Re: coughing/sputtering,no idle

[Oliver Seiler <oseiler@acm.org>]

On Thu, 13 Jan 2000, luis flores wrote:

> okay, here's the problem... my recently acquired 84 roc hasn't been
> running for a while.  it will start up immediately, idle at around
> 1800rpms for a few seconds then immediately die.  if i hold the gas
> pedal about half way down, it will cough and sputter.  when i release
> the pedal, the engine will rev up, then cough and die.  if i hold the
> gas pedal halfway again before it dies, it will cough/sputter then rev
> up again when i release the gas. (gas=cough/sputter, release=rev)

This exact problem has started happening to my car, generally when the
engine is warm. I'm not quite sure why yet; right now I'm suspecting
problems with my thermo-time switch or cold-start valve (though these
suspicions are because of problems I'm having with my idle speed and may
be unrelated to this problem). Now, my engine hoses have been "modified"
by a previous owner, specifically the hoses coming from the intake air
distributor to the crankcase ventilation hose (leading back to the
air-flow sensor housing). I've fixed that somewhat (need to make a trip
to the junkyard I think to do it right) but in the process of testing
things I noticed that if too much air is allowed back out from the intake
air distributor back to the air-flow sensor housing that it will have the
same effect, but I don't think you'd ever get the car running in this
case.

>   thinking the fuel filter may be clogged, i decided to change it.

Thought of that too, since I recently put an injection system cleaner in
the gas, in preparation for changing the fuel filter. Next weekend
probably.

Other possibilities: air-flow sensor is sticking (not letting any air
through, thus the throttle doesn't seem to work); ignition timing is off
(I recently replaced my distributor cap and rotor).

Let me know if you solve your problem. It's really annoying since it seems
to strike me after driving for awhile if I park briefly to run an errand;
I come back and the car doesn't start. Eventually it fires up but it
usually takes some time before I can rev the engine again.

-Oliver

Oliver Seiler -- Software Developer, Pivotal Software, http://www.pivotal.com
    Scirocco MkII Diary - http://erisian.com/~oseiler/scirocco/index.html


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