September 2005
1994 306 1.8i SR Sedan with Magneti Marelli 8P ECU.
Whilst curing a pinking problem (see separate post) I decided to cure the slightly hunting idle and ease of stalling when coming off idle to drive away that has developed gradually over the past year.
Everything pointed to the idle control valve getting gummy, so I undid the two torx screws and withdrew it from the throttle body.
The valve itself (a rod with a chamfered end) was indeed covered in a gummy residue that looked like mixing pencil graphite with old engine oil, so I wiped it dry, carefully cleaned it with Gunk, dried it, cleaned the rod's mating chamfered face in the throttle body with a clean and dry cloth, then put it back together and reconnected the wiring plug.
A dead easy job, so imagine my surprise when the engine then refused to idle once warm with cold start circuits then closed.
After trial and error I found that I could pull the actuating rod in and out of the body, and when I did so it sounded like I was over driving a gear train inside. This surprised me as I would expect a simple solenoid (a coil with nothing mechanical beyond a damping spring). If I pushed the rod all the way 'home' the car then idled at 3200RPM(!) and gradually dropped to 1500 RPM over 30 seconds. It then vroom-vroomed between 1500 and 1800 RPM on a half second cycle for as long as I let it before switching off.
Anyway, the idle control valve is clearly kernackered and was failing anyway (see first paragraph) so I shall buy another, but I'm still interested in learning what has happened as a result of simple cleaning. Haynes makes no mention of any special precautions being necessary.
TVM. Read more
On my recent auction purchased 406,I have just done 1500 miles on a round trip into France,and unfortunately,the rear horizontal link bars had to be replaced while I was there,as the old ones had expired.The idea was to get back to Britain and have the bars replaced here.Anyhow.....
The car still has a slight vibration to it,insofar as it lasts about 3 seconds,and repeats every,say,5 seconds at speed in excess of 60mph.
Before I went,the tyres were replaced,and the wheels balanced,so I think that's covered,and I do have another theory,but I want to throw it open to you guys for input.
So........ Read more
Ah well,forgot to mention,that it had 4 wheel alignment done when the link bars were replaced at the garage in France,but as I didn't mention it,thanks anyhow for reminding me!!!!!
Ken.
I have been out in India for a month and a half doing my medical elective, and seeing the usual range of japanese and korean and indian cars, mixed with old Fiat 1100D's (Padmini Premier) and Ambassador's (Morris Oxford MO), with the odd Morris Minor and Standard Herald (CKD of Trimph heralds). Knowing my keen interest in cars my uncle took me to see his friend who has "a few antique cars". These transpired to be, hiding under tarps, in a small garage a SS 100 Jaguar 2 1/2 DHC that was in stunning condition, rubbing shoulders with a Austin 7 Ruby and a special order Mercedes 180 made for a maharaja together with a Renault 5 and a 2 CV. It really made my motoring day :-). Thought i would share. Bye bye
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A few years ago, in the late 90's, I went to Bangalore to give a series of lectures.
Every Ambassador I rode in had been decorated by it's owner to his own individual taste. Some of the fabrics used for interior upholstery were very individual. The thing that amazed me most however, was the way that cows approaching the intersection outside my hotel would stop for a red light, then wait patiently for a green before proceeding.
The food was damn good too.
Kevin...
PS. Every time I buy a classic car mag. there seems to be an article about a historic vehicle being discovered somewhere in India.
I dont know about others, but I am cost conscious when changing the family car every three years.I dont have pots of dosh to spend, have domestic commitments as priority, and buy a reliable saloon thats in good condition and three years old from new.
With petrol £1 per litre, there is a possibility that it could go to £1.50 ( so I am told in motoring mags).
Surely new car prices of expensive cars should theoretically tumble,(as well as second hand values) since who will afford to pay the capital cost, petrol/diesel, insurance, repairs of expensive vehicles? I am excluding Lottery winners, very rich, and adventurous who can afford to buy top range motors.
So would the sale of new 1.2 to 1.8 cc cars increase or decrease, and would the resale values between that range hold steady? Read more
Prices for luxobarges will fall from their already low levels to virtually being given away.
As there will be effectively be no deprecation these things make a lot of sense.
Incidentally what we have with the crude price is a capacity squeeze plus about a 20% premium due to speculation by the hedge funds.
Prices will drop to 'only' $35-40 next year and stay there.
I remember when crude was $12 a barrel and not that long ago...
