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now my idle prob is showing up at freeway speeds. HELP!!!

345 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  dixonL2
ok, my idle used to do this weird thing every once in a while. it acted fuel starved. like it was about to die. tach would drop suddenly then return to normal only to do it again a few minutes later. Well, on my last roadtrip, i noticed it doing the same thing on the damn freeway. what is going on? could it be a fuel filter or -gulp- a fuel pump? please help me out guys. This really sucks. I am also still having the problem of the idle sticking at about 2k every once in a while. if i rev the engine slightly, it usually goes down. also, letting off the clutch while it's in gear usually stops that too. help me out on both.
Thanx Guys
Rogo
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Re: now my idle prob is showing up at freeway speeds. HELP!!! (rogo)

ok, plz don't trat me like i'm a complete moron. I know what the hell and ISV is! and don't you think i would have checked that? it's a new one. and the oxy sensor, there is no change if i unplug it. that's not it. i'm pretty sure it's not spark... but i can't seem to get it to do that when i want to look at it. the fuel mixture is correct. the fuel relay is however a new one on me. i've never heard of them causing probs. I'll check that one out. so thanx for that one.
Rogo
Re: now my idle prob is showing up at freeway speeds. HELP!!! (rogo)

is it running rich, black smoke when this happens? If thats the case a bad ground could be at fault. I had the same problems on my 89 golf digi 1, bad ground would make it run rich, bog out like it was going to die, and then recover, I thought it was lack of fuel, it was actually too much fuel...
Re: now my idle prob is showing up at freeway speeds. HELP!!! (duff_man2000)

quote:[HR][/HR]as far as the relay...they tend to be either...working, or not working. i say it COULD be sporadic, cause a friend of mine said that they CAN get strange...but most of the time they'll just burn up and not work at all...but it is worth checking. Just do the jumper wire trick and start driving...ehehe...then see if it still does it (i'm guessing, never done this personally, i've never jumped the relay while the car was running either...so if this might f*ck somthin up, sombody chime in and correct me). could also be the pre-pump in the tank, i've heard they can get sporadic as well, but that's as likely as the fuel pump relay...*shrugs*
how low does the idle drop when your on the freeway?[HR][/HR]​
It's okay to drive for a short while with the bypass, but you should take the Bentley direction about making the thing with QDlugs, an inline fuse, and preferably a switch. Don't do it for very long. If you haven't used thick enough wire, it can overheat. If you just jammed some stranded wire in there, a stray strand can catch on something else. Make it neat and safe like it was supposed to b there and it should be okay.
However, you're correct that relays generally do not fail by going intermittent. They jam, either open, or closed. If it's one of the fuel pumps acting up like that, it'd be more likely to be loose wiring or something.
I've actually got a problem right at my main fuel pump. I parked at a store, and my car wouldn't start when I got back... No pump noise even with the bypass... So I ended up leaving the bypass in, and checking the transfer for voltage (was fine), then when I got to the main, I barely touched the wiring, and it started buzzing away! I'm concerned it'll die off when I'm driving, but at least I know where the problem is now. Will fix it once the weather improves (and I have some more money).
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Re: now my idle prob is showing up at freeway speeds. HELP!!! (rogo)

well.. mine used to stick at 2k 1500 etc
turns out it was my idle screw o ring was shot..
worth a try, its like .32 cents?
Re: now my idle prob is showing up at freeway speeds. HELP!!! (Tbird Pimpistik)

My dad had a similar problem, turned out it was water in an electrical connector near the air cleaner housing - opened it up, drained it, hit it with some contact cleaner, reassembled - ran good as new. Since then I've taken the electrical connectors apart on my 16V's every few months and cleaned 'em, never had a problem.
You may have some old siring near the grounding block on the back driver's side of the engine - see where all those brown wires connect? I'm having an intermittent "miss" and noticed some worn/dried/cracked insulation there, just moved the harness and the miss stopped, now I'm waiting for the weekend (supposed to warm up) to get in there and fix 'em.
Good luck - and perhaps go a little easier on the caffeine with duff_man? We're tryin to help here.
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Re: now my idle prob is showing up at freeway speeds. HELP!!! (rogo)

hey guys, sorry if i seemed like an arse earlier. I'm kionda pissed at some things going on w/ y ex. so i just wanted to appologize. But thanx for the suggestions thus far guys. I'm going to check my furl pump and filter and the the i adjustment screw o-ring. neways, thanx
Rogo
Re: now my idle prob is showing up at freeway speeds. HELP!!! (rogo)

Hey what are Vortex friends for? Good luck with the car... and everything...
Hey at least the weekend's about here...
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