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Idle air control valve
Posted: 09 Sep 2011
by mickey taker
any body know if its possible to clean these ,
The Idle control Valve controls the amount of air let into the inlet manifold when on idle. The valve has a 'Pin' which moves in and out incredibly fast, meaning the engine idle can be controlled accurately.
mine is causing problems on the golf ( tick over going up and down stalling etc)
VW want £320,00 for a new one but can get a pattern part for about £60.00
just wondered if it could be saved with carb cleaner or something similar
Re: Idle air control valve
Posted: 09 Sep 2011
by jayw
Never tried, but if the problem is purely down to the needle being gummed up i see no reason why you can't just clean it. Of course, if it's a physical fault or malfunction that's a different story...
Re: Idle air control valve
Posted: 09 Sep 2011
by mat_the_cat
If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen...
I've successfully cleaned them before, but we also had a problem on the 205 where it was closed all the time - it turned out to be an ECU fault holding it closed rather than dirt making it stick. Worth a try, as it seems more common to be dirt.
Re: Idle air control valve
Posted: 09 Sep 2011
by Vanny
fill with a good dose of WD40, leave for a while, tip WD40 out, reassemble, allow remaining WD40 to burn off through engine.
Re: Idle air control valve
Posted: 09 Sep 2011
by mickey taker
thanks guys will do it tomorrow
Re: Idle air control valve
Posted: 10 Sep 2011
by Philhod
Re: Idle air control valve
Posted: 10 Sep 2011
by docchevron132
what vanny said, although, since I know next to fuck all about VW's, what injection sytem does it run? I assume Motronic?
Re: Idle air control valve
Posted: 10 Sep 2011
by mickey taker
its the digifant set up on mine
Re: Idle air control valve
Posted: 10 Sep 2011
by Vanny
Is that like a really really small elephant?
Re: Idle air control valve
Posted: 10 Sep 2011
by Philhod
No it's one of those elephants that leaves it's fingerprints in the butter
Re: Idle air control valve
Posted: 13 Sep 2011
by mickey taker
thanks guys it worked , the idle going up and down ( from 1400 revs down to about 400 ) has now settled at a respectable 800, it still dips sometimes when you slow down for junctions etc but at least its not cutting out anymore