Hi,
I'm just starting a new job and need to buy a 2nd car (current employment has allowed me to share car with my wife).
The run to work means I will be doing probably just over 30,000 miles per annum, so straight off I'm thinking diesel would make sense.
I'm also leaning towards an auto - usually drive manual but for this high mileage change in my driving I'm thinking of minimising the hassle factor a bit.
I don't have a lot of cash to spend (maybe £4k) and I really don't want anything flash - this is purely a workhorse I'm looking for, something to stick the miles on and not worry about.
Peugeot 406 was one idea. Maybe a Mondeo. But what about your suggestions?
Cheers... adam.
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Test drove the Rover 75 CDT for a couple of days when chosing my Passat 130Tdi 3 years ago. The Rover was tank-like in comparison but once it got moving it was OK. My heart said Rover (I love the dash) but head said VW.
Would imagine the Skoda would be the better buy of the two especially with questions over parts availability for the Rover.
I'm currently looking for a 25k miles per year motor for around £5k. Against all my instincts (I want something more swish) I'm thinking of a Focus/Mondeo/Primera.
Well, I didn't, 'till yesterday, care of a friend working on the water supply, to Buckingham Palace.
Apparently the lack of greenery & big trees, along The Mall, as well as minimal street furnitre together with lamp standards which are actually HINGED, is due to the carriageway (motor related) being a runway & landing strip for aircraft, to evacuate the Roayl Family, should need arise!!!
We can now add this to the previous posts, about the 'secret' slip roads onto our motorways, mysterious ventilation shafts & other supposedly non-existing structures, along the UK's highways & byways!
VB
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As interesting as it may be, back to motoring please.
DD.
I am thinking about buying a car form Northern Ireland as the prices there are considerably less than those on the Mainland. I understand that I would have to get the car re-registered (especailly if I want to sell it on). Does anyone know how much this cost or if there are any other pit-falls to avoid. A friend said that insurance may be higher but I dont see why if the car has full UK specs.
Thanks....
OK Read more
The car in question is a diesel but has had an RAC check done on it and apparently has FSH as well. I am thinking of asking the dealer to fax the RAC report to me before I go over, I don't think that this is too much to ask. Also checked the ferry prices and it cost around £80 one way. So I could in theory fly across from the mainland for approx £50 and then ferry back to mainland and then drive back south from there. I have the Reg number now so I will do an insurance search now.
Thanks.....
Hi all,
We should be picking up the new car this week. Our insurance docs haven't arrived yet although we do have an active policy for the new car bought over t'Interweb.
Question: if we don't get the insurance docs through by time time we pick up the car, can the garage get the car taxed anyway? - Do they have a company policy or something that would allow them to do this?
Would appreciate some advice.
Thanks,
-- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us. Read more
I *think* they do it all in house
now (including printing the tax disk?) but they still wanted the Ins Cert in advance - I guess, stricty speaking, they can't
register the car until they've got that?
Yes it is all done inhouse now and strictly speaking no we can't do it without the insurance certificate however.........
Looking at next years holiday and the Britanny coast in June is favourite.Which route in France is the easiest to navigate? St Malo to Britanny or Roscoff to Britanny?
As i live in Taunton, Plymouth to Roscoff appears the easiest all be it a 6 and a half hour crossing.Just a bit dubious about the Navigating in France.
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One more thing. Don't leave yourself short of time once you get to Plymouth (like we did). There may well be a better route, but we followed the signs for the ferry and it took us a very long-winded route through the city, and there was a lot of speed cameras.
HI My daughter has a Renault Megane . The security code has been lost Can anyone help with advice on how to remove the head unit so that I can have it recoded.
thanks
alan Read more
Don't be surprised that when you take it out - there is a large sticker on it with the security code!
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Thanks for the comments.
I ended up buying a new one though as the original refused to work properly after cleaning, no matter what I did. This included leaving the battery disconnected for half an hour so that the ECU lost any learned settings and allowing the motor to reset as described above. Using the same techniques the new one worked right away and not only has idle hunting been banished but so too has the ease of stalling when pulling away; I can now drive in to our garage completely 'right foot free' with the stepper motor correctly countering the drop of engine speed as a result of climbing a small concrete ridge with clutch slipped at much less than walking speed.
Though not surprised, I didn't thing £95.44 incl VAT was exactly cheap though for a few pence worth of components, no matter that it did have to be transported, stocked, etc.