Idle Problem

Im fairly new to this as i Just got a mk1 cabby on saturday. having some trouble with the carb though, when cold the car wont idle at all, the revs just drop straight down and it cuts out. Occasionally it starts holding back on acceleration and cutting out at junctions as well even when warm.. its fairly intermittent when the engine is warm though..

can anyone offer any advice?

hi chris t and welcome to the great world of pierburg 2e2 carbs they can be pants at times. i would say check all vacum pipes for wear as they get hot and crack so the carb cuts out. ive just sorted the same problem on my h reg clipper i removed all vacum pipes and replaced with good qaulity pipe and replaced the mounting gasket the carb sits on. it improved the running 80 % and i also used several cans of choke and carb cleaner and its been spot on for a week or so now with no idle problems . hope this helps. dave

cheers.. i'll have a look.. any idea where id be able to get some replacement tubes?

most auto shops sell it and i think german and sweedish do it too its 3 mm pipe but try and get the one with reinforcement in the tube so it wont collapse and cause the same problem, its only 2 or 3 quid a meter.

If you take a sample of the hose to euro car parts they stock them in 1mtr lengths.

Also with the engine running try rocking the air box from side to side and back and forth, you will have to undo the front airbox bolt to get the movement. This shold show any problem with the carb base gasket as it should stop running or speed up.

Would suggest that you look at the pierburg trouble guide on the big block section as this is full of help and helped me sort out mine when it was playing up.

Also try checking the plugs,dizzy cap,leads and rotar arm as these can add to the problems.

Good luck.

all the plugs, dizzy cap, leads look pretty new. will check all the connections in the morning..

car also idles at about 1000 rpm that about normal for a car of this age?

i would say from cold 1300 to 1400 and when warm around 900 thats what my clipper seems to do. hope you get it sorted bud.

ok think i found the problem.. there was a broken vacum pipe into the idle control valve and one of the other valves was connected wrong.. but the car is now idleing really fast?
about 1500?

anyway i can get it down?

where does the number 3 in the diagram go?

Stage II vacuum control unit:

1. Thermo-pneumatic valve
2. Restrictor
3. Straight connection hose

Stage ll vacuum control unit
1 This device is fitted to 1.6 litre manual gearbox models and 1.8 automatic gearbox models from August 1984 on. Its function is to delay the Stage ll opening slightly whilst the coolant temperature is below 18°C. It achieves this by venting the vacuum hose via the thermo-pneumatic valve and the resistor (see illustration).
2 Check that the straight hose at connection 3 on the thermo-pneumatic valve is not blocked and check the valve itself by blowing through it. It should be open at 18°C and close when the temperature rises above 28°C.

so thats just open ended?

quite a novice so its a little too jargony for me

I'm having a similar problem on my '89 clipper except that it idles erraticlly when cold then drops and cuts out when warm. My local mechanic who i've known for years and trust suggested a weber conversion as he cleaned up the pierburg and checked all the pipes. He just said they are bad carbs that with age tend to give up. Like Chris-T i'm no expert so ts the way forward for me.

Get yourself the Haynes carb book, before making any rash carb swapping decisions.  :wink:

have a read of my 2e2 carb faq, before making any rash carb swapping decisions