Hi, Even when my engine is warm, the idling speed seems to be around 1200 rpm if the tachometer is to be believed. This seems high. Can anyone please share their approximate idling speed when warm? Is the idling speed adjustable. I've got sooty exhaust pipes, so maybe I'm running rich or need a new air filter. ( Only had the car a couple of months.... )
Just under 1000 rpm Around 800 - 850 is the normal idle speed. Youre running rich which explains the black exhaust. I would service the car then take it for a blast down a fast road as a starting point to fixing it.
At least on the 1.3, the idle speed is fixed by the ECU. Is it possible the throttle cable cable is too tight? I really am no expert, but I believe the mixture is controlled by the oxygen sensor before the CAT. In normal running the sensor should be switching every few seconds. One other possible cause I can think of is the temperature sensor. Does the gauge work ok? Anybody else that can comment on this? I only know the 1.3 engine. Rex.
All exhausts get some carbon deposits even if running in spec. Its not a problem unless yours has an excessive build up. So I'm saying that might not be a result of the high idle speed. Does it have an idle control valve? if that gets blocked/stuck or plain fails then it will result in a high idle speed other wise the engine would stall. The ECU recognises there is a problem and ups the revs. If things are working correctly an old filter shouldn't cause rich mixture/sooty exhaust because the ECU should adjust the fuel to match the amount of air coming in. It would mean you will be down on power, but probably not significant. Unless you have been on the Paris Dakar rally and got an inch of sand on your filter.
Leaks in the vacuum pipes can cause a fast idle as well. Unfortunately today's cars are not very DIY diagnosis friendly so after checking a few obvious possibilities taking the car to a garage with diagnostic gear is probably the best bet.
Or buy a cheap bluetooth ECU reader from somwhere like DealExtreme, and get any number of iPhone and Android apps - that what I've done
I've got an OBD code reader it's self contained though, doesn't send to a phone or other device The problem with these readers is they are only any use if the ECU has thrown up a fault code and lit up the engine management light. Mac1962 didn't mention the light was on so I assumed it wasn't.
yes I assumed he hadn't either. Like number 6 I have a cheap bluetoother with phone app. As he's local, he could try mine if he needed to.
Last night, I plugged in my ODB2 dongle and paired it with my Android tablet. The revs dropped to around 740 rpm, no fault-codes were reported, and the fuel was in "closed loop" mode. There's probably some kind of intermittent fault, like something sticking or a leak in the fuel-intake system. Like Trustafox says, the ECU should take car of the idling speed and fuel/air mix. I'd expect that if there was an intermittent bug in the fuel-mixture loop, some kind of fault would be logged but maybe not. Also, if the car has a throttle cable, ( rather than just a potentiometer ) maybe it's not returning properly, but that only explains the higher rpm, not the rich fuel-mixture. I'll try logging my drive home from work. Maybe something will appear when I'm giving it a damn good thrashing. The exhaust pipes are very sooty, like a chimney. I need Dick van Dyke to dress up as a chimney-sweep and do his stuff.
....with both hands on the wheel! I took the plastic cover off the engine for the first time at the weekend. The throttle cable was a little bit slack, but the return spring seems snappy enough. I took up the slack so that the accelerator pedal is slightly more instantaneous. Its all a bit tightly packed-in under the bonnet. I didn't see anything which might cause a rich mixture. When I have some more time, I'll check all the hoses and joints more thoroughly in case there's a leak or some perished rubber. ( OO-ER Mrs! ) I'll get the car serviced in a couple of weeks time, when life isn't so busy. The garage's diagnostic software will be better than my 10 quid ODB2 bluetooth interface. Usually, there's some indication of the fuel-air balance but not in the Copen. It would be nice to know why the ECU "thinks" it needs a rich mixture...... I'm not sure about leaving the ODB2 plugged in as I keep kicking it when using the clutch.
Hello mac1962 I see your car is same model as mine, 0.7 turbo I already observe the "high" rate of the idle with my car, and sent a post to have advice. Someone answered to me, saying that a such small engine need to run fast... I must say that it did not convince me The normal speed, read on ODB, must be 750 +100/-50 rpm. But you need to check that your motor is a stable temperature, that no light is ON, and that all ancillaries, and specially Air Cond, is OFF. And I hope you will be quiet now with the rpm, as I was after checking conditions to have normal idle rpm. As 'trustafox' said, if the car is running well, don't worry... If not, and if the exhaust pipe are dirty, dismantle a spark plus and check its colour. If "Brown" it's OKay If black, you have to check if air filter is recent, if the engine consume oïl, if... Try to get an advice from a technician Hello to everybody on the site
