Stalling & Idle Problem

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RickyP
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:35 am
Currently Drives:: 03 1.6 VVT

Stalling & Idle Problem

Postby RickyP » Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:12 am

Hi All,

Just joined the Forum after owning my 2003 1.6 VVT a few months.

I have done a quick search regarding this issue and a lot of replies mention the throttle body but this has already been changed by the Garage I bought it from (albeit second hand).

The car was purchased back in November but it had to go back to the Garage to get a few bits sorted. When I got it back it would not idle and stall when cold (seemed OK when warmed up). It went back again and they replaced the throttle body. It was ok for a few weeks but the issue has returned. My warranty has now expired and even though this is basically the original problem I'm not sure where I stand with this.

I would like to resolve the problem myself if possible so thought I would ask here.

The car will start fine and we can drive a few yards down the road to the first junction but as soon as we press the clutch the car will stall. It will mostly start again straight away but sometimes take a few goes. A couple weeks ago I got stuck on a road as it just would not idle at all. I could hold the revs @ 4k and it sounded fine but as soon as it would try and idle it would stall - I managed to get it going again after waiting 20 minutes without starting it. After this the SERVICE and engine management light came on.

My friend has some software on his laptop so we connected it up and it reported this fault:

Mode 03: Emission related fault codes
Address 7A: 1 Fault Found:
P0010 - Bank 1: Camshaft A (Intake): Position Actuator Malfunction


My mate thought it was something to do with this but to be honest I have no idea what it is.. does anyone know?

Image

The strange thing is that a day after we took this out the SERVICE & engine management light went off.. and it's not come back since but it still stalls quite often.

So, if anyone can shed any light on this issue that would be great!

Thanks in advance,
Rich

AlexB
Driving Legend
Posts: 4312
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:17 pm
Currently Drives:: Renaultsport R.S.250 Cup

Re: Stalling & Idle Problem

Postby AlexB » Wed Mar 13, 2013 11:55 am

Yes, the symptoms are of a failed dephaser, and the photograph shows the dephaser control valve. As it is out already - check whether it works by connecting it briefly to the battery. If it does work, then replace the dephaser pulley. If does not - then the valve. It's quite possible that both are affected, and that the engine contains plenty of dirt somewhere in the sump.

Dephaser problems are caused by people using unknown oil supplied by garages (minimum specification, obviously) and two year servicing intervals.
AlexB
(no, a different AlexB)

RickyP
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:35 am
Currently Drives:: 03 1.6 VVT

Re: Stalling & Idle Problem

Postby RickyP » Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:07 am

Hi Alex,

Thanks for the reply!

We are going to try and test the dephaser control valve tonight.

Regarding the dephaser pulley, I've read a lot on this forum that if this does go it's a pricey job but also a lot of people with this issue had a really noisy engine? Mine sounds fine when running but it's just this stalling problem.

I now have another issue (it's happened twice now) where the car will suddenly just lose all electric (like the battery has been disconnected). The way to 'resolve' this is to wiggle the live wire on the battery? It sounds weird I know but all of a sudden the electrics will be back on. The radio code will need to be entered again so it's basically like the battery dies or something?

Could this be related to my running issues?

Thanks,
Rich

AlexB
Driving Legend
Posts: 4312
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:17 pm
Currently Drives:: Renaultsport R.S.250 Cup

Re: Stalling & Idle Problem

Postby AlexB » Mon Mar 18, 2013 12:47 pm

Yes, these can be related. With the battery disconnected while engine running, you'll get huge surges of voltage, which may upset electronics or even cause damage. On the other hand, the fault codes are very much specific to the dephaser, which fails in almost all 1.6vvt engines due to budget servicing. The other two extremely popular faults are the ignition coils and dirt in the throttle body. Choose your favourite!

The dephaser may cause a scary ratcheting sound on startup, but not always. Another typical symptom is frequent stalling when cold and increased fuel consumption.
AlexB
(no, a different AlexB)

RickyP
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:35 am
Currently Drives:: 03 1.6 VVT

Re: Stalling & Idle Problem

Postby RickyP » Tue Mar 19, 2013 8:30 am

Morning,

Thanks again for the information, I'll pass it on to my mate who knows a lot more than I do!

So, last night we were having a look again and we didn't take the solenoid out but confirmed there was a currant going to it.. we were testing a few other things with the voltage meter but didn't really find much.

After we put all the clips & things back and turned the car on we now get the following problems on the dash:

Service light is now on.

Engine management icon is now on.

Check Injectors message coming up.

So, I have no idea what we have done but I didn't have these errors before. Ironically it didn't stall once this morning!

Do you know of any Renault software I can buy or whatever so we can plug it in to my mates laptop? He has the VAGCOM software which has a generic car checking thing (which is where we got the original error code from) but we cannot clear the code or reset anything.

Thanks again.
Rich

AlexB
Driving Legend
Posts: 4312
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:17 pm
Currently Drives:: Renaultsport R.S.250 Cup

Re: Stalling & Idle Problem

Postby AlexB » Tue Mar 19, 2013 2:27 pm

It is not the solenoid that you need to check, but the actual valve. They stop opening properly after being exposed to bad oil. I have no idea what fails inside a valve - it was somebody else's report.

The message you see is not "check injectors", but rather "check injection", i.e. check the injection computer for stored fault codes or problems with any parameters.
AlexB
(no, a different AlexB)

RickyP
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:35 am
Currently Drives:: 03 1.6 VVT

Re: Stalling & Idle Problem

Postby RickyP » Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:12 am

Morning Alex,

Yes, you are correct.. it is 'Check Injection' no idea why I typed 'Check Injectors'.

Right, so what I need to do is take out the dephaser control valve and connect to the battery to see if it's working - could you tell me what I should see to confirm if it's working or not?

Again the car did not stall once yesterday or this morning.. normally it would stall either in the morning or evening when leaving work (normally both times) so something has changed.

It does feel quite sluggish before 4k revs (VVT?) but not sure if I'm just imagining it or not.

Thanks,
Rich

Skippyroo
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat May 04, 2019 9:33 am
Currently Drives:: Car start from cold normally but dies when you press the accelerator restart keeping foot on the accelerator until it's normal temperature and it runs fine at my wits end took it to a mechanic and he was mystified anyone help please

Re: Stalling & Idle Problem

Postby Skippyroo » Sat May 04, 2019 8:51 pm

Renault megane vvt 1600 56 plate
I to have this problem car starts fine but won't idle touch the accelerator and it dies start up again and keep your foot on the accelerator until the car gets to normal temperature and then it runs perfect took it to a mechanic he was stumped after 3 days of trying to find the problem I have changed the oil and filter plus had a flush through
A mate has said it could be the air valve idler any other thoughts
No lights on dash no noises help please


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