFM was put in yesterday and I have driven the car a bit today and it seems to be improving. There are definite flat spots throughout the throttle range with a sweet spot just after half throttle. If I balance the throttle in that sweet spot it goes really well.

No wonder a blokes hair is falling out.

numbnutz69 · 22-07-2011, 09:33 PM

OK, the car is back to running crap. Filled up with fuel on Wednesday night, dove to work Thursday (6 kms) and back home at the end of the day. I had to go to a meeting that evening 25 kms away and the car was terrible. Really starting to p&^% me off and don't know where to go.

Mechanic suggested loosening off the fuel filler cap to see if there was a problem with the fuel tank not breathing. Made no difference. It really does seem like the timing is retarding under load but it is all over the place. Could it possibly be a faulty knock sensor or I am getting false knocks from somewhere?

Where would the knock sensor be on a 2001 KQ laser 1.6?

Thanks

290v · 02-08-2011, 08:24 PM

common problem air flow meter it is situated on the intake tube on top turn the car off unplug it and go for a driver if the power returns then the sensor need replacing my daughter had the same prob.

numbnutz69 · 02-08-2011, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 290v

common problem air flow meter it is situated on the intake tube on top turn the car off unplug it and go for a driver if the power returns then the sensor need replacing my daughter had the same prob.

Thanks for that. The AFM has been replaced an still no difference. Had the car at another mechanics today that has a full scan machine & what I assume is some sort of machine they can put the car on & drive to to capture time real data.

Guess what, the timing ******* (no ****) but they can't work out why either. They are now saying that they want to check the timing belt position as well. WTF I must have sucker tattooed across my forehead. I can see I am going to loose a bucket load of money of this piece of crap.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

numbnutz69 · 04-08-2011, 05:57 PM

Ok, so now I have calmed down a bit I am going to try and find the problem myself through a process of elimination and need some help if I can.

What sensor controls the fuel mixture when the car is cold? or is it strictly controlled by the ECU until the temp gets to a certain point.

Once the car is warm or warming up, how is the mixture controlled? I assume through the ECU does this based on signals from the TPS, AFM and O2 sensor?

Thanks for any help or suggestions

290v · 07-08-2011, 10:09 AM

might sound strange but google kn laser problems

numbnutz69 · 07-08-2011, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 290v

might sound strange but google kn laser problems

Hi 290V,
Thanks for the tip. I did google and found plenty of problems with a few similar to my problem. Just to recap for anyone else who may read this, 2001 KQ 1.6 Laser when warm has severe power loss and hesitations under load. The problem gets progressively worse as the car warms up starting out as a few flats spots in the throttle range to flat out getting up my driveway when the car is at operating temp.The car also gets this hottish smell about it although the temp is normal.This tends to suggest a lean mixture right?

The majority seemed to be things like faulty coil packs or leads (mine supposedly tested ok), faulty TPS (mine has been replaced), faulty AFM (mine has been replaced), faulty temp sensor (again mine has been replaced),car temp gets to about 85 degrees when at full operating temp (or so the mechanic says), faulty or blocked CAT (mine has been removed & inspected & is supposedly ok).

I tried your suggestion of unplugging the AFM and taking the car for a drive, the car wouldn't idle & the battery light was on but I could keep it going by holding my foot on the throttle, still run like crap.

The problem only happens when the car starts to warm up. I unplugged the new temp sensor & plugged the old temp sensor in & just let it hang under the bonnet. The car runs like a dream because it senses the car is not at operating temp & I assume runs a rich mixture. We drove around most of yesterday like this & the car ran perfectly.

With everything back together I then unplugged the 02 sensor & took the car for a drive, no different. I then unplugged the knock sensor and the car still drove like crap.

This is severely doing my head in. It would be good if I could go to the wreckers & try some parts or swap them out before I buy them (coil packs, ECU). I just simply can't afford to keep putting money into this with no outcome.

Thanks for to anyone who has any more suggestions. Anything is welcomed.

