Hi,

Does anyone know what might cause the following symptoms:

1. revs fluctuate between 500 - 1000 rpm at idle (intermittently), nearly but not quite stalling.

2. revs drop out badly when pulling away, so much so that it will stall if i don't put the clutch in or floor the accelerator.

any help would be much appreciated!

cheers,

Turk.

Check for any air leaks, check the plugs, clean the throttle body, perform a throttle body adaption with VAG-COM.

Have you had the battery off, or run it low?

I couldn't find any obvious leaks, the plugs are new and the battery is ok!

perform a throttle body adaption with VAG-COM

sounds like a job for a garage?

I took mine to my local Skoda Dealers. They couldn't find anything wrong with it, but charged me for the privelidge of looking!

1. revs fluctuate between 500 - 1000 rpm at idle (intermittently), nearly but not quite stalling.

Lumpy idle says coolant temp sensor failure - does your temperature gauge sometime stay stuck to the left? I did a technical guide here, although word is that the thermostat housing's worth doing at the same time (have a search for more info)

2. revs drop out badly when pulling away, so much so that it will stall if i don't put the clutch in or floor the accelerator.

The 1.4 16v has a bit of a reputation for being gutless AFAIK - the amount of clutch and throttle needed when pulling away varies from car to car, but you can't just stick it in gear and dump the clutch no matter what you drive!!!

does your temperature gauge sometime stay stuck to the left

No, it operates normally.

you can't just stick it in gear and dump the clutch no matter what you drive!!!

True, but this level of rev loss cannot be considered acceptable by anyones standards i.e. surely it cannot be an idiosyncracy of the car, it must be a fault that I'm assuming is related to the rev fluctuation at idle.

^^ Then I would suggest getting the throttle body reset with VAG-COM as suggested earlier. This can be done by someone with the correct kit, so if you ask around nicely, there might be someone on here who can help. Otherwise, getting a garage to do it is probably cheaper than buying all the necessary kit yourself. Rumour also has it that turning the ignition key two clicks, but not starting the engine, and leaving it like that for a couple of minutes will reset the ECU to factory settings - got to be worth a try!

PS: As regards

surely it cannot be an idiosyncracy of the car, it must be a fault that I'm assuming is related to the rev fluctuation at idle.

there's no need to be rude; people are trying to help you! It is unclear from your post whether the car is new, or whether this problem has happened over time. It sounds like it's new, in which case did you not notice it at the time you test-drove it? If you've not had it long, and bought it from a garage, they will probably look at it for you for nothing under the warranty all cars sold by dealers now have by law.

I'm not quite sure what it was about my post that you found offensive but by no means was I trying to be rude, just as I am sure that you are not trying to be patronising! I am very appreciative of anyone that would take time to offer thier thoughts regarding a possible cause of the symptoms that I have described.

The car is on an 02 plate and I bought it this february. It has developed this problem over the last few months.

I'm not quite sure what it was about my post that you found offensive but by no means was I trying to be rude, just as I am sure that you are not trying to be patronising! I am very appreciative of anyone that would take time to offer thier thoughts regarding a possible cause of the symptoms that I have described.

The car is on an 02 plate and I bought it this february. It has developed this problem over the last few months.

OK, fair enough! Have a go with the ignition thing, and if that doesn't help, it'll be worth getting a diagnostic check done...

Thanks for your help. I'll give the throttle body a bath.

BTW I read your how-to on the temp sensor; nice! What does the MPI stand for anyway?

Clean out the throttle body yourself. Its dead easy and you will notice a difference straight away. I have found this problem on so many of my friends cars...seat ibiza 1.4mpi vw polo 1.4 all the same engine and a 10 minute clean of the butterfly valve and surrounding throttle body cured it every time....

Thanks for your help. I'll give the throttle body a bath.

BTW I read your how-to on the temp sensor; nice! What does the MPI stand for anyway?

Multi Point Injection. Fuel is fed directly into the cylinder requiring it at the time it is needed.

Fuel injection - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia