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[SYD- AUS] Copen loss of power and sounds like a subaru boxer engine!

Discussion in 'Problems, Fixes, Tips...' started by robinthecopen, Jul 5, 2017.

  1. robinthecopen

    robinthecopen Copenworld Newbie

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    Location:
    sydney
    Car(s):
    0.7l copen
    Hi guys

    Great to be on this forum!

    I've had my copen for over 2 years and last night while driving , I experienced a sudden loss of power and could not get over 3,000RPM and when I tried to accelerate, there was white smoke coming out the exhaust....instantly pulled over!

    looks to be some sort of restriction somewhere!

    I opened the bonnet and see abit of oil on the engine block where the oil dipstick is however the dipstick is still in ( thought it was oil splatter from the dipstick popping out)

    I cleaned up the oil around the area.. let the car rest for 30 mins and started the car again.

    the car shook and sounded like a Subaru boxer engine.. proceeded to take off and the car stalled as it was hard to get the car moving.

    got the car home to check and I could not see anything out of the ordinary.

    has anyone experienced a loss of power or car sounding like a boxer engine?

    I will check the intake and turbo tonight after work

    any help appreciated

    Thanks
    Robin
     
  2. Salieri

    Salieri Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Location:
    Germany
    Car(s):
    Used to have a White Copen, but I sold it in 2023
    Head gasket maybe?
     
  3. robinthecopen

    robinthecopen Copenworld Newbie

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    Location:
    sydney
    Car(s):
    0.7l copen
    ill check it out!

    does anyone have a quick way to take off the front bumper... I did it 2 years ago and remember was such a painful process!!
     
  4. robinthecopen

    robinthecopen Copenworld Newbie

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    Location:
    sydney
    Car(s):
    0.7l copen
    My friend came over n checked it out..... seems to be the coil packs.... looks like im running on 2 cylinders instead of 3.... which would explain the loss of power n instabilty at idle

    Anyone know part numbers for the coilpacks? Ill hv to call diahatsu to order

    Should be an easy DIY job alot with changing spark plugs

    Anyone have a guide as well?

    Cheers
     
  5. welz

    welz Copenworld Regular

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2015
    Location:
    Leverkusen, Germany
    Car(s):
    copen 2003
    the 0.7 has 4 cylinders.. 4 coil packs and 4 sparks.

    does the yellow motor led show faulty?

    white smoke and oil says broken turbo because turbo starts up 3150 rpm. :(

    check color from water and oel. how often did you change the motor oel every 5000km?

    how many km did it?
    take care with it new turbo expensive and not easy to change..



    may change to this one if money and its broken..i had done it.
    HKS - DX SPORTS TURBINE KIT

    check forum and good luck..service books you can download too here:happy:

    Resources | Copenworld
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2017
  6. Salieri

    Salieri Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Location:
    Germany
    Car(s):
    Used to have a White Copen, but I sold it in 2023
    Coil packs are hard to acquire, but you might be lucky to find some, given that you are close to japan :D
    Parts number should be 19070-97206
     
  7. jez77

    jez77 Copenworld Regular

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2015
    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Car(s):
    2003 Daihatsu Copen
    2000 Toyota RAV4
    I think you should investigate further before ordering anything.
    The oil wouldn't be explained by the coil packs.
    I'd get a compression check done to check head gasket, piston or valve failure.
    Also pull the intake pipe off the turbo and check that the impella spins freely without any side to side movement.
    How did he diagnose the coil packs? They normally fail slowly stating with misfires rather then suddenly stoping working.
    Did the engine light come on?
    Have you pulled the plugs? Did one have oil on it?
     
  8. robinthecopen

    robinthecopen Copenworld Newbie

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    Location:
    sydney
    Car(s):
    0.7l copen
    Thanks guys for the input.... had another friend check out the car tonight

    Going to be a trial n error mission

    So from investigation...not a coil failure..... process of elimination.... had the car turned on and proceeded to unplug each coil...... culprit is coil 2 (from left) doesnt have any effect when unplugged ... coil 1 , 3 , 4 all have an effect when unplugged

    However, i swapped the coil 1 and 2 around to see if the alleged coil 2 "faulty coil" will work. Turns out coil position 2 is still dead , does this mean cylinder 2 is dead?

    Therefore, next step will be to take the spark plugs out to check

    From review, not turbo ... take off from first gear is extremely slow but csn still get to 80km/h

    Next action
    1) get a compressor and do a leak test
    2) buy 16mm deep socket to replace spark plug
    3) pull turbo out to check for damages/shaft play

    Lets hope its not something big!!
     
