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I came to my car at 1:30 this morning after doing a spot of taxi-ing for friends, and the car was a bit more hesitant than normal to start. When the engine did come into life, it idled very low (no idea of exact revs, as have no rev counter), but as a means of comparison I turned main beam on, and they were very dull, yet when I applied a little gas, car ran well, lights were at full brightness. I then backed off the gas to see whether the car had sorted itself, and the car cut-out.

Started it once again with hesitance, and similar happened. I gave it some gas, and same results as before, only I proceeded to drive, thinking giving it a bit of a run might sort it. Pulled up after 30 mins and the engine was at temperature. It started exactly as normal, with no hesitance, and revs were normal.

Could this be linked to other episods were the car has been started from warm, the engine has then gained some revs of its own accord, then settles back to 'normal' idle?

Thanks.

Karl.

Ah shouldn't be too much to worry about Karl, it was pretty cold I'm execting. Should go away after a bit. Although the issue with your lights is worrying.

The lights dimming is perfectly normal if the car's revving very low (mine dim below around 950rpm), as the alternator isn't putting out enough power so they have to draw from the battery instead - obviously it'll be worse if your battery's a bit knackered.
Fraid I can't really offer any advice as to why it's stalling though, I know nowt about fuel injection.. although from what I can see, the blue temp sender seems to be the cause of a lot of these sort of problems

GroovyCarrot wrote: the blue temp sender seems to be the cause of a lot of these sort of problems

EVERY f*****g problem!

If only it was the cause of every problem on a carb engine, I'd be a happy man...

You don't have the hot air bit on the airbox now karl with the induction kit so i imagine 1:30am was a very cold time and it was just the cars way of saying im freezing.

dunno mate never had too much problems with cold running on mine without hot air pipe, 100% functional temp sensor OR working thermostat (ie engine started bloody freezing and stayed that way)

well ok, there were problems, it might clonk onto 3 cylinders for a bit, idle a bit low if you clutch down after a run, or be a little lumpy and hesitant after just starting out, but not giving symptoms quite like that - low revs from the get-go, cutting out etc. did you run the starter for *just* long enough to get the engine going, or have it overrun slightly?

besides it aint *that* cold - not freezing, is it..

Yea i dint mean freezing as in covered in ice i just meant it as cold, meaning it had been stood in the cold for a while then was a little rough while on choke.

Tahrey1043 wrote:besides it aint *that* cold - not freezing, is it..

http://www.tigerstyle.co.uk/poloforum/v ... php?t=9659

clever stuff! that explains things

maybe forgetting to re-fit the exhaust manifold pipe *helps* with the running in such situations? (similar to the situation you described with the intake behind the radiator)

Like when you breathe closely to your heat exchanger at the back of your fridge, as you do.

riiiiiiight!

I've actually just taken a 1.3 polo CL off my uncles hands that is having problems with overheating and eratic running, stalling, etc is there a chance that it is the temp sensor?

sorry for hijacking the post but i thought it would be better than cdreating my own post

how badly is it overheating?

i'd put that down to the thermostat and/or radiator/fan (or maybe a general lack of coolant!) myself mate. the temp sensor is basically for telling the ECU how hot the engine is so it can adjust the fuel mixture accordingly.

i.e. mine was blitzing 95-RON like it was going out of fashion (30mpg on a 1-litre - granted it had a hard life, but that included a lot of motorway work) and occasionally running a little... "funny" (just slow to respond) til i got those two sorted out - always a little "on the choke" as it rarely got above 70'c (normal running temp, about 85'c), and compounding it, when the sensor played up, it overfuelled even more, causing the response problem.

I'd say replace the blue temp sender, they're only a tenner from VW & are the first thing to look at with most temperature related problems.

Overheating wont be anything to do with that though. check for airlocks, knackered thermostat, fan not working.