idling really badly helppp :(

[jamiesaxo1]

hello i have a 1.1 saxo...and recently its been idling really badly....cuts out alot when im driving in a town....its cuts out when i press the clutch in and the revs drop to where it would normally idol if the car wasnt moving.....i have changed the spark plugs and cleaned out the idol control valve...is there any chance that the valve could still be at fault? and how could i find this out without buying a new one? or could it be something else? thanks

[BobC]

Hi Jamie,

That's the trouble with this kind of problem, it is not easy to be sure what is wrong as there are so many parts involved. It sounds like the fuel mixture is too rich which means too much fuel OR too little air. Often an ICV stuck closed (or sticky) will stop/reduce the air flow and hence richen the mixture. But there are other components involved like the oxygen sensor, coolant temperature sensor, MAP sensor, blocked air filter. Other than testing the resistance of the windings on the ICV there is no simple test to identify a fault with it.

[stelly]

hello i have a 1.1 saxo...and recently its been idling really badly....cuts out alot when im driving in a town....its cuts out when i press the clutch in and the revs drop to where it would normally idol if the car wasnt moving.....i have changed the spark plugs and cleaned out the idol control valve...is there any chance that the valve could still be at fault? and how could i find this out without buying a new one? or could it be something else? thanks

hey,mine did this when i first bought it,turned out to be temperature sensor (much cheaper to replace than idle control valve)may be worth a try?!

[jamiesaxo1]

Hi Jamie,

That's the trouble with this kind of problem, it is not easy to be sure what is wrong as there are so many parts involved. It sounds like the fuel mixture is too rich which means too much fuel OR too little air. Often an ICV stuck closed (or sticky) will stop/reduce the air flow and hence richen the mixture. But there are other components involved like the oxygen sensor, coolant temperature sensor, MAP sensor, blocked air filter. Other than testing the resistance of the windings on the ICV there is no simple test to identify a fault with it.

funny you should say that.....recently i was driving home at night and hit a ramp....the lambda sensor actually broke off the exhaust...well what i think is the lambda sensor...(its a sensor sticking out of the bottom of the exhaust just under the engine) it was welded back on....the threads broke off to so i can still unscrew it etc..but when i was in a garage getting a power steering pump replaced...i asked them to do a full diagnostic test on the car and they told me the lambda sensor was slow to turn on....would these have any effect on the problem?....also sometimes a really bad smell comes through the vents from the engine bay...smells like exhaust fumes but you cant smell it from the back of the car??....and also sometimes there is a vibration from the car like its going to cut out? but i could be at 2/3 thousand revs but then when i accelerate it goes away? any ideas on this aswell?

Thanks....Jamie

[jamiesaxo1]

hey,mine did this when i first bought it,turned out to be temperature sensor (much cheaper to replace than idle control valve)may be worth a try?!

i think maby somthing else could be at fault now.....not so much icv any more....so im going to have to start trying other things..so everything worth a try.....cutting out is really driving me mad:wall: