stupid clio trouble...mechanics cant work it out, can you??

-gem-

-gem-

-gem-

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wow, been a while since i was here!

basically, the little french pile of rubbish (renault clio, T reg) had a flat battery last night, thanks to me. called out someone, and they charged it up fine- then when we went to turn the car back on, it sat there at 10.30pm idling at 4000rpm. neighbours were not happy.

tried a few more times, nothing, so left it until morning to see whether it would just sort out.
nope.
have sent it off to the local garage, who played about with it, couldnt work it out, so disconnected the battery and reconnected it.. now it wont start at all.

any ideas? the throttle cable is absolutely fine, apparently. i have had mice/rats in there in the past few days, but its still been running fine up until last night.. just worrried they may have chewed through something important. but of course, due to fantastic engine design, all the bits that need checking are stuffed down the back of the engine, so you can barely see them.

im trying to enjoy bank holiday weekend without havin a car until at least next tuesday. but being stuck at home has already lost its appeal... help please!
 
Sounds to me as if it's defo an electrical problem caused by knawing rodents. I would get out a dedicated auto electrican who can trace the cables and stuff. He will pay for himself when he can fix the looms as apposed to having to replace them completely which a normal garage may do.
 
ok, thanks :) shall i say this to the people that have my car though? i dont want to tell them its one thing when they actually think its something else...
 
Phone an auto electrican. Tell him you had a problem with rodents and explain the problems you are having. They will sort the rest. (assuming they are decent, try and get a recommendation for someone).
 
If the butterfly isn't open in the throttle boddy then surely the ICV is at fault?

Or maybe an airleak?
 
lordrobs said:
When the battery went in my 306 it fired up (just) then idled at 3500 RPM. Stuck a new battery on and all was well.
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mine was a nearly new battery about a year ago though....? surely a year cant be a battery's life expectancy!!?

and about the rodent thing.. i dont KNOW that thats it, im only guessing its a possibility. doesnt seem to be much i can do now, they are closed until tuesday :/ im not paying them if they cant fix it , though.
 
-gem- said:
mine was a nearly new battery about a year ago though....? surely a year cant be a battery's life expectancy!!?

and about the rodent thing.. i dont KNOW that thats it, im only guessing its a possibility. doesnt seem to be much i can do now, they are closed until tuesday :/ im not paying them if they cant fix it , though.
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I guess it can be depending on the condition it was in, check the acid level also.
 
pull off and clean the IAC valve before buying anything see if it changes.

there's a number of things that could cause that though, from poor earth's to knackered looms.
 
dalin80 said:
pull off and clean the IAC valve before buying anything see if it changes.

there's a number of things that could cause that though, from poor earth's to knackered looms.
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i know some things.. but not that much. IAC??? and roughly where will i find it?
 
Sounds like a fried ECU, charger could have been too quick to leave the car plugged in too.

4000RPM is about what the idle control can take it to.
 
I would say the ECU too. Had this before with battery problems, jumper cables and modern cars dont mix. Some problems just rectify themselves. :confused:
 
-gem- said:
i know some things.. but not that much. IAC??? and roughly where will i find it?
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the Idle Air Control valve, mounted onto or very close to the throttle body by a couple of torxs. it will look like a smallish cylinder with a multiplug on the back.

they are very easy to remove and clean (any weakish solvent petrol etc give it a good swish out). it may not help but it wont cost you anything but a few minutes of time.
 
SpeedFreak said:
does a clio have a stepper motor? if so, is there a reset he can do?
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I don't know, what is a stepper motor? :o

I own a Mk1 which I know does have an alternator, as mine broke and wouldn't charge my battery for me. :)

I know this doesn't really help with the OP main issue; the high idle, but I'd be concerned about the fact a new battery was flat after a year. :eek:
 
Id say a knackered alternator, one minute the batteries fine and car starts, next it doesnt.........jump start works but then your car wont start after the engine is left turned off for a bit. The rough idle may be down to the ECU being without power and perhaps resetting itself (Im sure it has to be without power for about 24hrs for this to happen tho'). When you got "someone" out did they put a volt meter on the battery ??? If your alternator is on its way out the volts would have dropped i.e its not getting any charge. Well thats my thoughts anyway.
 
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If the alternator is "duff" and you jump start the car then it would run........it might not run for long (as its not being charged) but it would run until the battery is discharged enough where it can no longer supply enough power to keep the engine running.
 
teulk said:
If the alternator is "duff" and you jump start the car then it would run........it might not run for long (as its not being charged) but it would run until the battery is discharged enough where it can no longer supply enough power to keep the engine running.
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What I mean is, the ignition system would stop before the ECU gets confused.
 
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