I suspect the idle control valve on the car is knackered, took it out the other day and it looked black with carbon, can it be cleaned out or does it need a new one?

 

Carb cleaner dose it liberally, sometimes they work, other times they don't.
After cleaning allow to completely dry, then spray with furniture polish containing silicone or if you have it silicone spray to lube up.
tabetha

 

cheers mate your a star, im looking at one on ebay but will try to sort mine out as a spare

 

But do you have idle issues, if not I suspect the valve to be working?

Martin

 

is it the idle control valve that controls the automatic choke?

 

There is no choke, this was on older cars with carburettors, the cold start enrichment is electronically controlled in the same way a modern car is, the ISCV opens and allows air to bypass the throttle plate and into the engine thus increasing the engine speed when cold, however it can also be utilised when a higher idle speed is required when the engine is under load, I.E when a high demand is placed on the electrical system.

Martin

 

I cleaned mine out about 2 years ago.I used brake cleaner to clean it then left the ISCV in a tub of brake fluid to lube it.Its been mint ever since.

 

cheers for the advice and info guys, i think ill have if off tomorrow and clean it out as suggested above

 

Normally the symptoms of them being "Sticky" is high revving, uneven idle etc, as the valve part can not move up and down freely so it's sticks which is what causes the problem.

Martin

 

mine idles ok but then suddenly revs to about 2-3 k, holds it for a bit then eases back down to 1000 or sorts itself out with a short sharp rev on the accelerator pedal

also while driving for the first 10 mins or so its very lumpy as if its running out of fuel, after the ten minutes it seems to pull itself together

 

Then it's not a ISCV issue, the fact it is hunting shows the valve to be working, I would be checking the TPS output, had exactly the same issue and found the TPS to be at fault and I bet it only does so when cold?

Martin

 

a had same trouble with 2 of my cossies and it was water temp sensor

 

me too. had this problem so sold it and bought an m3 e46! this cured the problem, ...............................



then i went back to a 3dr..... same problem

 

Yep only when cold, slowly improves as it warms up.
So what i need is a new throttle position sensor?

i phoned matt lewis earlier for an idle control valve and apparenly they dont make them anymore
id hate to have to buy an el' cheapo one off ebay

 

not neccesarily you need to check the voltage between pin 11 and 17 on your ecu, use black probe on pin 11 and red on 17, on a 4x4 it should be less than 0.35 volts with throttle closed and 4.5-5 volts with throttle open reverse these figures for 2wd
the voltage should increase smmothly when pressing the accelerator if it jumps up in voltage non smoothly then the tps may be goosed

 

ill give that a try mate thanks for the info

 

Martin/Botters you were both spot on, changed the TPS and she runs perfect

cheers for the advice

 

No problem mate, glad I could help.

Martin

 

i totally took mine apart i.e. the little nut at the bottom and the bits and i have had no idling probs for the last what year since i cleaned it.