Cars and Blondes....

[Pia]

.... i'm being a typical blonde by being a rubbish driver at the mo

I passed my test before Christmas, and haven't drove since.... Until i got my new (old) car on Saturday

It's an R reg Ford Escort Encore 1.3 (dark green if you were interested )

Okay so i'm really rusty with the driving, things like changing straight into second gear when set off etc, i find it hardest when in really slow moving traffic to keep the speed slow enough to not keep stopping, it feels like i need to use the brakes even after i've only touched the gas in 1st a tiny bit.

Anyway, i wanted to take it to a garage because it seems to have something wrong with it, or is it me? My boyfriend drove it and said it's not just me so i guess it's the car.

The problem is, sometimes when i come off the gas and press down the clutch to change gear or brake to stop, it revs quite loudly. If i free wheel it with just the clutch down while moving slowly it revs, and sometimes it stalls. Now, i'm deffo not on the gas when this happens, and also i make sure the clutch is all the way down....

Any idea what this is? And if it's dangerous or expensive to fix?

[WHISTLED]

Doesnt sound like its you ut dont you have a friend or relative you can ask to take it down the road...

[Ramrod]

This any help?

[Pia]

Well as i said my boyfriend was the one who pointed it out... he said it's deffo not right for it to do that. My sister has driven it also but it doesn't always do it. So hopefully i'm not that bad

What i'm asking is for an idea of what it could be - if anyone has ever encountered something similar

[G UK]

I've had similar happen on a couple of cars in the past and its always one sensor or another playing silly buggers. You should be able to get any error codes from the ecu easy enough although you'll have to google how as I'm not familiar with escorts that new (the only one I've ever owned was an old G Reg 1.3 with the OHV engine)

[Pia]

Rammy that link needs a registration

i'll have a look though, i'm sure it's worth it

clutch on its way out maybe or throttle cable sticking? what rpm does it normally tick over at?

[Pia]

It hasn't got a rev counter

---------- Post added at 20:18 ---------- Previous post was at 20:16 ----------

Just found this linky, seems like i'm not the only one

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/po...ex.htm?t=22353

[G UK]

Very much doubt its the clutch, if the pressure plate was knackered you would have trouble shifting and/or be getting slipping.

Sticky Throttle body is a possibility though, should be easy to diagnose that though. Rev the engine and gently release the throttle a few times and make note of where the engine idles after each. If the throttles sticking the idle point will vary.

Does the engine rev when your rolling with the clutch in but drop back to idle when you stop? If so slightly tighten the throttle idle screw until the revs drop a bit, the ecu should try to compensate after a few seconds. Then give it another test.

This actually happened on my Lotus and the idle screw had somehow come lose, the ecu was managing to keep the revs down when the engine was stood still but when coasting it would sit at the higher revs, mine didnt stall though.

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by Pia

Rammy that link needs a registration

Ah, sorry....

ad a bit of a problem with the idle on the car over the last few days, its ok when just sat there but when you let of the accelerator or depress the clutch it drops to nearly cutting out then for a min will flutter between 200rpm to 1k rpm

Sounds a lot like a vaccum leak - especially if its fine when the car is cold but then starts to play up when its warm

idle control valve sticking, had this on mine awee while ago and cleaned with carb cleaner and all was ok.

have you checked the new pcv valvee isnt broken or the hose is split?
this will cause a vacuum leak. pinch(pliers/mole grips) the hose on the pcv and see if idles goes back to norm

Most of that is greek to me btw......

[Pia]

Originally Posted by G UK

Very much doubt its the clutch, if the pressure plate was knackered you would have trouble shifting and/or be getting slipping.

Sticky Throttle body is a possibility though, should be easy to diagnose that though. Rev the engine and gently release the throttle a few times and make note of where the engine idles after each. If the throttles sticking the idle point will vary.

Does the engine rev when your rolling with the clutch in but drop back to idle when you stop? If so slightly tighten the throttle idle screw until the revs drop a bit, the ecu should try to compensate after a few seconds. Then give it another test.

This actually happened on my Lotus and the idle screw had somehow come lose, the ecu was managing to keep the revs down when the engine was stood still but when coasting it would sit at the higher revs, mine didnt stall though.

Yeah it revs while the clutch is down, and when i lift up clutch and get back on the gas it goes normal again but not always straight away, only ever about 10 seconds or so though.

throttle screws and cables..... pressure plates....

LOL. Okay so do i need to go to a garage?

thanks for taking the time to help by the way

[G UK]

What I mean is when you drive along and depress the clutch the revs rise and when you come to a stop (still with clutch depressed) the revs drop to normal idle.

[Pia]

Ahhhh... hmmm i'm not too sure. I'm pretty certain it still does it when stopped until i release the clutch

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by zinglebarb

clutch on its way out maybe or throttle cable sticking? what rpm does it normally tick over at?

I was thinking throttle cable sticking but that doesn't usually cause it to cut out does it?.....Just increases revs at rest?

[Pia]

I don't know what a throttle cable is


I can barely drive the thing let alone fix it