Cold start/idol issue

[orgigeorgie 0]

I'll explain as well as i can.

 

On cold start up, sometimes and only sometimes the car will start no problems and after about 2 seconds revs will drop and the car will cough and sputter, like and asthmatic old man. Nothing really fixes it, not even giving it a bit of throttle. After about 5 or seconds, when the car stops shaking like a drug addict its all normal, like it never happened.

 

Reminds of a cheeky munt (throw up) after a big night and after that you're ready to go. The car had its major service (cam belt, plugs etc) done yesterday and i asked my indie if he thought anything seemed peculiar and he mentioned nothing, even though i brought it to his attention.

 

When coming to a stop at the lights, and you clutch in - the revs drop and the car shakes, corrects itself, drop, shakes, corrects itself. Once warm everything seems to be normal. I spoke to a few of the guys on the ausalfa forum and they mentioned sensor issues. Spoke to a mate who builds race cars and the like and mentioned the same thing. O2 sensor/crank sensor/MAF have been thrown around.

 

What do you guys think? I'll try get a video up for you if i can

 

P.S. im a totally incompetent mechanic and won't even pretend to be otherwise, but i do know how to google like a pro. (awkward if this has been covered and i failed to find it, sox guys)

 

G

[Bigdar 62]

I could well be wrong here, but it sounds like it has bronchitis.

Hopefully smaky will fix it

[Smaky 73]

4 possible issues spring to mind and one comment about your indie,

 

First the comment, if he didn't look into this when he had the car then why did he do the cambelt? Common sense dictates that you ensure the engine is running correctly before doing something as major as cambelt service.

 

1, MAF, you've obviously had this pointed out to you and if you unplug it whist the engine is running does the engine note change, open the bonnet, and right in front of you is a 4" diameter duct right at the top of this is a plug, that is the one you need to undo.

 

2, Head gasket, a garage would be able to do a compression check or sniff test for you, you don't alway lose colant when these go as there are so many ways they can fail, though it's a longshot with your symptoms.

 

3, The possibly most likely, split bellows in the airduct allowing too much air in after the MAF, that the rubber pipe section between the MAF and the throttle body.

 

4, Oil in plugwells or dodgy coil pack, with the engine running unplugone pack at a time to see if the note changes, if it does then it's OK, if not, you've found the problem point.

 

 

Like I say though, #3 is my favourite in this, but fault codes would help.

[Bigdar 62]

So you're saying it's definitely not a bronchial condition then

 

[Anjenha 44]

My car once had number three with no obvious symptoms

 

My reply would have been MAF. I had one go and it felt like the car was going to stall on and off, but never quite did. No pattern to it, either

[Smaky 73]

My car once had number three with no obvious symptoms

 

My reply would have been MAF. I had one go and it felt like the car was going to stall on and off, but never quite did. No pattern to it, either

 

It's top of my list but the ducting causes the same thing.

 

I've ruled out the Lambdas, crank sensor, cam sensor, rear heated screen and wiper motor too.

[orgigeorgie 0]

My car once had number three with no obvious symptoms

 

My reply would have been MAF. I had one go and it felt like the car was going to stall on and off, but never quite did. No pattern to it, either

 

It's top of my list but the ducting causes the same thing.

 

I've ruled out the Lambdas, crank sensor, cam sensor, rear heated screen and wiper motor too.

 

 

Thanks guys, i'll have to try those things out. Before i do. I took a video to show you:

 

 

I'm not touching any pedals, and the lights are on parkers just to light the dash up. Battery supplies enough voltage, i measured it a few months ago. (iirc ~12.3V off, and ~14.7V on idle).

 

You can't see it in the video well, but the interior lights are STRUGGLING - dimming, like its some rave.

 

The car also shakes. Then normal

[Smaky 73]

Scrap all the above, except for #4 which is highly possible, I'm also starting to think this is a CF2 engine or it's had some work done to it and there is a chance that there are the wrong style of coil packs and leads fitted. can you take a picture of the engine from above with the cover removed?

[orgigeorgie 0]

eh its a CF2 engine i know that much, i'll try get a photo up.

 

I'm not sure how or where coil packs are, or how to remove them. I'll do a cheeky google.

[Smaky 73]

eh its a CF2 engine i know that much, i'll try get a photo up.

 

I'm not sure how or where coil packs are, or how to remove them. I'll do a cheeky google.

 

4 bolts to remove the engine cover, undo the oil cap and the cover will come off, then you can see the coil packs, along the front you should have thick wires coing from one pack to the the opposite cylinder, if the lead goes from the pack to the plug nect to it then that is wrong and could be the issue.

 

But being a CF2 this mow brings in the possibility of a faulty Idle Control Actuator on the side of the throttle body. A reset mey cure this, but more than likely it will need replacing.

[orgigeorgie 0]

I haven't had a chance yet to clean the coil packs or reset the Idle Control Actuator but here is an interesting update.

 

When i start the car, normally i chuck it into neutral and foot on the brake then start it. Recently whilst in neutral i thought i'd begin pressing the clutch in. SO far it hasn't happened. Its been about 5 days since i started to doing it, so no conclusive results yet. But yeh even in the cold its starting up fine.

 

Interesting. Any relation, or potentially just a coincidence?

[Smaky 73]

If it was related t the clutch then there'd be a whining noise with it released and when you pressed the pedal it would go away.