Cars are complicated things. And most of us use them so much that it can be easy to forget the sheer complexity of the processes that allow us to start the engine, drive along a road, and bring it to a stop. Unfortunately, most of us only tend to remember that again when something goes wrong \u2013 and if your engine suddenly isn\u2019t accelerating as powerfully as you need it to when you\u2019re out on a busy road, that can be a particularly scary reminder.<\/p>\n
Now, before you start thinking I need to scrap my car<\/a><\/strong>, the slightly more reassuring news is that it can often be narrowed down to a relatively simple issue \u2013 and if you\u2019re lucky, one that\u2019s reasonably easy to fix.<\/p>\n If your car runs on petrol or diesel as opposed to electricity, your engine is powered by a chemical reaction; essentially, the ignition of an air\/fuel mixture within its internal combustion chamber. Which is, let\u2019s be honest, pretty cool.<\/p>\n For this process to happen smoothly and consistently though, it requires a couple of components to play really crucial roles. Your ignition coils and your spark plugs are arguably the most critical.<\/p>\n Basically, the job of your ignition coil<\/strong> is to convert the low current from a car battery into sufficient power to ignite the fuel\/air mixture, and start your engine. If it\u2019s faulty though, then that mixture won\u2019t ignite properly, and you can end up with rough idling, low power in your engine, or even no power at all.<\/p>\n Spark plugs<\/strong>, on the other hand, work in close tandem with your ignition coils \u2013 they provide that all-important spark to actually ignite your fuel\/air mixture. If they\u2019re faulty, then once again that mixture is unlikely to ignite properly, which means there\u2019s a good chance your car may be a little slow off the mark. And, to borrow a popular mechanic\u2019s turn of phrase: it\u2019s probably going to run like a bag of spanners.<\/p>\n Solution: replace your spark plugs, or see a mechanic about your ignition coil<\/strong><\/p>\n So we\u2019ve explained a bit about the air fuel mixture in your car already. It\u2019s a very delicate balance, and for that chemical reaction to happen smoothly, the oxygen and fuel need to be kept at very precise levels. That’s where your oxygen sensor<\/strong> comes in. It constantly measures your engine\u2019s ratio of air to fuel, and if it\u2019s faulty, then it can result in an imbalanced mixture \u2013 which can ultimately end up in your car stuttering, juddering, or abruptly losing power.<\/p>\n Your air filter<\/strong> plays a closely related role in that it\u2019s supposed to intercept any debris or impurities from getting in with the air drawn into the engine\u2019s internal combustion chamber. If it\u2019s blocked though, it can be all too easy for dirt to start getting mixed in, and once you\u2019re sitting in the driver\u2019s seat then you\u2019re going to feel the effects of that around you quite, quite quickly.<\/p>\n Solution: clean your car\u2019s air filter, or get your oxygen sensor checked by a mechanic<\/strong><\/p>\n Much like your air filter, your fuel filter plays a very important role \u2013 and to be honest, a pretty self-explanatory one. It\u2019s designed to prevent any impurities from getting through to the delicate air\/fuel mixture in your engine.<\/p>\n If your fuel filter<\/strong> is dirty or clogged however, it can become vastly less effective at successfully doing its job, and that can result in impurities reaching the main engine. The consequences of that can manifest in a variety of unpleasant effects, such as \u2018coughing\u2019 in your engine, serious power drain and loss of acceleration, and potentially even permanent damage to your engine. And you don\u2019t need to be an expert to know that those are very expensive to replace. It\u2019s much easier and cheaper to replace your fuel filter instead.<\/p>\n A blocked exhaust<\/strong> can have very similar results. Exhausts don\u2019t get clogged too often, as most minor blockages will often just be expelled from the car. Bits of dirt or leaves won\u2019t have much effect on their own. However, they\u2019re not the only source of potential blockages \u2013 they can also be affected by things like the build-up of carbon and soot in the catalytic converter. And while it might sound simple enough for a DIY job, to be honest we\u2019d still recommend getting it looked at by a professional.<\/p>\n Solution: replace your car\u2019s fuel filter, or see a mechanic about a blocked exhaust<\/strong><\/p>\n As we started by saying, happily most of these aren\u2019t too tricky to get sorted. However, if you\u2019re finding that that the costs of all these little repairs are starting to stack up, then it might be time to start thinking about scrapping your car.<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly where we can help here at Scrap Car Network. Our mission is to provide you the very best prices when you\u00a0scrap your car<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0with us. Don\u2019t just take our word for it \u2013 get an instant online quote today! It\u2019s free, and there\u2019s zero obligation until you decide you\u2019re ready to proceed. Just\u00a0enter your car reg and postcode<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0into the fields on our site, and within seconds you\u2019ll be looking at your very own instant online quote. Ready to find out how much your car is worth?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cars are complicated things. And most of us use them so much that it can be easy to forget the sheer complexity of the processes that allow us to start the engine, drive along a road, and bring it to a stop. Unfortunately, most of us only tend to remember that again when something goes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":6852,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n#1 and #2 \u2013 issues with your ignition coils or spark plugs<\/h2>\n
#3 and #4: Oxygen sensor failure or poor air filtration<\/h2>\n
#5 and #6: Clogging of your fuel filter or exhaust<\/h2>\n