Hi guys
I've got an 86 VW Polo C, which I just bought for £75 quid (tight budget) It's going alright, but the engine tends to cut out if I let it idle for more than a few secs without my foot on the gas, whenerver I slow down quickly (fourth to stop and then first at traffic lights and junctions etc) and also when I'm doing things like paralell parking, when I'm stopped, and I change from reverse to first gear. It's as if the car is stalling, but it does not kick like a car useually does. The battery warning light just comes on, and the engine stops. However,if I then floor the accelerator, it sometimes comes back to life. If I decellerate down slowley through the gears, giving the engine plenty of gas as I do, its not a problem. It'll do
70 on the motorway no problem as well.Do the slow and fast idle settings on the carb just need adjusting, or is it probably something more serious? Gunk in the carb? (This was the diagnosis of the local garage when I told them the engine had been cutting out at traffic lights.) If it is just the idle speeds, can I adjust these "by ear," or do I need to buy a tachometer etc, and adjust the ignition timing first? I just need to get the motor a bit more reliable for the next few months until I take it home to london, and I can get it sorted properly. The thin vacuum hose from the vacuum unit is missing, could this be causing the problems?
I really appreciate any help you guys can give me. As I say, I'm on a pretty tight budget, and I'd like to avoid taking the motor to the garage if I can.
Matt