XRATE-UTERUS · 07-08-2011, 06:18 PM

lack of power.................................. lol its a laser! THE END!

numbnutz69 · 14-08-2011, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRATE-UTERUS

lack of power.................................. lol its a laser! THE END!

Well that's original...Maybe it is because it is a FORD? (Fixed On Regular Days)

Anyway I guess I will never know the problem now. Have decided to get rid of the piece of crap after forking out so much on it & trying to find the fault. Have lost a wad of cash & the car goes tomorrow, but live & learn I suppose.

Russ · 16-08-2011, 06:48 PM

Did you try replacing spark plug leads at all ? It would be a cheaper option, especially if you haven't managed to get rid of the car yet :(

numbnutz69 · 17-08-2011, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ

Did you try replacing spark plug leads at all ? It would be a cheaper option, especially if you haven't managed to get rid of the car yet :(

Hi Russ,
Car is gone now. Traded it and bought another car. All up lost $5000 out of the whole ordeal.

Case closed

Russ · 17-08-2011, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by numbnutz69

Hi Russ,
Car is gone now. Traded it and bought another car. All up lost $5000 out of the whole ordeal.

Case closed

No worries mate, been there done that, you live and learn but unfortunately sometimes it can be an expensive lesson :(

Best of luck with this one

possum86 · 05-01-2014, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 290v

common problem air flow meter it is situated on the intake tube on top turn the car off unplug it and go for a driver if the power returns then the sensor need replacing my daughter had the same prob.

so i have just purchased a kg laser for a daily and am having the same issue misses and lack of power i have disconnected the AFM and the car runs great but the battery light comes on may be a week or so before i can get a new afm does the battery charge i cant check as dont have an multi meter and this is defintley the issue ? im thinking it is as all other cars ran worse when afm was disconnected were this runs great ?

Thanks

290v · 15-01-2014, 10:15 PM

another problem i found by luck is that the intake tube between the Air Filter & Throttle body splits underneath and on acceleration it opens up and you get a lack in power as well but when idling the hole is closed

Quote:

Originally Posted by possum86

so i have just purchased a kg laser for a daily and am having the same issue misses and lack of power i have disconnected the AFM and the car runs great but the battery light comes on may be a week or so before i can get a new afm does the battery charge i cant check as dont have an multi meter and this is defintley the issue ? im thinking it is as all other cars ran worse when afm was disconnected were this runs great ?

Thanks

Simple6 · 20-10-2014, 10:54 PM

I know it's a late response, but I recently had a similar issue with lack of power/surging as described above.

Ended up cleaning the (very dirty) MAF with electrical contact cleaner spray on the visible sensor part which gave a small improvement. I then pulled the MAF off again and sprayed it up inside tube this time. A lot of dirt flowed out and I haven't had an issue since - the cars returned it's best again.

Just thoughts for anyone finding this thread in the future.

graham7773 · 23-11-2014, 12:00 PM

I just read this whole post and threads and I am amazed that nobody mentioned fuel pump or fuel filter or even air filter. These items alone or in combination can cause the symptoms talked about here and more. Fair enough re maf sensor et al but often the simplest things are the things that cause most problems. By the way, do nottry to clean the MAF with throttle and carby cleaner. You will most likely kill it. I was cleaning out my grandson's Astra intake manifold and got some on my screwdriver handle. It took about 2 minutes for the handle to warp out of shape.

Post script, Simple6, how's the weather at The Alice?

FalconHellMate · 06-01-2022, 12:20 PM

Hi Guys, late to the party with this I know, have had same issues with the old faithful rocket ��. Bought for my son but ended up using as a daily

Car used to go reasonably well, now doesn’t ….

Full service ✅
Air Filter ✅
Fuel Filter ✅
Spark plugs ✅
Coil Packs & leads ✅
Throttle Body Clean ✅

Still doesn’t go - flat to the boards away from traffic lights I could deadset walk faster

Next is fuel pump and if that doesn’t fix it I’ll be replacing the Cat Converter