Citroen C3 Problem

[darbo1103]

Daughter has driven from home to Chester in her '03 reg Citroen C3 1.4 petrol, without any problems, a distance of about 150 miles. On her way home, just left Chester and at a speed of around 50 mph, the car had started 'kangarooing' as if it was going to stall, the speed had dropped through lack of power and she has had to stop at the side of the road. Left it for a while, started up, drove a short while and it did it again. Rang home in tears then called the recovery service out. Mechanic checked usual stuff under bonnet, couldn;t find anything obvious then told her to drive off with him following and drove for about 5 miles without any problems. She has carried on and driven back home without even a cough from the *%^*£$ car. Any ideas what it could have been?

[tonyav]

Do you know if the engine management light came on ?.

[Hopkirk]

Does she know what the engine management light looks like?

[darbo1103]

She had no lights on the dash and no indication of any problems. The only light she had was the battery light, which came on for literally a split second. She said she thought it came on as she nearly stalled. Mechanic checked battery leads and what wiring he could at the roadside, but couldn't find anything wrong. He said it's either electrical or possible a fuel issue. Strange how she drive the 150 miles back without any problems though. She was terrified as she's never experienced anything like this before.

[SpikeyBush]

Could it be an iffy tank of petrol? If contaminated with water I would have thought this would come through the lines first, being heavier than the petrol so after recovery came out all impurities would have gone?

[tonyav]

If it was fuel it seems to have cleared it self but if I were her I would get some injector cleaner from an accessory shop and add to the fuel.
If it is electrical, then check the battery earth lead especially where it is bolted to the car body also any other earth lead connections ( there is usually one from the engine or the gearbox to the car body ).

[darbo1103]

Thanks to you both for the suggestions. I'll check the car in the morning and report back if I find anything. Bless her, she was shattered by the time she got home as she didn't want to stop in case something happened.

[anaxcrosswords]

Another possibility is fuel starvation due to the petrol filler cap not allowing any air to pass through it. This creates a vacuum sucking air back into the tank from the carb. Unscrew the petrol cap and listen for the extent to which you hear a rush of air.

[darbo1103]

She did fill up from our local Sainsbury's garage before she left, so 'iffy' fuel, possibly.

[SpikeyBush]

I had a Mk. IV Ford Cortina once that would never run on Tesco petrol, and a Vauxhall Belmont that would never run on Texaco petrol

[EDDIE51]

Sounds like a fuel problem, was the tank very low before she filled up? May have picked up some sludge / moisture from the bottom of the tank, this has happened to me, it sound just like the same problem especially as it is fine again now.

[darbo1103]

Well people. We have driven the car for about 200 miles over the weekend at various speeds and road conditions........... not even a hiccup from it!!! As some of you have said, I think it was a fuel issue which caused the problem. The mechanic did rev it a few times, so perhaps something stuck in the injector was blown out with this action. Thanks for your assistance and help in the matter. Hopefully no problems from now on for her.