[TeenageAlfa]

Hi everyone

I'm 19 and I've recently bought my very first Alfa, it's a 2004 147 1.9 jtd turismo edition, and the car was running great until one day I was driving and thewn suddenly my rev counter went to 0 and I lost all power and power steering and the car stopped and the engine system failure light came on, I tried starting it again but it wouldn't, my local mechanic who j=has over 25 years experience said that it made a tractor like noise and so it could be the injectors, so he checked and the injectors were pretty bad, so I changed all 4 of them, started the car and I have to say it sounded a lot better, however after 15 mins of driving it had the exact same problem.

I hope someone can help me out since I really do love alfas and this is just really ruining my love for them

sincerely TeenageAlfa

 

[gijst]

Well, most Alfas have their quirks and issues, but it can probably happen with a "safe purchase" vehicle like a Seat Ibiza orna VW Golf. Dont buy into the rumors that alfas arr the only possible car that csn have issues. As for your problem, Ive no advice other than have it diagnosed. Diagnostics should be able to specify what problem it has.

 

[dgmayhead]

That's a pretty expensive fix and was possibly not necessary. It sounds like a tractor because it's a diesel. I'd do some reading on cam sensors or crank sensors or loose connections to ecu, even bad earth from the battery. Always start with the cheapest solution or you'll rapidly fall out of love with your Alfa and your mechanic. The best mechanics are the ones who are still learning.

 

[TeenageAlfa]

Thanks for the advice, the crankshaft sensor was what my dad said it could be, but even if I drive slowly and keep the revs low, the engin still loses power and cuts out

 

[halftone]

If it fails when warmed up, but starts OK when cold, the crank position sensor is a probable cause. They do fail, on all cars, not just Alfas. Not expensive or difficult to replace, though access is awkward.

As gijst said, put the car on diagnostics and look for fault codes. This is the only way to avoid wasting money through guesswork. If you have a Windows laptop you can DIY with MultiECUscan and cables.

Changing the injectors could not fix this problem. A faulty injector will only affect a single cylinder, and the chances of all 4 failing at the same time are pretty much zero.

 

[sneaker]

Crank sensor is known to fail, do a search. Thankfully it's also cheap to replace, go for Bosch if you can.

 

[joeymannero]

That does sound like crank sensor failure..

As said before the 1.9 does sound like a bag of spanners being rattled by a madman in a cave...I should know I have one..injectors are unlikely tbh unless its a real high miler thats seen only cheap diesel and no injector cleaner.

And even then..

In order of things to look for

1)cps
2)tps
3)earth strap
4) but should probably be 1..check battery is ok.. especially under load. Banjaxed battery can cause all sorts of seemingly unrelated weirdness on these cars.

Oh and get codes read and post results ..if you dont already have one go buy an elm 327 bluetooth dongle and get torque app pro on your phone.

Easiest and cheapest way to read and clear fault codes.

Keep us posted and good luck.

 

[AussieAlex]

Definitely sounds like a crank sensor failure to me.

As a test. Buy a can of carb cleaner or throttle body cleaner or something of the sort. Take a friend or relative with you in the car and drive around until it stalls. Remove the intake hose and spray the carb cleaner into the intake while your friend/relative cranks over the engine. If it springs back to life then it is even more likely that its the crank sensor as they cut the fuel supply to the engine when they start to go bad or detect a problem. So when you spray the carb cleaner into the intake the engine will spring back to life as they are hydrocarbon based and you can usually start driving again so long as you stay on the throttle!

I would say this is the best place to start with this little test as a can of carb cleaner will cost you barely anything and its a good way to point more evidence towards the crank sensor.

 

[TeenageAlfa]

Wow it's amazing how quickly you get replies on here, thanks to everyone for the help!!! I'm putting the car through diagnostics tomorrow, I hope I can get going soon as with the summer holidays I need the car for long distance trips haha

 

[VO2Max]

Hope you get it fixed TeenageAlfa, TBH 1km journeys are the last thing in the world that ANY diesel car wants to do.

So I hope you get it sorted and get to give her some blasts up a motorway for the summer.

To be frank, if the normal diet of miles your car is going to be doing is very short trips, you'll be much better off with a petrol Alfa.