Supernaut

Get a room, you two.

Wow. Just wow.

The BMW: - disconnected air con, done long before I bought it. - sloppy gear linkage bushings - a strange creak from the front right that I can't pinpoint, has been ongoing for over a year, has gone through an MOT and hasn't got worse The Clio: - still won't fucking idle properly, but it's otherwise amazing. Even has working air conditioning! Not too bad, really.

Now, I don't claim to know exactly what this wee screw does. However, it seems to act as a very fine control of the idle speed. Handy. I've messed around with it and sort of got it idling. At least I think it shouldn't just flat out die when it's cold. Before I touched it, it was wound all the way out. Barely hanging on by a thread. That's probably nae right.

I ended up registering on cliosport.net and adding to the already vast number of threads about fast Clios that don't idle properly. 🤣

I fitted the new throttle position sensor to the Clio today. It still cuts out when cold, but does so far more smoothly. Well, at least it did something. Just not what I wanted. Do Clios have a separate temperature sensor for the ECU then? The gauge shows the right reading. Alternatively, there's a grub screw on the throttle body for adjusting it. The temptation is there to simply adjust that so it idles just fast enough to avoid cutting out then forget about it.

I can't seem to find anything specific to Clios. I can give it a shot though, by turning on the ignition (but not the engine) and holding the throttle all the way down for 30 seconds or something. A replacement TPS is very cheap and ubiquitous (a common theme with this car due to the basic engine design still being used to this day in many Dacias) so I've ordered one. What's one more sensor thrown at this car in desperation anyway?

So. I just had it idling (at 600rpm) and sprayed carb cleaner around the vacuum hoses. No leaks. In a fit of enthusiasm / desperation I unplugged the throttle position sensor. I still have to 'manually' set the idle speed by adjusting the ICV, buuut it idles noticeably more smoothly and is also more responsive. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

I have just replaced all 4 plugs on the Clio and confirmed that I've done no permanent damage to it. It runs on all 4. Phew. However, it seems to have gone back to its old tricks with the idle. It simply cuts out if I lift completely off the pedal when cold. After replacing the ICV, the MAP sensor and the intake air temperature sensor, plus all the spark plugs... I'm back at square one. I have kept all the old sensors and stuff, though. I'm not completely stupid. Stupid enough to buy a Clio, yes. What I found intriguing is that if I hold the throttle so it's at an engine speed that should be a sensible idle speed; say, anywhere between about 900-1,100rpm it stutters. Almost like a misfire. It runs silky smooth at any other engine speed though. This says to me that the idle circuit is almost trying to do something but getting confused / failing. Fuck knows. It's Friday afternoon and it's hot. I'm going to do something more productive like drinking. I wonder how difficult a Speeduino would be. 🤣 Perhaps some bike carbs instead?

How long have I had this wee bastard now? Basically never had it running right yet.

It's dead (again), Jim. Wouldn't start this morning. The new intake air temperature sensor arrived today though, so I put that in. Now it starts after a bit of cranking then misfires like fuck. The fuel economy on it is great though. If it doesn't work it can't burn any fuel! Genius engineering solution by Renault, there. I will admit, a tiny tiny bit of plastic off the old intake air temperature sensor may have fallen in and gotten ingested. The engine seems to have just vaporised it, but it may have taken out a spark plug in the process...

It had better fucking be the best one he's seen. It's basically brand new now!

Nope. His was an earlier one. A Sonnet II with the 3-pot 2-stroke engine. I once had a passenger ride in a Sonnet III as above though, with the Ford-sourced V4. It was at Grampian Transport Museum up in Alford, Aberdeenshire.

MAP sensor replaced. Perfect idling restored. Result!

Perhaps they had somewhere else they needed to be, rather than spending all day playing vigilante.

The ad is so full of red flags it may as well be a game of minesweeper though.

I imagine a missing driveshaft would cause quite a noticeable acceleration issue. I.e. none at all. Surely they must mean something else?

I've just had a poke about with my basic multimeter. First of all, there is no wiring down behind the back of the engine. It's all up top. Values as follows: ICV gets 12V with ign on, and has 55ohm resistance across the pins. Both the MAP sensor and the intake air temp sensors get 5V with ign on, and both have infinite resistance across them. Hmmmmmm... I know that a certain local member has a decent bit of diagnostic kit, so that may get deployed soon-ish.

Put me down for both nights tent camping. Saturday will be an SVM breakfast but I'll have the other available breakfast on Sunday.

Yeah... it seems to have been a longstanding issue with this car. I'll leave it at that.

All I can find says there is but one coolant temperature sensor on this engine. There is, however, an intake air temperature sensor too.

Yes, but it's just two pins, and the temperature gauge functions fine. When I removed the crank sensor it wouldn't start at all. Put it back in and it starts but it's still idling badly. I've been googling the symptoms of a dead MAP sensor and they do seem to line up nicely with what I'm experiencing. The fact that I unplugged it with no difference in its behaviour (as I posted earlier) suggests that may be the smoking gun. I may ask the local factors for a price for one tomorrow morning.

I just unplugged the MAP sensor and that made no difference to its behaviour. ...is this something to consider? Hmmm.

I'm at my wits end with the Clio now. It just won't idle. The symptoms are: - When started from stone cold, it cuts out unless I hold it on the throttle pedal. It keeps trying to idle far too low. - Once I get a reading on the temp gauge it'll idle. Just. I'm talking about 600 rpm. - Once up to temperature it'll idle at a normal speed. This behaviour makes it very difficult to drive out of my car park when I first start it, unless I sit there manually holding it at 1,500rpm for at least a minute. Considering I bought this car with the intention of using it, it's not ideal. So far I've replaced the idle control valve and checked the crank sensor. It almost seems as though the car just isn't using the idle control valve. I've seen no signs of it ever moving. I can 'manually' set it in a position so it runs like above. If I move it even a fraction of a mm further it then idles at 1,500rpm when cold and goes over 2,000rpm when warm. When set like this, the revs will hang really badly if I touch the pedal too. Yesterday, I took it for a drive after fitting the new ICV and it almost seemed to be behaving itself. Idling at bang on 1,000rpm. However, this morning it went back to cutting out when cold. Surely somebody in the trade has dealt with a Renault engine pulling this bullshit before? It's a 1.6 16v.

Stripped down and greased the front brakes on the Clio earlier this morning. That took all of what felt like 5 minutes. The joys of working on such a small car is that everything on it is small. The outer nearside pad was a little bit sticky, so I went over the carriers with a file. Did both sides of the car just for peace of mind. I then investigated the throttle pedal. It seemed to sit really high, and didn't go all the way to the floor at full throttle. I just stood on it forcefully and the entire cable and sheath re-adjusted itself. Now when the throttle is closed, the pedal sits level with the brake pedal. It also goes all the way to the floor now. Previously, the cable looked a bit loose going up to the throttle body, but now it looks healthier. I also checked both my cars' statuses for the Glasgow LEZ. Yay! That's... not really a surprise.