The fuel injectors are responsible for spraying fuel into each cylinder if you have direct fuel injection or into an intake manifold if you don’t. Eventually, the fuel injectors can become clogged with carbon, which is a natural byproduct of fuel-burning engines. Your fuel injectors can also go bad, and this usually consists of them cracking and leaking. Checkpoint Motors lists the signs that you have fuel injector problems below.
Misfiring Engine
Clogged fuel injectors restrict the amount of fuel that ends up in the combustion chamber. A lean fuel mixture can cause your engine to misfire while you are driving along. You will feel your engine sputter and may even become concerned that is going to stall. A misfiring engine should be looked into right away. It’s usually a fuel problem causing the issue or it could be the spark plugs or the engine control unit.
Rough Idling
Alongside the misfiring engine is rough idling. Your engine will idle roughly because of the lean fuel mixture, as well. This can definitely be a sign that your injectors are clogged and dirty and are not spraying enough gasoline into the cylinders or intake manifold. Oftentimes, cleaning the clogged fuel injectors will restore your vehicle’s smooth idling. If the fuel injectors are leaking, they will need to be replaced.
Poor Fuel Economy
Another sign that your fuel injectors are clogged or leaking is poor fuel economy. If your fuel injectors are clogged, your engine is working harder to try to produce power because it is dealing with a lean fuel mixture. Even though the fuel mixture is lean, the excess engine labor will burn through gasoline more quickly.
If the fuel injectors are leaking, it makes sense that you will go through gasoline more quickly because the engine will burn off the excess fuel. Depending on the severity of the leak, you may notice black exhaust smoke coming out of your tailpipe and your engine will surge and buck.
Unpredictable RPMs
Clogged or bad fuel injectors can also cause unpredictability in your vehicle’s revolutions-per-minute or RPMs. This is because the engine is not getting a steady stream of fuel but rather fuel in spurts. You will notice the needle on your dashboard’s tachometer dancing up and down if the RPMs are unsteady.
Finally, if your fuel injectors are severely clogged, you may not be able to start your automobile because there is no fuel making its way into the combustion chamber. We can help here at Checkpoint Motors in Oregon City, OR. Give us a call today.
