Cavalier 2.0 GLS Idle speed

The idle speed on my Cavalier 2.0 GLS Auto hunts between 1000 and 2000 revs
after being driven. When coming to a halt, it hunts up and down about 5 or 6
times before settling down to about 900 revs. Does anyone know what the
fault could be? Thanks.

 

Most likely problem is a sticky idler motor. The unit can be removed and
cleaned with carb cleaner. If you're not sure how to perform the task,
please post back and we'll walk you through it.

 

Thanks Malcolm, I can't find any reference to the idler motor in the Haynes
manual, so if you could point me in the right direction I would be grateful.
The engine is the X20 XEV DOHC.

 

Hi Chris,
I had to do the same thing on my Omega a couple of days back. I had the
opposite problem - the revs would drop too low and stall repeatedly.

Someone on uk.rec.cars.maintenance kindly pointed me to
http://82.34.51.160/sytemsandsoftwa...automotive/How_to/General/ecotecidlevalve.htm

Nice and easy to do, through it's probably a bit more difficult to reach as
yours is front wheel drive, and it'll be at the back of the engine bay. It's
worth spending a bit of time flushing the valve out plenty of times.
I cleaned the throttle housing inside and out while I was there, but was
careful to avoid getting too much carb cleaner down into the intake.

The car has a solid idle speed now.

Good luck with yours,
Paul.

 

Well, cleaned the idle valve out as per the instructions on the link below.
The result is, the idling is different, it only hunts slightly now and the
revs are a bit higher, too high. I think I might give it another go at the
weekend, although the valve seems to move freely against the spring and the
solenoid appears to be OK.

Any other ideas before I replace the whole assembly?

 

Chris

That page must have been visited by most Cav owners at some time. My own
experience is that cleaning can help a lot, but often the problem comes back
a month or so later. In the end, ten pounds in one hand and a socket-set in
the other - a trip to the local scrappers solved the problem (replaced the
whole unit - solenoid and valve). Incidentally, what was not clear from the
web-page was that it helps if you soak the solenoid plunger in carb-cleaner,
also.

Regards

Mike Dodd