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View Full Version : Idle Problems (Part 312!)



dan-hipgrave
19-01-2007, 17:22
I posted a while back about the idle problems my car was having, and Gunner posted his Idle Problems guide, which diagnosed mine as being the Lambda Sensor coil.

Well i finally got around to changing it the other day, and the car still cuts out/idles low.

For those who dont remember, the car will idle at 500rpm when cold and cut out when i dip the clutch to change down a gear, BUT if i let it idle for approx 1 minute after starting the engine, it will idle fine at 900rpm and will have no problem, regardless of how cold it is. Ive now changed the dizzy cap, rotor arm, leads, plugs, lambda sensor, fuel filter (engine and all ancillaries are only 4k miles old anyway lol). Only thing i can think of is fuel pump because this is the only old part left on the car now..Have also been told it could be the thermostat(?)..Oh and the ICV is as clean as a whistle.

Any advice much appreciated as its doing my nut sitting in the car for a while before driving it, and worrying about coming to a junction and having it cut out..

Lee Keefy
19-01-2007, 17:32
in my experience the cold start injector can cause this,its under the inlet manifold in the middle if you didnt know,

try the test from cold,remove the plug and check the current to it,if thats fine remove the inector,plug the hole in the manifold and see if its fueling,

be careful cos it will spray everywhere if it is,

this is just what i'd do so it may not be that,

just thought i'd give you an idea m8 :D

hope you get it sorted soon :wink:

dan-hipgrave
19-01-2007, 18:14
Ah yeh i know the one you mean, hadnt thought of that..

If the weathers not too bad i will investigate tommorrow and report back.

Cheers :D

Lee Keefy
19-01-2007, 18:37
good luck :wink:

darrenm1eqn
19-01-2007, 18:54
Mine seemed simular to yours , turned out to be
the Idle Speed Control Valve ....

darrenm1eqn
19-01-2007, 18:55
Sorry see youve already checked that :oops:

AmDaMan
19-01-2007, 20:08
coolant temp sensor?

dan-hipgrave
19-01-2007, 22:33
coolant temp sensor?

Stupid question but is that the same as the thermostat? If not then where can i find that and test it?

Smudger
20-01-2007, 00:02
one thing to check might be the screw that adjusts the idle speed on the throttle body

mine was set really low and the car kept stalling, set it slightly higher and it reved at 1000rom and didsnt stall when cold on idle

Smudger
20-01-2007, 00:02
one thing to check might be the screw that adjusts the idle speed on the throttle body

mine was set really low and the car kept stalling, set it slightly higher and it reved at 1000rom and didsnt stall when cold on idle

nyk
20-01-2007, 13:02
I did that with mine, and it idle'd fine, until it was warm, then it sat at 12/1300.

david932
21-01-2007, 17:50
coolant temp sensor?

Stupid question but is that the same as the thermostat? If not then where can i find that and test it?

not sure which is which but theres one on the drivers side of rad and one on the thermostat housing. one give a reading to the ecu and one to the clocks.

the accurate way to test is with a multimeter the hanyes gives readings of what the sensor should ready at various temperautres

if you dont have access to a haynes or multimeter then a rough way to test it is as follows.

disconect either sensor and see if the temp gauge stop working in the car if so it's the other one you want to be looking at.

dissconnect the one that doesnt control the in car temp gauge and run the car up from cold. if there is a significant change in the engines performance/idle/charictaristics then it likely this sensor isn't the cause. if there is no change then it likely to be faulty.

if ther idle screw has still got the crap in the recess i wouldn't touch that as it will not have been messed with in the past. messing with this can cause alot of agro.

hope this helps.

dan-hipgrave
21-01-2007, 18:54
Ive been out and done a small test this weekend, because it was cold i left the testing of the cold start injector till a warmer day...

Found the coolant temp sensor, its the one with the white plug on the thermostat housing (the brown plugged one is the sender for clocks, and the one in the side of the rad is for radiator fan).

Anyway, tested the coolant sensor as per Haynes manual and it appears to be working ok (resistance gets smaller with temp increase).

Guess my next stop is the cold start injector, just gotta hope for a warm day :roll:

AmDaMan
21-01-2007, 18:59
hmm maybe the inlet gasket has given up. I was having all sorts of idle problems before my head gasket went but when I took it to bits I found this!

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/4158/img3511kt7.jpg

Spray WD40 around where your inlet meets your head and see if the engine dies down or just dies, but usually it gives a high idle if the gasket has gone, but worth a try.

AmDaMan
21-01-2007, 19:01
infact ignore that, if it idles fine when warm. Definitely sounds like the cold start injector.

Lee Keefy
21-01-2007, 19:45
Ive been out and done a small test this weekend, because it was cold i left the testing of the cold start injector till a warmer day...

Found the coolant temp sensor, its the one with the white plug on the thermostat housing (the brown plugged one is the sender for clocks, and the one in the side of the rad is for radiator fan).

Anyway, tested the coolant sensor as per Haynes manual and it appears to be working ok (resistance gets smaller with temp increase).

Guess my next stop is the cold start injector, just gotta hope for a warm day :roll:

just wrap up and wear a wooly hat 8)

dan-hipgrave
07-02-2007, 18:03
OK had a chance to inspect/test the cold start injector the other day..

It had a resistance reading of 10.2ohms - Haynes quotes 10ohms so all ok there. Also has current going to it. When i took it out it had some oily petrol (petrolly oil?) substance on it, so cleaned it off and put it back in hoping it would solve the problem, but no! the car cut out twice on the way home from work just now!! Argh!

Any more suggestions guys? I was fairly convinced it was the injector - could it still be faulty even though it seems ok? Anybody know how much Renault charge for a new one?