  9. Salieri

    Salieri Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Location:
    Germany
    Car(s):
    Used to have a White Copen, but I sold it in 2023
    Yes, either cylinder 2 is faulty or the wiring harness is bad (which i do not suspect)

    I would not advise to drive the car until you have found the problem, it might make it worse.
    Check the spark plug, check compression, maybe check for exhaust gas in the cooling system (head gasket)
     
  10. robinthecopen

    robinthecopen Copenworld Newbie

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    Location:
    sydney
    Car(s):
    0.7l copen
    played around again with the car and my friend tested the harness with the multi-metre so it is not a faulty harness.

    getting new spark plugs and also a compression tester kit on Thursday so will be able to check if it is valve 2.

    investigation done so far
    - checked piping and hosing : all connected
    - checked Coil pack : all working
    - checked oil level : all good
    - disconnected battery for a day to reset the ECU

    on a side note - some other friends are telling me to do a hayabusa engine swap.

    has anyone on this forum done one before and like to share their experience.
     
  11. stickypinkyfinger

    stickypinkyfinger Copenworld Regular

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2014
    Location:
    Buckinghamshire
    Car(s):
    Widearch Daihatsu Copen R
    Race tuned Dinli 450 RS
    Suzuki GSXR600
    Hi
    This problem happened with my car and this was why I got mine cheap. Symptoms of a blown turbo is oil spillage on the inside of the hood where the seal on the turbo has blown. When I first got mine with my foot all the way down the revs did not go past the 3000 mark, It would seriously struggle to even get to that. I had black oil marks all over my inside hood.
    Soon as I brought a brand new turbo and fitted it started reving as it should normally.
    Take your front bumper of, locate the pipe to the turbo coming from your air intake system, check see if with your finger the shaft can move. Also check the air intake pipe because some oil should of gone in there, if so then its also a new turbo.
     
    robinthecopen likes this.
  12. robinthecopen

    robinthecopen Copenworld Newbie

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    Location:
    sydney
    Car(s):
    0.7l copen
    Hi stickypinkyfinger

    Thanks for sharing your experience !I will pull the car apart to check

    Its weird though because if it was a turbo failure, why would the car have trouble getting off the line at low rpm

    Did your car sound like a helicopter struggling to suck in air from your intake?

    I hvnt driven the car since, however thats what it was like just to get the car home

    Lets see how i go!
     
  13. Salieri

    Salieri Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Location:
    Germany
    Car(s):
    Used to have a White Copen, but I sold it in 2023
    I'd still say head gasket. Look at the spark plugs and do a compression test.
    Also check if you are losing coolant or the oil is turning into cappuccino sludge
     
  14. stickypinkyfinger

    stickypinkyfinger Copenworld Regular

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2014
    Location:
    Buckinghamshire
    Car(s):
    Widearch Daihatsu Copen R
    Race tuned Dinli 450 RS
    Suzuki GSXR600
    Either way is going to be time consuming, well turbo will take less time than pulling the head apart. White smoke normally suggest some sort of mixing with the coolant and blue smoke normally suggests oil mixing somewhere in the system. So if you say white smoke then Salieri is right, its pointing more to a mixture of coolant = gasket or crack in the head. Easiest check is to take the air pipes off and to eliminate the turbo, check for any play on the turbo and if there is any oil in the air pipes, if not then its looking like it is all to do with the head. Once you get all the parts, will be a days work taking your time so trip to the shop for beer is very important.
     
  15. robinthecopen

    robinthecopen Copenworld Newbie

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    Location:
    sydney
    Car(s):
    0.7l copen
    thanks guys!

    to confirm
    - oil is fine
    - no loss of coolant
    - no white/blue smoke

    after work today, going to go autostore to grab some spark plugs, compression tester, oil filter, oil.

    I have already called up Toyota ( Sydney Australia no longer has Daihatsu) and they said if I want a head gasket, they will have to order from japan and will take 6-8 weeks.

    worse comes to worse, there is a rear ended copen@ the wreckers where I can just buy the whole car for $1800, get the engine out of it and keep the car for spare parts.

    but, lets just cross fingers and blame a spark plug!

    will update tomorrow and see how I go!

    cheers
    Robin
     
  16. robinthecopen

    robinthecopen Copenworld Newbie

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    Location:
    sydney
    Car(s):
    0.7l copen
    quick question - what PSI is a healthy compression for the copen? I just want to have a bench mark figure when I do the compression check tonight cheer!
     
  17. jez77

    jez77 Copenworld Regular

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2015
    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Car(s):
    2003 Daihatsu Copen
    2000 Toyota RAV4
    That info will be in the service manual in the resources section I'd think.
    Normally just check each cylinder gives a reading similar to the others.
     
  18. MultiplexMan

    MultiplexMan Copenworld Regular

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2011
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Car(s):
    KIA Carnival YP, Copen
    upload_2017-7-13_14-12-23.png
     
  19. MultiplexMan

    MultiplexMan Copenworld Regular

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2011
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Car(s):
    KIA Carnival YP, Copen
    1079 [kPa] = 156 [PSI]
    785 [kPa] = 114 [PSI]
    147 [kPa] = 21 [PSI]
     
  20. robinthecopen

    robinthecopen Copenworld Newbie

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    Location:
    sydney
    Car(s):
    0.7l copen
    perfect! thanks everyone!
    also best thing you have mentioned which is the resource section.. didn't know it existed.
    time to go through the entire manual!

    will let you guys know how I go tonight
     

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