Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 09:28 am, by: Nik Gacomi(Snoopie)
Hey Guys,
I know the low idle problem has been covered previously but im having the same problem with a twist!
Basically my car is idling at 400-500rpm. It feels like its about to stall when im braking or not moving but it never does. I thought it was jsut the ICV or something mechanical like a loose hose etc but i checked it all and everything seems fine. Here is the twist. Im certain mine is an electrical problem because when im idle my lights do dim and the air con works really low. As soon as i put my foot on the accelerator the lights go 3 times brighter and air con works fine again. So its like im losing power but only when im idling.
Battery has been checked and seems to be holding good charge, and terminals seem fine.
Not sure if the problems are related but im also getting the occassional puff of white smoke issue when i start up the car sometimes (totally random not weather specific).
Oil just changed, radiator flushed, did ECU reset.
Anyone at all have any ideas what could cause this power loss?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 11:04 am, by: Michael Keen(Spoilt)
Nik Gacomi wrote on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 09:28 am:
As soon as i put my foot on the accelerator the lights go 3 times brighter and air con works fine again. So its like im losing power but only when im idling
this will happen becuase your alternator is not spinning fast enough to charge. at the low idle.and it is draining your battery.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 01:24 pm, by: Brian Timms(Turbo_brian)
Nik,
As Mike said, the light dimming is due to alternator not spinning fast enough on idle, when the idle speeds get back to 750rpm this should be resolved, and you dont need a new alternator (no alternator can make enough power at that lower RPM speed).
As for the low Idle, search will get you the answer, it's more than likely going to be the idle control valve, or a vacuum line, sometimes very hard to find.
Might be worth also checning your grounding cables, if there is a loose or poorly grounded point, it could cause low idle, and thus the dimming as well.