Escort - stalls when cold

Oct 18, 2008 4 Replies
L

Hi Folks,



I have an R-Reg Escort with a 16V 1.6 Zetec engine. The car runs great except for the first 2-odd mins when it will stall at junctions or if slowed to a halt - although it will idle with no problems. Once 'warmed up' though it's fine.



Can't say I've dabbled with cars since I had a Capri in the 1980s, but my limited (and old) knowledge says 'automatic choke' but I'd appreciate feedback from anyone who can suggest any well-known problems of this type with this model in order of likelihood. I have a Haynes manual and toolkit and I am not afraid to use them (if it's a simple job!)



Thanks.


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T

Clean out the throttle body and the ISCV with carb cleaner and a tooth brush.

Be warned though that the ISCV's dont respond overly well to cleaning (it may be fine for a while, but be prepared to replace it) but its worth a go. They are around £65 from your local dealer and 10mins to fit.

Tim.

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T

Oh, and you are using the proper 5w-30 oil thats been changed regularly aren't you???

tim.

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H

Linker3000 expressed precisely :

It sounds likely to be the Idle Air Control Valve, I don't think it will have a carb - it will be injection. It is a small bolt onto the the side of the throttle body unit, with a two pin electrical plug and probably fixed with two bolts. Take it off and clean it out with carb cleaner then put a spot of thin oil on the moving parts.

It is just a solenoid operating a valve which allows air to leak past the butterfly to control the engine speed - controlled by the ECU. The slower the engine runs, the more the solenoid is fired to open the valve against a return spring.

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G

My Astra had similar symptoms to yours. See the "Astra Mk3 Idle Speed Control Valve sorted" post.

Gareth.

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