marty Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 hi there,,,ive recently bought my partner a little escort 1.4,ive been doing it up a little and come across a problem with the car when its warmed up the idle speed goes up and down,,not as in reving up but as in revs drop low then ok then low then ok??a better explination might be to say that it seems like its going to stall but doesnt it then runs ok then goes to stall but doesnt,,,the revs drop but never as far as to stall,,,iv done the air filter because when i pulled a breather pipe off it ran superb at idle but sucked too much air when i tried to take it on the road and splutterd so assume it has something to do with that area hence the new air filter,,,but to no joy,,ive put new leads on too it has an injection unit but i darcent start on that as basic mechanics is all im capable of,,also 1 more thing i keep getting a lot ov water coming from the exhaust +white smoke,,,but she aint loosing any water?? ive put new oil in and k-seal just incase it was the head gasket going but all seems well and no loss from the water resevoir or gunk in the oil cap although it does have water condensation in the cap(oil).,,,,,, any info would be great, many thanks marty B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prescott1988 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 i have the exact same problem on my 1.6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottlethroddy Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I take it they are both injection models, and that problem is known as 'hunting' and is normally caused by a sticky ICV (idle control valve) or an air leak somewhere around the inlet area. Im afraid I have no idea where your ICV is to show you as im not familiar with ford engines, but it will be cylindrical in shape, and will be bypassing the throttle assembly (a tube will leave the air intake before reaching the throttle body, run through the ICV and then rejoin the TB after the throttle. When you find it, give it a smack with a spanner whilst the engie is hunting, see if that cures it, if not, remove it abd blow some carb cleaner / WD40 down it and refit. If that doesnt work, as I said,. look for air leaks on the inlet, or your ICV needs replacing. HTH :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prescott1988 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 yeah its a injection model and thanx for your quick reply... i also have a choke/heater plug light that comes on and flashes when the car is hot. dunno if tht helps but thnx anyways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottlethroddy Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 yeah its a injection model and thanx for your quick reply... i also have a choke/heater plug light that comes on and flashes when the car is hot. dunno if tht helps but thnx anyways Thats probably your engine management light telling you the ICV is faulty. If what I put above doesnt work, getting the car plugged into a diagnostic machine will probably send you in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prescott1988 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 i went to the garage and ask for it to be plugged into a computer but they say mine has not got 1. they say i would have to do a paperclip test?? a dunno wat they mean by that. any help??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottlethroddy Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 i went to the garage and ask for it to be plugged into a computer but they say mine has not got 1. they say i would have to do a paperclip test?? a dunno wat they mean by that. any help??? A paper clip test means you need to bridge two pins on a diagnostic plug, the management light then flashes a sequence which you match to a list, telling you what is wrong, but i thought it was only doable on the old vauxhall ECU's? A quick google kind of confirms that. Unless you ford boys call it something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigeld Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 similar problem on my 1.8 gti, cleaned icv, helped a bit, but try this link, http://www.btinternet.com/~madmole/Referen...Control%20valve good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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