Why Clean Fuel Injectors?
Symptoms
Symptoms of clogged, faulty or leaking injectors can include:
- Poor performance
- Poor fuel economy
- Hard starting
- Rough idle
- Smoke from exhaust
- Damaged O2 sensors and catalytic converters
- Fuel in oil
- Surging, bucking or loss of acceleration
- Check engine light
- Hydrolock (fuel in cylinders not allowing motor to turn over)
- Intermittent or consistent misfire
- Trouble getting on plane (boats)
A dirty, clogged or otherwise faulty fuel injector can be disguised as an electrical issue such as a bad coil, spark plug, corroded wires or other ignition issue. If you have diagnosed the complete electrical system and not found a fault the next step would be to look at the fuel system. First you need to confirm that the injectors are firing. This is easily done with a test light, or commonly used Noid lights. If you confirm the problem cylinder is getting signal from the ECU to fire the injector, but you still have issues the most likely issue is a clogged, or faulty injector, and you will need to have our fuel Injector cleaning performed. Clean fuel injectors are important to your engine's health!
Injector spray pattern testing do I need to clean my fuel injectors
Ethanol in Fuel
Although the fuel of today is often considered to be much better than in the past, there is 1 very big issue that affects it more than ever before. ETHANOL. Ethanol in fuel was added for mostly hydrocarbon emission reasons, but it causes 1 major problem. The ethanol alcohol in fuel attracts moisture found in the air. Once the water is in the fuel it will separate phases, this means the water will separate from the fuel, with the water sinking to the bottom of the tank. This can cause a big problem for vehicles and boats alike, causing rust in metal tanks, damaging fuel pumps and of course injectors.
Do you know where you fill up? Even if your car or boat gets driven regularly, you are not immune to ethanol issues. The tanks which you fill your car or boat from can often contain water as well, especially if they are older, less busy stations. Always try to use fuel from newer, busier gas stations if you can.
If you suspect you have had or do have an ethanol issue, you should drain your tank or have your fuel “polished”. Polishing fuel is removing the water and contamination from gasoline using a series of filters and an external pump to clean the fuel back to original condition. If you can’t have your fuel polished and you have an ethanol issue, the only other option is to drain the entire fuel system.
Once you have had your system polished, don’t stop there. The water and contaminants have moved through your fuel pump, filters, and your injectors. Your fuel pump should be tested for operation and proper pressure under load, your filters replaced, and of course your injectors serviced. Send us your injectors today and have our fuel injector cleaning service done today!
Water in fuel symptoms fuel polishing how long does gas last