hey guys i've had a search and cant seem to find how to adjust the idle when cold. Its idling at between 2-3000 when you first start it up and takes ages to get down to the normal 1k idle. Its fine more or less when warm and sits at 1k all day but it just takes ages to warm up, i checked that there was signal going to the carb heater and that the choke unit was getting hot, and replaced the thermostat (just because i had a sparee i was feeling lucky ) but all seemed fine? Any ideas what could be wrong waxstat maybe?
Ive got exactly the same problem on mine at the moment mate. Its well annoying!!! Been advised by many that its most likely the Waxstat.
bugger on fuel econamy isn't it! which ones the old waxstat then? I've picked that up when searching too but dont know which one it is
its probably never been changed its it 120k life time what is it though the mushroom type thing number 19 on the picture? is it just a case of bolt on bolt off or do you have to set a few things first?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 2e3 doesn't have a waxstat. The warm-up-phase idle revs are controlled by some sort of stepped cam. Not sure what controls that. I've got one in the garden shed at home somewhere, but never got round to looking at it.
to be fair i've no idea what a waxstat is i just heard lots of people saying it about the 2e2. yeah i think it has a cam because thats why you have to press the accelorator once to engage it for the cold start. not sure where this cam is though. Any advice on how to go about diagnosis??
Thanks. i've found the labels for the 2e3 diagram if thats any help? theres no waxstat there though? dont really know which part the cammed cold start bit would be in either? any ideas? http://wiki.80-90.co.uk/index.php/Fuel_system_-_Pierburg
Found it! The cam is behind all the autochoke water housing/bimetallic coil spring housing stuff. It's coupled with some little weakish springs, which look like they could get clogged up and 'sticky'. I'll post you up a pic or two after I've had my tea. Yonder cam, on the same bit that gets turned as the autochoke spring unwinds: The far (top in pic) end, that actually hooks up to the choke flap via a little metal 'U' shaped bit, can rotate independently via one of those two springs (so that the 'wide-open kick' thing can work); and the cam can also rotate relative to the main shaft, but is coupled to it with the other little spring. My best guess is that these springs and the mechanism in general, are goo'ed up with years of grime, and not able to move as they should, so the cam is sticking in the "I've just been reset for a cold start" position, giving silly-high revs as the engine is warming up. If you can get access with all in place, try to get some WD40, Carb-cleaner etc down there, and then when it's cleaner, a drop or two of 3-in-1 oil. If dis-assembly is required, mark up the rotational position of the water housing (outer) bit, so you can get it back on at the right angle once you've cleaned/lubed/reassembled. Edit: If they aren't already leaking, I'd advise you not to disconnect the water hoses from the housing on the end, as the pipe stubs tend to corrode away, and you may face problems with re-connection if you disturb them.
Definition of a legend: EZ_Pete Paid Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Under Bonnet, nr Abingdon Posts: 3,119 thanks for doing that dude i owe you a pint next time your in nottingham! I'll give it a crack at the weekend so if i brake something i've got a bit of time to try and find a replacement. I hope it works, from what you've pointed out i think that could may well be the cause becuase it took about 2-3 weeks for the idle to gradually climb which could be more andd more crap getting caught in the springs!!! thanks again i'll report back my findings
You're welcome. It was a good excuse to finally get into that thing. Ocky on here sold it to me bleedin' ages ago, as I was curious to see how it differed from a 2e2. It's been sat in the shed ever since. There is a small crack in one of the light-coloured plastic bits in that mechanism, but other than that, anything you might need off the carb is all yours if you have any accidents. Edit: I just tested the pulldown unit, and it works, which was a surprise, so check yours out and make sure it's OK. Take your time, and take pics as you go along if you do find yourself taking it apart, always easier to re-assemble if you have more than just a memory of what it looked like when you started. With my memory anyway.
right i've just been freezing my fingers off outside and after a bit of tampering and playing around with the auto choke springs problem 'high idle with chioke' is solved!!! I think it wasnt resetting itself properly so permanently riding the cam! i'm just going to go back (out when my fingers warm up) to mess around with the idle setting as it did seem a tad low. I dont know much about carbs to be honest but what it the fast idle/fast idle screw number 35 on the pic below? it looks like its been moved about before as theres dirt and then a clean bit showing? What else can i adjust to help it idle and accelerate etc? i dont want to touch the mixture as i think thats fine, i might check the idle scrrew again, anything else?
The 'normal' idle adjustment looks to be the screw with the long plastic tube attached, which should make your idle speed go up and down on a fully warmed up engine. Just turning the tube doesn't turn the screw BTW . The fast idle adjustment screw, I guess, would be to adjust the idle speed of the carb when it's just started from cold, on the 'top step' of the cam. Haynes probably quotes a number for this, 2000rpm or thereabouts would be my blind guess. I can look it up if you don't find it, either in Haynes 1081, Haynes Pierburg Carb manual or on www.ruddies-berlin.de which has all the original Pierburg info, AFAIK. Best guess is that someone has adjusted it in an attempt to fix the symptoms of the sticking cam; so putting it back to the clean metal position would probably be about right.
cheers dude, fast idle when on the choke would make sense actually i'll check its cold and go play!! thanks again
Do us a favour mate? Have a gander at this thread and let the Threadstarter know if your carb is wired up similar to what I'm suggesting (first pic I posted has an error though)? What year/engine code is yours? PS. With regard to adjusting your cold idle, do make sure it's stone cold, and you'll probably have to be quite quick about it. Now that your cam is moving properly, it may move quite quickly from the top step. Although... it might be that it can only jump form one step to the next if the throttle is 'blipped' to take the screw pressure off the cam, dunno?
