Smashed Spark in high RPM

YBenedykt

Member
Hi to all,

I own Opel Vectra C 2.2L 2008 Petrol Z22SE Engine. I had an issue with unstable RPM when the engine worked in idle mode, so I tried to clean the throttle with "Liqui Moly throttle valve cleaner" (petrol engine). After this process where the car had some difficulty to start again, I drove to the mechanics. During the drive, I tried to run the engine with high RPM and this caused the car to stop running, no breaks (no back pressure) and the engine could start only after 30 seconds again.. tried before but no starter at all . After it ignited again, I drove slowly to the mechanics. He added cleaning materials which didn't help, after he pulled out the sparks and found one smashed. He tried to fix it (return the gap in the spark) and the problem returned. After he replaced all 4 sparks I returned home and found that the same issue happened again. I tried to fix the problematic spark but every time I strain the engine while driving It smash the spark. I plan tomorrow to pull the sparks out again and see if in the Same position it is smashed. I also replaced the coil pack since I had spare part available.
I also conducted a test while all sparks were out, and running the starter for few seconds to observe if some oil is getting out (to check if cylinder rings are sealing) and no oil was getting out from the spark housings..
Any ideas? Do you think any foreign object is causing this?
Is the engine dead?
Thanks for any tips 🙏🏻🍻
 

YBenedykt

Member
Hi to all,

I own Opel Vectra C 2.2L 2008 Petrol Z22SE Engine. I had an issue with unstable RPM when the engine worked in idle mode, so I tried to clean the throttle with "Liqui Moly throttle valve cleaner" (petrol engine). After this process where the car had some difficulty to start again, I drove to the mechanics. During the drive, I tried to run the engine with high RPM and this caused the car to stop running, no breaks (no back pressure) and the engine could start only after 30 seconds again.. tried before but no starter at all . After it ignited again, I drove slowly to the mechanics. He added cleaning materials which didn't help, after he pulled out the sparks and found one smashed. He tried to fix it (return the gap in the spark) and the problem returned. After he replaced all 4 sparks I returned home and found that the same issue happened again. I tried to fix the problematic spark but every time I strain the engine while driving It smash the spark. I plan tomorrow to pull the sparks out again and see if in the Same position it is smashed. I also replaced the coil pack since I had spare part available.
I also conducted a test while all sparks were out, and running the starter for few seconds to observe if some oil is getting out (to check if cylinder rings are sealing) and no oil was getting out from the spark housings..
Any ideas? Do you think any foreign object is causing this?
Is the engine dead?
Thanks for any tips 🙏🏻🍻
Just updating that probably the cause was a blocked catalytic converter, I just removed it and it seems better, still small some signs of misfires (hope they will disappear after few drives) but the engine is not shutting down and feels with much more power.
 
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