1.8L CL idle problem

[Golf-Sam]

Hi guys !

i have been having an issue with my idle .. i had a huge vacuum leak for a while and it took time to get the parts so i had to drive the car daily with the leak ... it was the rubber seal that goes between the throttle body and the intake manifold ..
two days before the parts arrived .. the car started idling violently dropping revs to about 400 then picking up to about 1200 .. it keeps on going between them.. the car idles normally in cold start .. it's a nightmare to park ..

new seal arrived from the UK .. just installed it today .. the car idles normally in cold start .. as soon as it warms up .. it idles badly .. now it's gotten a bit better .. smaller interval .. could it be an ECU issue ?
what are the possibilities ?

your help is appreciated ..
Sam

[Pmk]

I've had the exact same problem with my CL, luckily though i had made a DIY one with some tubes and clamps. I had this problem for a while, i tried changinng the pod with the OEM one to help it and various other things. I'd recommend opening up the throttle bottle and giving it a clean with carb cleaner. Hopefully this is the problem if not or yet worse. I left mine and drove it for a while and i ended up having to get a new stepometer because my car drove so slow that i could barely make the uphills. So try those few things out.

Service your car, check those things if not head i would suggest camdenGTI but your not in the area. GL !

[Golf-Sam]

I've had the exact same problem with my CL, luckily though i had made a DIY one with some tubes and clamps. I had this problem for a while, i tried changinng the pod with the OEM one to help it and various other things. I'd recommend opening up the throttle bottle and giving it a clean with carb cleaner. Hopefully this is the problem if not or yet worse. I left mine and drove it for a while and i ended up having to get a new stepometer because my car drove so slow that i could barely make the uphills. So try those few things out.

Service your car, check those things if not head i would suggest camdenGTI but your not in the area. GL !

i will run some carby cleaner through her tomorrow .. and give it a good clean and report back ..
thanks for the info man ..

[Water Boy]

Make sure you give the throttle body a good clean up with some carby clean. Take it off and get into all the gaps and bits n pieces.

Also: If the crank sensor is faulty it should still start then stall when it's warm

[Golf-Sam]

Make sure you give the throttle body a good clean up with some carby clean. Take it off and get into all the gaps and bits n pieces.

Also: If the crank sensor is faulty it should still start then stall when it's warm

i gave a clean without taking it off .. something else started playing up .. now when i turn the ignition on .. a hissing noise comes from the electronic bits by BOSCH that's on the bottom of the throttle body .. like static or something .. car is still idling funny .. crank sensor .. where is it ? also im getting close to needing a time belt changed .. got the kit .. but it came with no seals .. gotta chase them up and hopefully get it done on the weekend .. thanks for the input man

[Water Boy]

i gave a clean without taking it off

So all the dirt and grime goes into the motor.

[Golf-Sam]

fixed up the idle issue .. turns out it was a timing issue that went together with the vacuum leak .. now i had a crack at the timing myself .. I'm not exactly experienced .. there's some backfire issues .. so I'm not driving the car til i get it looked at .. now the exhaust is loud and the exhaust manifold is getting too hot and starting to glow when the engine is running .. could it be clogged up somehow ?
it's suffering serious loss of power .. engine not revving up easily at all .. help ?

[Water Boy]

fixed up the idle issue .. turns out it was a timing issue that went together with the vacuum leak .. now i had a crack at the timing myself .. I'm not exactly experienced .. there's some backfire issues .. so I'm not driving the car til i get it looked at .. now the exhaust is loud and the exhaust manifold is getting too hot and starting to glow when the engine is running .. could it be clogged up somehow ?
it's suffering serious loss of power .. engine not revving up easily at all .. help ?

Mate sounds to me like you are miss firing. So its something to do with spark/ignition.

[Pmk]

Mate sounds to me like you are miss firing. So its something to do with spark/ignition.

if this is the case. Spark plugs. That definitiely fixed my slow not enough pull. or maybe even faulty leads/dizzy

[Golf-Sam]

Havent played with the plugs yet .. sourced them from Autobarn i will be changing them .. however .. what do you guys think about the noise im getting from the Idle Control Valve ? it started after i gave the throttle body a clean with carby cleaner .. it's a hissing noise when i turn the ignition on .. i put my hand on it and it was vibrating .. any ideas ? im guessing that would cause a whole lot of problems ..

---------- Post added at 10:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------

had a play with the idle control valve .. all seems ok . .
about the exhaust .. i've been researching . . does the cat converter get glowing red normally ? the symptoms seem to match the ones of a blocked cat converter .. it's making noises of flow after i turn the engine off .. engine loses more power over time ..
the car has had a vacuum leak for a while without me knowing .. the engine timing wasn't perfect .. there could have been some fuel escaping .. just a theory ..

[Bent_Metal]

Did you suss out what the buzzing sound from the throttle body was?? Mines doing the same thing... Idle on mine is steady but up about 200rpm from normal, and when driving, if you ease off the accelerator a tiny bit feels like it chokes, and when you put your foot down there's a second or two of nothing and then it wants to take off on me.. grrr... I've spent weeks trying to figure it out.. I've never heard this sound before, so I'm pretty sure it has something to do with it. I've checked the resistance of the injector, cleaned the throttle body etc.. no luck yet.

[Golf-Sam]

Did you suss out what the buzzing sound from the throttle body was?? Mines doing the same thing... Idle on mine is steady but up about 200rpm from normal, and when driving, if you ease off the accelerator a tiny bit feels like it chokes, and when you put your foot down there's a second or two of nothing and then it wants to take off on me.. grrr... I've spent weeks trying to figure it out.. I've never heard this sound before, so I'm pretty sure it has something to do with it. I've checked the resistance of the injector, cleaned the throttle body etc.. no luck yet.

have a look at your throttle body .. is it coming from a bosch part at the front of the throttle body ? (Idle control valve) .. try disconnecting it and see if the noise stops ..

---------- Post added at 07:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:04 PM ----------

removed the cat converter today ... checked the spark plugs .. nothing more than a minor carbon build up .. had a mate come over with some timing lights .. fixed up the timing . . will give her a run tomorrow to see if she's still losing power .. lovin the V12 sound of it without an exhaust :p anything else i could look at ?

[G_1991]

coil pack? i had a badly wired unit, possibly bad earthing in the unit oem coil pack, would kick in and out of 5 and 6 cyclinders, losing significant power when it dropped a cyclinder and then randomly kick back to 6 and it would be fine but really rough idle, if it doesnt get fixed quickly it destroys your cat converter, fuel not burning and passing through, made so much soot and **** in mine, ended up having to replace both...

[Golf-Sam]

that's actually a good point .. would that show up on diagnostics ?

[G_1991]

nah it wont show up on diagnostics, doesn't have a sensor thank god. Was out at Camden GTI for a solid 12 hours replacing sensors, changing whole ecu units, running the computer through it, nothing changed would run rough the whole time. Finally last resort changed the coil pack and was perfect

at least its fixed now hahaha...