Engine Idle Speed "Bogging"... Possible to increase?

[williswoody]

So I've told you all about this, but my car engine idling speed has been bogging. It's been okay lately, but I'm hyper-aware I guess of it now, whenever it starts to rev beneath around 800 revvs, I start to worry because I usually drive my car in busy traffic situations.

Because of my dumbness with how cars work, I've watched a few YouTube vids on how they work which go into great detail about it, and one showed that it is possible to increase the engine Idling speed. Would this possibly fix my problem, if I was to increase it to around 1000-1200? Or is this something that should not be messed with?

I'm really worried. Like REALLY. I literally pray to God whenever I have to stop at the traffic lights, because one time it played up on the side of the street and had to call RACQ (Queensland's version of AAA or whatever, roadside assistance) and for having my hazard lights flashing for about 20 minutes, the battery didn't have enough charge to start the engine. So it's got me worried that if it stops at a busy intersection, I won't be able to turn it back on and thus, revert to somehow slowly pushing it through intermitantly-changing traffic lights.

I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the fuel relay switch, because it works fine now. When RACQ came and fixed it last week (it had been raining very heavily) they said water had gotten in the distributor cap because I'd driven through a fair few puddles, sprayed some water resistent stuff in it, and it worked pretty fine ever since.

I don't know what to do. I'm extremely worried that it'll conk out on me. Any ideas? Tips? Worry-pills? (mmmm delicious)

Also, this is one of the vids I was watching, which is explaining about how maintaining your car is good. Skip to like 5:35 and I love how happy the guy is that his windscreen wipers are working hahahaha cracks me up so much.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5TViFMx3rQ

Anyway thanks so much. Sorry, I should participate more in your guys posts, I will get around to that sometime soon. Cheers!!

EDIT: ALSO I HAVE JUST NOTICED THAT THERE IS ANOTHER 360 GLT DRIVING AROUND TOOWOOMBA (where I go to uni most days). WAS LIKE OMG WHEN I SAW IT, because I've heard of them being so rare and it was awesome. Virtually the exact same as mine, minus the crappy wallaby dent. My friends were in there a different day and saw it as well, thinking it was me. So if it was there another day as well, guessing it's there to stay!! have to stalk them and track them down and have butterscotch and scones and sip tea while I watch them through my telescope. Then scab free parts while they aren't looking, such as the front bumper.

[Chris_C]

When was your car last serviced? If spraying stuff into the dizzy cap makes things better, it's generally a sign you need a new one. And spark plugs. And dizzy arm. And the other things needed in a redblock service

[tim-andre]

is it a carb or an injection?
if its a carb, don't mess with the revs, should be at around 800-900 rpm, if its higher than that, lets say 1100-1300, it would deffinately stop if you stand still for more than 5-10 mins, because of sot i gues, ive learned this the hard way
try changing fuel filter, airfilter, plugs, cables, "dizzy" cap, rotor and the other thingy i dont know the name for in the distributor

[Ride_on]

Could be anything in a car that age, but should be easily fixed. Sounds like it hasn't been maintained, either you learn to service it yourself or find a reliable mechanic. Ignition and fuelling are particularly important and needs parts changed or adjusted every so often.

If its not idling there is probably something else wrong rather than purely the idle speed. Turning the idle up might improve it but it won't be right, might run lean or rich causing other problems eventually. 800 is a bit off, spec is 900+/-50, if you are looking at the rev counter its not that accurate. If its dropping after a while something is not happy.

If you are so worried why don't you rev it up a bit with the accelerator when its in neutral?

Sounds like it needs a new battery aswell. Stalling occasionally should not be a huge problem in itself, car should start on the button.

[alf]

Try this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMok2y05 ... re=related

[williswoody]

It's an injection 'pretty high tech for a 1984 model I reckon... Electric windows and all too.
I think part of the reason it revvs so low is that I've had the fan turned on whenever Im driving. The air con doesn't work, but I'm hopefully gunna get that fixed soon.

I got the car serviced on the 4th of January from memory, or about 2,000 kilometres ago, so its due for another one next month. and yea the mechanic is pretty reliable, as much as he hates volvo's. Haha he fixed it all up when the taper seal came out and oil was leaking all over everything.

I also brought a battery today which cost 104.00, so I hope it'd brand spanking new. I think my confidence in driving it has just boosted, because at least if it breaks down and I need the hazard lights, it wont run out of battery after 3 minutes.

And Tim, I've just had the radiator fixed after it was leaking fluid, and I got a new fuel filter, air filter and thermostat put in st the same time so those should be right I hope.

So checklist for now:
1. Spark plugs
2. Cables
3. Rotor (what is this btw? I know it's something that spins?? Haha)
--> dizzy cap and arm. My dad checked the dizzy cap though and said it looked fine??
4. Air conditioner
5. New exhaust rubber. Old one split and it is currently held up by bit of wire, which can rattle violently sometimes and be very noisy.
6. New awesome CD player with iPod connectivity. ;D
7. Bass speakers ha!!

[Chris_C]

Rotor == dizzy arm.

300's have a knack of having caps and arms that look like they would be fine on other vehicles but work much better when a new one is put on. It should only cost you £15 for the pair, I always did mine every 12months/15,000miles

[Ride_on]

The Injections are pretty reliable, sounds like it is an air/fuel problem. The injection system measure the amount of air coming in and applies the correct fuelling electronically, so if this measurement is wrong because air is leaking in or the amount of idle air is wrong, then the fuelling will be wrong. If it revs up ok, and general power is fine then its probably something below;

1. Air leaks (after the air mass meter), check all the hoses attached to the, air mass meter, throttle body, breather system and air bypass. If the hoses are hard or split they may be leaking. Sometimes cutting of the end can help, new pipes are best, but unlikely to be available. Make sure the big inlet pipes are sealed.
2. Remove and check the throttle body up to the light for butterfly alignment and general carbon/gum buildup. The idle is adjusted by a fine adjustment screw on the throttle body stop, but if its varying something is wrong. Maybe the idle switch is not coming on and needs adjusted, or perhaps the cable or linkage is not allowing it to shut properly. Pop off the linkage arm to check for this, the engine will idle differently if there is a problem there in the accelerator linkage. If the throttle body is gummed up, get a can of injection intake cleaner, soak and blast the the whole thing till its spotless.
3. Once the idle is at 900 (if you are satisfied everything is in good order), then you check the CO content with an exhaust gas analyser. CO is adjusted at the air flow meter. If it is unstable or won't adjust to the 0.5% requirement, something is leaky.

As you can see its is a bit complicated and some special equipment is needed, but a good mechanic should be able to manage, however he may lack knowledge of this car. If there are any of the above problem and the car has been service adjusted, the adjustment will be wrong and could be causing the problems. You cannot turn up the mixture to account for air leaks for example. Its impossible to know if the car has been adjusted with problems, so the throttle body and air system needs dismantled and checked.

The most common problems are leaky air pipes, with gummed up throttle body easy to eliminate. Idle switch and butterfly plate adjustment are unlikely unless someone has been messing with them or something has worn out (again unlikely). Another problem is too much fuel from leaky injectors or cold start injector, so if all the above fails then you can look at those, they can be cleaned professionally, but good second hand ones should not be that hard to come by.

Oh and not to forget the auxillary air valve (the sticky up thing on the top of the engine). It should be closed when the engine is warm, so block/clamp the hoses going to it, there should be no difference. The hoses are a favourite for air leaks, and the air valve can be sticky.