iratic idle on my c5

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paddlesat16
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iratic idle on my c5

Post by paddlesat16 »

My C5 is driving me nuts!!!

I have an iratic idle, the car judders at low revs and town driving 30mph-ish. Does anybody have any idea what could be causing this? Before I take it to my local citroen dealer for analysis.


the car is a 1.8i LX
bencowell
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Post by bencowell »

Has it had a service recently? Clogged filters or poor quality fuel?

Do you do a lot of driving in town?

Try disconnecting the battery for 10 mins and seeing if that improves it.

Then visit a dealer
paddlesat16
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Post by paddlesat16 »

I do lots of motorway miles in the car, it gets serviced regularly but I just can't seem to shift this irratic idle. when it sits at the lights the rev counter goes up and down between 6 and 7 hundred rpm. it also judders almost hesitates at slow speeds; I have to down change for it to run smoothley.
bencowell
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Post by bencowell »

Have you got the air con switched on?
mezuk04
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Post by mezuk04 »

I'm guessing that you cant manual 'tweak' the revs at idle like you can with the older cars?
Volkswagen Golf 59' 1.6TD S :(
paddlesat16
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Post by paddlesat16 »

Having the aircon makes some difference i.e it doesn't do it as much..

but generally don't have the aircon on
watsoft
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Post by watsoft »

Sounds to me like a miss-fire which the engine management is attempting to overcome by increasing the revs.

I'd start by checking the plugs and maybe replacing them. Throw in a new set and if the problem doesn't clear then put the old ones back in and keep the spare set for the next replacement.

If that doesn't work and you've changed your fuel filter recent'ish then it could be (but not limited to) one of the following:
- Coil pack failing (common on Citroens) [try GFS car parts]
- Hole in a vacuum pipe [listen for whistles from pipes between engine and air intake]
- MAF sensor
- Air temperature sensor
- Problem with an injector or its electrical circuit.
- Failing battery (can give wiered symptoms) [Try recharging]

If it was one of the sensors then I'd expect the engine warning light to illuminate.

I'm NO expert, but this is an area in which I've experienced problems too.

Hope this helps!
SandyD
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Post by SandyD »

Hi, have you checked the emission pipes for a blockage as this can have that effect on the erratic idle and poor performance by this I mean emulsified oil sludge. One more thing to check is the engine breather system is a sealed system and if it is sucking in air then you get an erratic idle, e.g. the oil filler cap not sealing correctly for instance cracked pipe.

Hopes this helps.
paddlesat16
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Post by paddlesat16 »

Thanks for the advice guys, i'll try all your solutions and ideas over the next weekend or so, when i've got more time.

thanks again
one dead Astra diesel and an irratic C5 1.8i
paddlesat16
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Post by paddlesat16 »

Hi folks

I think I found the problem with my irratic idle, I went out and bought a nice new shiney set of plugs changed em over and hey presto no more irratic idle....

on inspecting the old plugs the centre cores(all four) were down to the white centre; lterally no metal left at all.

I think changing the plugs will be a little bit more regular from now on.. :lol:
one dead Astra diesel and an irratic C5 1.8i
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