Today after maybe a 10-15 minute trip on the highway doing about 100-110 km/h my engine stalled as I was taking an exit. I signaled, got into the exit lane, pressed in the clutch then brakes (still doing about 90-100 at this point) and was about to shift into 3rd (probably doing 50-60 km/h) when all the dash lights came on...the engine had stalled. I was on the clutch the whole time so there shouldn't have been any undue load on the engine. Coasted to a stop, and restarted just fine. Finished the drive home no problem (there was a flicker of the oil light about 5 min later, but I don't know if that's related...oil levels are good). That's weird enough, but last weekend it happened at the exact same exit in the exact same way! Any suggestions on what's causing this? I'm a new stick driver but I don't expect it to stall while I'm on the clutch...perhaps it's just a driving technique I don't know. Otherwise it runs fine.
Additional information I've been noticing some electrical gremlins that may or may not be related to the above issue. On occasion I have noticed the battery and catalytic converter temperature light flicker on and off momentarily (and simultaneously), usually when I'm in 3rd gear. The oil light also will flicker, despite the level being at full. I replaced the battery with a new group 51 battery (tight fit but it works) because both original battery terminal clamps had corroded through and basically broke when I touched them. I think there may still be a loose/dirty/broken connection (the ground wire off the battery is my current suspect) that is causing these errors (broken wire=higher resistance=lower current=sensor readout drop=computer misinterprets data=) Hypothesis: Loose connection momentarily browns out EFI controller (alternator powers it at high speed, but relies on battery at idle RPM's-i.e. when clutch is in) which sends wacky signals to the engine which then stalls.
do you have a tach installed? oil light flickering at idle is many times due to low idle speed. The stalling after a higher speed run when off throttle could be the dashpot (little plunger/damper like thing that stops the throttle from snapping shut too quickly) It's adjustable..when you let go off the throttle it should hit the dashpot and then close completly after about a second...the dashpot can be anywhere on the carb but simple to find as it will have a lever that moves with the throttle.. Can also be dirty carb vacuum lines etc.....but check your idle speed first
fupabox, that definately makes sense but would it still apply to a SC with EFI? Can idle speed be mechanically adjusted when you have EFI? Thanks.
On an efi vehicle idle is controlled through the IAC valve screw(idle air control) usually under a little plastic anti tamper cap on top of the throttle valve..counterclockwise to speed up idle and clockwise to slow idle down..could be crudded up as well (it's a tiny air passage that bypasses the throttle butterfly at idle)and may need a blast of seafoam deep creep to clean it up...with efi you still may have a dashpot to stop the throttle closing suddenly..my Miata has one as does my Volvo. good luck
fupabox is right, you can set the idle manually on the sambar sc. look for the throttle cable running by the air filter. it has a threaded section on it with two nuts, one on either side of flat metal fixture. when we first drove ours the person that had it before us had the idle soooo fast it was painful to listen to. we used this to turn it down.
Cool! Thanks for the help guys. I'll do some tests this weekend and see if I can replicate the problem and get it fixed.
Alright, I did the same drive but kept the RPM's up (i.e. left the clutch engaged and in 5th gear until I slowed down and got into 3rd) and it didn't stall on me! Only a quick flicker of the "oil light" and that was it. I definitely think it's cutting power to the engine too rapidly when hitting the clutch at 100 km/h. Now I'll have to see what I can do to adjust that.
Hey Gang, I've got an EN07Y, EFI, SC. Looking for the Idle Control Vale adjustment screw. Please look at the photos below and let me know if I'm twisting the correct screw. Thanks!
It's anti tamper for a reason. It is factory set. If you are having idle issue/s it is very likely a vacuum leak/s you need to track down. Do a smoke test to quickly find any and all vacuum leaks.
