Idling problem on 1.3 SPI (mk3 polo) Video

This is my girlfriends new car. Got it today and everything runs fine but it has a tickover issue. Not sure if any of you are as familiar of this fuel setup as the Golf obviously never had it but i've posted the problem onto Club Polo and now i'm putting it here just incase someone who knows what it could be. Sorry for polluting the site. Should have put this in the non-Golf bit but, well, it is a veedub and i need a dub head.

- YouTube

I took this video to show that the actuator (i'm presuming that has something to do with cold starting) is trying to keep it idling. At first i thought the fuel was cutting out but it seems not to be from visual.  The revs just lower, the throttle is opened by the ECU  :dontknow: then it picks up again until suddenly it gives up.  The lad previous has put a new tank in and i have a slight suspicion a line, the filter or the pump could have been affected in some way.

Any idea's?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Rik

is the throttle body spotless? gunk in there will make it hard for ecu to maintain idle. also if blue temp sender never been done its worth getting a new one from vw, and try disconnecting the plug for the lambda sensor to see if that helps

haha just the man i was after. my plan worked :twisted: will give those a look
thanks alot

Finally had a look at it.  Did a few things including unplugging the Lambda which didn't remove the problem.  Haven't replaced the temp. sender yet but i unplugged it out of curiosity.  The revs picked up but it still had the problem.  I think the throttle body is pretty clean but here is a picture maybe you could give me your opinion?

Looking at it for a while the other day, i was wondering what the little orange thing inside the airbox is.   I came to the conclusion that it's to do with intake temperature.  Depending on how warm it is depends whether vacuum will pass through it to act on the intake valve for warm/cool air, or whether the pipe to it will just be blanked off.  Is this right, and if so, does this mean there should be a constant vacuum in that line from the throttle body and that any leak of air into it will affect the running?

I decided to have a look at the plugs and found #1 to only be hand tight.  It was a bit more peachy coloured than the others except for #4 which was a bit oily.  They all seemed pretty regular.  Put them all back nice and tight then had a look inside the distributor cap.
A little bit of arc fur here.  Is this OK or getting on a bit?  I cleaned it off and started it up.  It ran fine.  I took it out to get it up to temperature.  During the 20 odd mile drive i never had the problem whenever pulled up at lights.  It just ticked over at a constant 750-800 RPM and the brake pedal was in a higher position the whole way too.  Most of the time the brake pedal is too low but every so often it comes back up.  I wondered whether this was to do with the loose plug and a varying vacuum on the servo?????
Got home and low and behold it konked out.  Couldn't believe it.
I've had a suggestion for the timing to be checked.  Looks as if some idiot has played about with it by loosening the distributor bolts with molegrips.  The last owner was a prat.  He fitted a new tank.  I filled up and petrol pissed everywhere from underneath.  Turned out he hadn't re-fitted the breather pipe.  Could have ended up in flames!

Could you identify this for me, please?
I've noticed a line to it comes from the throttle body so i'm wondering whether it could be a culprit.

I will check the throttle body is tight to the manifold and might replace the gasket.

the vacuum unit is for the warm air feed, depending on how cold the inlet is it opens and closes the warm air feed to the airbox. the warm air pipe should run from the airbox to a metal shroud on the exhaust manifold.

can you open the throttle and recheck to make sure its as clean underneath as it is on top? the spi dumps fuel right onto that butterfly so it will be clean on top but grot might build up underneath.

i dont liek the look of that cap and arm, I would buy new beru ones from here:
AVS Car Parts - [The VW - Audi - Seat - Skoda Parts Specialist]

check for play in the shaft while you're there. id also do the plugs and leads while you're there if they look old or are crap make.

that thing is the carbon canister, you could disconnect the pipe to the inlet from the valve and cap it to rule it out

thanks for the reply and the link. just bought quite a few bits on there. CHEAP!
throttle body is clean underneath. i can see the heater and its spotless. gavre it a squirt of carb cleaner anyway.
parts should arrive monday so i'll see how i get on.  i might replace the leads if the cap and rotor are successful but the plugs look well and they're NGK. i'll check the gaps though.
when i have loosened the distributor to turn it, it has a lot of play but the shaft itself i think is ok.