'85 Jetta, erratic idle at startup.

May 23, 2004 4 Replies
F

'85 Jetta (gas). Most of the time when I start it the idle is just fine, about 750-800 RPM. Every once in a while - maybe once every dozen starts or so - when I start it, the idles swing back and forth wildly between about



1500 RPM and almost stalling, lasting for maybe 5-10 seconds then smooths out. One time (and only once, as I recall) this lasted for several minutes including driving a couple miles down the road (Which was REAL annoying, believe me) before it eventually settled down.

This seems to be entirely random - doesn't seem to be related to ambient temperature or weather or how long since I've last driven it.



Any suggestions ?



Thanks.



- FM -


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D

That's exactly how troubles with my 95 Golf started. Over time it got worse, dependent on weather (rainy days), engine stalled several times on a traffic lights. New spark plug wire set solved the problem.

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F

What's the best way ? Just spray some carburetor cleaner through it ?

- FM -

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S

Some people use throttle blody cleaner, but you need to be sure it's safe for plastic or you'll wreck the thing, and they're pricey. You can find info on doing this by googling. I took mine off and sat it vertically in a jar of gasoline overnight, not covering the electrical connections. This dissolved most of the junk in the valve and helped it idle smoother. YMMV. In fact I haven't done it in a couple of years and it's starting to get cranky again.

'luck, Chris

Fred Mau wrote:

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