What does black smoke mean?

Well, I've been having problems with the car when I floor it, kind of cutting out on me. Well today, there was a beige Cavalier riding me, and I went into 2nd and hit it. Within a second, it cut out and shuttered, not accelerating or anything. Then, a BIG puff of black smoke shot out my pipe and I could see it hit his car, just as the power came back on and I shot ahead. Wow. This can't be good. What does black smoke mean?

-Ryan-

black smoke denotes fuel is only being partially burnt...so your car is running extremely rich for that instant!!! make sure all your basic maitenance stuff is good and up to date...air filter and plugs expecially.

could just have been a fault in the ECU, the ECU could have gotten confused for a split second or a sensor could have sent the wrong message to the ECU. alot of things could have caused it, but start with the basic maitenance.

What he said. Your running rich. It could be a multitude of things but think easy first.;)

simptems?

Sorry, free english lesson, "Symptoms", and yah black smoke is not good.

Sorry, free english lesson, "Symptoms", and yah black smoke is not good.

c'mon now. no need for acting the professor. ironic that in your correction of his english, you typed a run-on sentence. now the playing field is even.

but NO, black smoke is not necessarily a bad thing. you should watch out for blue smoke or white smoke. any other colors and someone is messing with you. black smoke typicall indicates the car is running rich, that is there is extra fuel being burnt. Not sure what color indicates oil being burnt, could be black, or maybe its white, can't remember.

symptoms are your smoke. possible diagnoses could be a lot of things: electrical (plugs, wires, or other sensors); throttle body might be involved in your hesitation/stuttering. but definitely check your plugs, and when you do, pay attention to the appearance of the "prong" on the plug and where the spark is created, come back on here and describe to us what you see.

oil being burnt has a bluish coloration and water/coolant is white...black smoke means that fuel is not being completely burnt.

if it only did it once and it happened to be when you got on it hard...i wouldnt think much about it unless it does this often...just keep your eye on it.

running rich isnt a horrible thing, but running that rich will eventually lead to some harm. carbon deposits...

as for curing the problem, im with linebckr49, check your plugs and other basic maitenance things. time for a tune-up perhaps...

It does this every time I get onto it. The car takes a few seconds to kick in...if I was racing a GT or something, I'd never catch up; so I do need to figure this out. The plugs were looked at a few months back and they said they were new, but I'll have to check them out again. The wires were replaced in the summer. Going to try to book a service today. Thanks for the replies...

R

Check to see if your timing belt skipped a few teeth. The same thing happend to mine and it took some time for the turbos to kick in. Just make sure to check that befor its too late.

The timing belt, water pump, and some other stuff was replaced last year...hopefully it didn't go again.

yes, timing could be off, i suppose. has it done it ever since you had the timing belt replaced??? or did it just start this recently??? i would check your plugs and all your ignition equipment, to start...

That's some good info. I agree that it could be plugs and/or filter, so I'll have the filter changed and plugs examined. It only started doing this in the last month, so I'm hoping it's plugs.

c'mon now. no need for acting the professor. ironic that in your correction of his english, you typed a run-on sentence. now the playing field is even.

lol. maybe it shoulda been a spelling lesson instead. I usually try not to correct spelling. I see all these posts with words misspelt and after a while I have to say something. It's like our education system isn't working or something. BTW I failed english a bunch of times myself. :p

I have a 1991 Mustang LX 5.0..won't pass smog, runs too rich, but doesn't cut out, runs great. Over on hydrocarbons and CO

dtdalke-
check dates on threads man. this it from 2005...

Hey!
You have a good Looking car ,that likes to smoke!

What do you need for a good fire?
You need Air,Ignition,and Time.

The Electronic Engine Control (EEC) needs accurate data for Timing + Speed.

Is your MAF sensor sending wrong data to the EEC?

Its like trying to run with oil on your Nike shoes + monkey on your back choking you.

I would use WD40 + Oil fogging spray to exercise throttle plate and try cleaning
MAF and oxygen sensors with CRC MAF sensor cleaner.

Reset computer by pulling out fuse.




MCGIVER

Leave dead threads dead.