Selling a Corrado with classic stalling/idle problems

[norman16v 0]

My 16v Corrado is exhibiting the common problem of occasionally not idling and cutting out when the clutch is dipped, and a lumpy idle in which the engine blips between 1000-1100 (this happens more often...). I've tried most of the possible fixes people have suggested which don't involve shelling out alot of money (other than fitting a new ISV which did cost a bit) and I've had enough. I need to be selling it now as it is to make way for my other car which is supposed to be fixed soon, so I'm wondering if it's just worth getting shot of it now and being honest about the problem, and cutting down the price to compensate. Is this worth it or will no one touch it with a barge pole? Also how much should I think about dropping the price by? It's a '92 2.0 16v with 92k on the clock in pretty good condition with an almost complete service history.

Cheers

Matt

[Swompy 0]

Hey i had the exact same problem on my golf, idal was all over the place engine cut out nearly every time i came to a stop.

 

I managed to stop it doing that by giving the throttle body a quick clean. All i done was spray some carb cleaner ( cost me about £1.90) straight into the throtle body inlet, Turned the engine on ( took a few seconds for it to catch but it will ) then done the same again and then sprayed more and left it for 20 mins. After that took it for a 30 min drive and didnt cut out once.

 

The idle was high ( 1200 - 1500) when i came to a stop but it would die down to the right idle speed after a second or two, after using the car for a week the idle was back to normal and runs like a dream and hasnt cut out once.

 

Hope this helps

[norman16v 0]

Thanks for the reply but I have already been down that road without success unfortunately, having the throttle body cleaned was the first thing I did :(

[tonedef 9]

If you think you know what's wrong with it, surely it's better to invest that money before you try to sell?

 

If I came to look at buying your car and you tell me there's a problem and it's going to take X amount of money to fix, I'd be looking at knocking you down by at least double that amount just for the hassle I'm going to have fixing it and the chance that what you say needs doing is not really the problem, that's after you've already discounted your asking price to take the problem into account. If however I come along and it's purring away nicely, you might have already won me over.

 

BTW, I'm not interested in buying your car!

[davidwort 0]

You're going to cut the number of potential buyers dramatically if the car has an obvious fault when people read the ad or come to look at it.

You might be lucky and get a punter who is willing to take a gamble, or diagnoses the fault themselves and is willing to offer you on it.

But especially in this climate, if you need to sell, I'd spend a few quid on getting someone to sort it if you want to realise close to what it should be worth.

[andy 0]

It simply depends on the buyer, if yours was a very tidy car in other respects and had what most people would see as a minor running issue I would be in there like a shot at the right price.

[Swompy 0]

Thanks for the reply but I have already been down that road without success unfortunately, having the throttle body cleaned was the first thing I did :(

 

Ahh worked for me sorry to hear it didnt for you.

 

Best of luck with selling it any way.

[vwdeviant 0]

It simply depends on the buyer, if yours was a very tidy car in other respects and had what most people would see as a minor running issue I would be in there like a shot at the right price.

 

However 99% of people would either:

 

a/ Walk away

b/ Use it as a big stick to beat chunks out of your price. I HALVED the price of a Polo just bacause there was no obvious anti-freeze mix in the header tank (had been serviced at a local garage the week before too) Told him if that hadn't been done then the rest probably hadn't either, and he needed to sell as he'd just put a deposit down on a Clio 172 that he was picking up in 2 days time (shouldn't have told me that either)

 

Norman, if you can list out what you have done, we maybe able to point you in the right direction... possibly a simple fix thing like an airleak?

[Swompy 0]

I just remembered that when i would get my car serviced that would stop the engine from cutting out, but after 6 months it would start again.

 

Just a thought

[norman16v 0]

It simply depends on the buyer, if yours was a very tidy car in other respects and had what most people would see as a minor running issue I would be in there like a shot at the right price.

 

 

Norman, if you can list out what you have done, we maybe able to point you in the right direction... possibly a simple fix thing like an airleak?

 

So far, had the throttle body cleaned out, ISV cleaned out and later replaced with a brand new one, checked the rubber bits connecting the throttle body and airbox for leaks, checked all the electrical connectors under the bonnet for corrosion, and checking spark plug gaps today.

Only thing is if the ECU needs more time to adjust to the ISV? So far been 40 miles since I put it on. Oddly, for the first 30 miles which I did in one day, it was absolutely perfect. Next day it started being a pain again

[norman16v 0]

Also I'm getting it looked at on Friday. Although not holding out much hope as the mechanic is stumped as to why a new ISV didn't solve the problem. Also the reason I need to get rid of it is the Mercedes which I've been trying to get working for months is finally almost finished, so the Corrado needs to go to make way for that. If anything to help me pay for the work that's been done on it...

[vwdeviant 0]

Ah well from memory the ISV is controlled by the Water temp sensor (trace the wiring)... so also worth lobbing a new VAG (NOT GSF/ECP) sensor on it and checking the wiring to it as well...

[davidwort 0]

well swap them around first, if the temp gauge works OK then you know that sender is working, 3 are the same so just pull them until the gauge drops and use that one.

[norman16v 0]

Drove it for a bit this morning and it was absolutely perfect... solid idle with no blipping, and not a hint of it trying to cut out :confused4:

Though it has been perfect like this before only to be crap later so I'll not get my hopes up. Only thing I did yesterday is unplug and plug back in some connectors under the bonnet to check for corrosion, wouldn't have thought that would have done anything. As soon as it starts acting up again I'll try the water temperature thing

[Reggit 0]

Only thing I did yesterday is unplug and plug back in some connectors under the bonnet to check for corrosion, wouldn't have thought that would have done anything.

 

That alone has been known to cure dodgy running in the past. It's just possible that a connector has a bit of muck or corrosion on it, reseating it cleans it off and restores normal operation. (works well on dodgy electrical stuff as well)

 

Just keep your fingers crossed!

[norman16v 0]

Only thing I did yesterday is unplug and plug back in some connectors under the bonnet to check for corrosion, wouldn't have thought that would have done anything.

 

Just keep your fingers crossed!

I'd rather not get my hopes up, it's lulled me into a false sense of security many times like this before. Fools me every time!

[andy 0]

The thing is......a problem like your which goes away completely sometimes is highly likely to be an electrical problem. Something like an air leak would be there more or less most of the time. Hopefully your connector waggling has cured it!

[easypops 8]

The place i would be looking is the wiring that goes to the throttle potentiometer......2 out of the 3 on mine were split inside the plastic sheathing.....i only found it by luck......symptoms were as you describe......found it after changing fuel pump,isv,maf, dizzy, leads :lol:

[norman16v 0]

Didn't need to take the car out anywhere today so I went for a quick run around the block and still no stalling, but I was getting the hesitant throttle problem a little that I've had before so I'm still dubious... we shall see I suppose.