Re: Droopy Idle

[Tom Flynn <quad@freeside.fc.net>]

On Mon, 26 Oct 1998, Brian Honnold wrote:

> Well, I'm now at wits end with my idle problem.  Last week when coming to a 
> stop, my rpms would drop down to about 200 before bouncing back to 1000 and 
> staying there.  Now, 20% of the time when I come off the throttle the car 
> will stall.
> 
> The motor is an RD code 1.8 with Knock sensor and CIS-E.  I have checked 
> the idle switch and it is working, mixture is correct, idle stabilizer 
> checks out fine.  Fuel filter is new, pump is good.
> 
> What have I missed?????

There was an article in EC a few years ago (May 95?) specifically on this
topic, unfortunately can't recall the exact issue.  I recall that one of 
the big contributors to idle problems that they mentioned was vacuum
leaks, including the many small hoses behind the engine (they get cooked
by the exhaust manifold eventually, they suggested replacing them with
silicone tubing for better longevity than fabric tubing) and places like
the rubber piece on top of the fuel distributor, before the intake
manifold which can have small hard to find holes in it which let in the
air.  Other places to look are around the injectors (seals can cause
vacuum leak).  These can cause erattic idle, according to the article, but
it also mentioned that CIS-E even ideally does not give you a rock-steady
idle range (guess it hunts a little).

My GTI has pretty good idle, but it hesitates badly prior to warm-up, then
runs fine.  It did this when it was pretty new (I've owned her since she
was 9 months old) then it went away for years until recently when I had
the oxygen sensor (plus catalytic converter) replaced.  But once warmed
up, the idle is pretty steady.

                   
- ---------
Tom Flynn

'86 GTI 8v RD engine

I represent only myself


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