Lack Of Power After Heavy Rain/Puddles

On Monday this week after driving home in heavy rain my TD4 2003 decided to be sluggish and total lack of power. No fault codes or light.

I have a synergy 2 with Bosch MAF fitted. I thought it might be the MAF so I bought the Pierburgh version that must be used with the Synergy. That has nearly solved the problem, but it seems to lack low down torque slightly and knocks out black smoke over 3000 rpm.

I'm now going to look at intercooler hoses. The air filter was changed last year at 5000 miles ago. Crankcase Filter also changed. Anyone have any ideas?

Where did you buy the new MAF from, if not Rover Ron then I'd check on his website to make sure you have the correct one. Sounds like the inter cooler hoses could be the problem especially the drivers side hose that rubs through on the manifold bracket.

Bought from Rover Ron. It might be mentioning that a vaccuum hose that runs behind the air box got kinked in the air box at some point in the cars life but doesn't seem to have caused me any problems in the year that I had the car.

I thought it might be the MAF so I bought the Pierburgh version that must be used with the Synergy. That has nearly solved the problem, but it seems to lack low down torque slightly

Click to expand...

the pierburgh maf does give a slightly different response compared to the bosch maf
be a tad weaker at the lower rpm range .. ( under 1500 rpm )

the difference can be seen via comparison numbers
at the bottom of this page :
Maf sensor problems.

.. and knocks out black smoke over 3000 rpm.

Click to expand...

is that a veritable choking black cloud ..
or a haze under full throttle ?

'cause with the synergy'2a' at its highest setting ..
the latter is normal ( according to r.r. ) ..
although it's usualy seen only with certain atmospheric conditions ..

What setting is the synergy on, 6 onwards is for the Pierburg MAF. I usually have mine set to 7 and the in cab switch set on Eco mode, move it up to 9 with the in cab switch in the power position and I also get black smoke but no loss of power, goes like whatsit of a shovel instead.

Also check your electrical conections/etc for water ingress

twister1264 said:

On Monday this week after driving home in heavy rain my TD4 2003 decided to be sluggish and total lack of power. No fault codes or light.

I have a synergy 2 with Bosch MAF fitted. I thought it might be the MAF so I bought the Pierburgh version that must be used with the Synergy. That has nearly solved the problem, but it seems to lack low down torque slightly and knocks out black smoke over 3000 rpm.

I'm now going to look at intercooler hoses. The air filter was changed last year at 5000 miles ago. Crankcase Filter also changed. Anyone have any ideas?

Click to expand...

Is that a facelift model? If so have a look at the earth connection at the Low Pressure fuel pump under the OS Rear wheel arch. Had similar problems which I put down to the pump. However on replacing it I could see the earth connection was very badly corroded which I think will have been the root cause.

I have the synergy on 10. It was on five with the Bosch MAF. The rear arch pump sounds ok. (it was new last year)

The black smoke is like a jet. Kicks out in a line.

So is the Pierburgh MAF slightly weaker than then the Bosch?

twister1264 said:

I have the synergy on 10. It was on five with the Bosch MAF. The rear arch pump sounds ok. (it was new last year)

The black smoke is like a jet. Kicks out in a line.

So is the Pierburgh MAF slightly weaker than then the Bosch?

Click to expand...

I , replaced the bosch , which was causing some smoke with a synergy for a pierburg maf , which solved the issue

twister1264 said:

I have the synergy on 10. It was on five with the Bosch MAF. The rear arch pump sounds ok. (it was new last year)

The black smoke is like a jet. Kicks out in a line.

So is the Pierburgh MAF slightly weaker than then the Bosch?

Click to expand...

10 is the max position for the synergy and is not used by many other users. It is also suggested that this setting can cause premature failure of your injectors, try turning it down to 7 or 8 and see if the black smoke clears. 5 is the max for the Bosch MAF and 10 for the Pierburg, the Pierburg MAF is supposed to be an improved replacement.

Even on eight it still smoked over 3000rpm. I'm going to take off the inlet manifold and check all intercooler pipes and inspect airfiter on Tuesday if the weather allows me.

Could be the injector/s in that case, do a search for lnjector leak back test as there are quite a few threads. As I'm sure you already know, black smoke is unburned fuel so either shortage of air (intercooler hoses/air filter) or overfueling.

After reading the OP's original post and seeing the word 'puddle' in the thread title, makes me think that all the talk of MAFs, injectors, and Synergy settings may not be reason for the smoke if there was no smoke before driving through heavy rain and standing water.

I'd be suspecting water has got to the air-filter and thus the problem is not enough air - not too much fuel.

Singvogel.

Time for an update. Drove 30 miles this morning and things seem much better. I'm guessing that water must of got in and the air filter might of been damp. This black smoke has now turned to a faint haze on setting eight and ten and only when floored from idle.

After inspecting the Bosch MAF there is some residue on it. It must of been overfueling low down on the revs which gave me the strong take of torque and slight jerk when leaving off from standstill. The new Pierburgh MAF seems smoother for the power delivery but lacked ever so slightly the low down torque of the old MAF.

Thanks for your help peeps.