Stalling Engine

[Rovren]

My wife's Megane 11 Dynamique 16V, 1.6, 03 Reg. has a problem. The engine starts perfectly and the car behaves itself when pottering around town at low speed regardless of the length of time. However, after a 5miles run up the motorway at 70 mph when coming to a halt out of gear the engine cuts out unless the rpm is kept above about 1500. The engine can be restarted immediately but then dies again unless the rpm is kept high. Any clues as to what causes this problem will be appreciated.

[Stranger]

I could be wrong but it sounds like the early stages of the dephaser pulley failure problem.

Do a search and you should find lots of posts.

[markren2004]

there a few other things to look at before the dreaded dephaser pully.
1. TDC Sensor - clean or replace
2. clean throttle body and check the electrical contacts on all the sensors around the engine.
3. replace coils

when it cuts out is it splutering first, or does it just act as if youve switched off the engine and the revs just drop like a stone ?

[Rovren]

It just acts as if the engine is switched off.

[markren2004]

I would start with the throttle body..it is this that controls the idle with a few sensors, like the inbuilt MAP sensor, and the ecu. It is quite easy to remove and refit.

ideally if you know someone else with a 1.6 megane, see if you can swap the throttle body and go for a test drive, probably best using a new gasket when refitting.

you could also do a little test of driving on the motorway, and when it is safe to do so, dip the clutch and see if it idles when doing speed, and if it stalls safely get onto the hardshoulder.
This might be useful information as to whether the airflow speed is a factor, to narrow down the problem?

[Rovren]

Update re my stalling Megane.

Took the car to a Renault dealer where they diagnosed a faulty camshaft sensor and a faulty TDC sensor. New sensors installed and injection system reprogrammed. The engine now behaves itself but my bank balance has taken a turn for the worse!

[AlexB]

Two different sensors failed independently in the same time? I guess the replaced part were not returned to you and I can guess why...