Car wont start after stalling

[johnmf]

The car in question is a vw polo 1 litre. It starts everytime no problem but a couple of times in the last week ive stalled it after reversing off the drive. Ive noticed it then wont restart and i have to rev it a little (i know i shouldnt). Anyother times it starts no problem even after calling at the shop half a mile away.

Is this signs that the battery is getting worn? My journey to work involves leaving home, calling to the shop half a mile away and then a further mile and half to work, i.e short journeys. The voltage of the battery is as expected but i presume this doesnt necessarilly mean its holding charge well.

Also the revs when the car is on but not moving are 200, i would expect them to be higher? would i be correct there? It does tend to stall easy so maybe this is why? if so can this be adjusted and by whom?

sorry for the basic questions but im a complete car novice.

thank in advance.

 

[Burnerman]

The first thing to consider changing is the coolant temperature sender...not the one that feeds the temperature gauge but the one that tells the cars ECU what temperature its at, and adjusts the fuelling accordingly. Cost is around £12 and you can fit the sender without losing coolant (depending on which model and age the car is). I'm surprised that the engine will actually run at 200 RPM - 900 is more like it. The tickover is again regulated by the ECU and isn't adjustable, which does indicate sensor issues - or maybe a throttle body problem. Its possible to have a garage do a diagnostic check on these to help isolate the fault but that will cost around £40. If the car is cranking over well on the starter motor, the battery sounds OK. Cheers John

 

[Belle427]

its worth buying some carburettor cleaner and giving the throttle body a good clean out,if it has an idle control valve that too

 

[johnmf]

Hi, thanks for the input guys so far.....

I will probably have the diagnostic check done on it to be honest. Im suprised too at the tick over as i believe that its too low but then again im no expert! is it possible to adjust this?

I also have another problem which may or may not be related.

The car will intermittently become 'sluggish' by which i mean, i might put the foot down and it is slow and sluggish to accelarate. other times its fine but it will come and go. Had a similar problem at xmas which turned out to be a failed HT lead on the first cylinder but this was much more noticeable than the problem im experiencing now. The HT leads, plugs,d-cap and rotor arm are all new so can be ruled out i would think.

Any ideas?

Regards.

 

[Spark123]

Can you give us some more info on the car? What age is it? Is it injection?
Problems with tickover on an injection car can sometimes be solved by cleaning out the IAC (Idle air control) valve.
Any air leaks can play havoc with the engine management system too.
As above I'd be tempted to check the temp sender as if the ecu thinks the engine is cold it will adjust the fuel air mix to suit.
Have you noticed it using more fuel than normal?

 

[johnmf]

Hi spark123, the car is a 1998 polo 1 litre. Will it have an ecu? It is injection yes.

and yes i do think that the fuel consumption seems to have gone up slightly, is this significant?

thanks.

 

[Spark123]

It will have an ECU yes. Increased fuel consumption could be the temp sender - worth checking that first.