cd strangeness & stalling issue

[Brandon Rogers]

Because it sounds like Kerry is paying a mechanic to check these out - 
hopefully you're not paying hourly diagnostic labor.  If that is the case - 
maybe it would be better to just buy the parts and put them on yourself - at 
least then you get some new parts out of the money you spend....

-or to put it an other way - I'd rather throw new parts at an old car then 
pay a mechanic $80/hr to look around and diagnose....

Brandon

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Phil Rose" <pjrose at frontiernet.net>
To: "Kerry Griffith" <i2k at xmission.com>
Cc: <200q20v at audifans.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 9:26 AM
Subject: Re: cd strangeness & stalling issue


> At 7:25 PM -0600 7/12/05, Kerry Griffith wrote:
>>OK, time for my annual questions for you gurus.
>>1. Recently, the car wouldn't idle- died any time I took my foot off. Had 
>>to restart, sometimes by abusing the drivetrain while in motion. Scared my 
>>eight-year-old (and myself) since it was rush hour. I doubt it was the 
>>bypass valve we've all replaced, since it has run fine since. I know Scott 
>>M. mentions the idle stabilizer valve on his site, so my question is this:
>>Given the fact that my (good) mechanics have checked out all they say they 
>>can, especially vacuum lines, does anyone have a suggestion? I'm tempted 
>>to throw parts like the ISV in there despite the $$ approach, but if 
>>anyone has a likely culprit, I'd be grateful for the shortcut.
>
> Why consider just replacing the ISV (>>$100) on a hunch, rather than the 
> BPV (under $50)? From what you described, I might not suspect the BPV 
> since you say you merely need to lift off the throttle in order for the 
> car to stall. The BPV symptom usually shows up only when lifting the 
> throttle (and braking hard to stop) while under turbo boost (i.e., just 
> after hard acceleration).
>
>  In any case, both parts can be tested, so I wouldn't replace either one 
> without hard evidence that it's defective.  Perhaps your "good" mechanics 
> have done that, but I wouldn't count on it. The BPV needs to be removed 
> and then it can be determined if there is a leak in the bellows valve. 
> Another (very plausible) source of BPV problems would be its vacuum 
> (control) hose: does it actually hold vacuum or is it split and/or 
> toasted? At least you should remove the large black-painted metal 
> air-intake tube and visually verify that the BPV's small rubber vac hose 
> (that runs between the exhaust manifold and the intake pipe) is not burned 
> to a toasty, leaking crisp.
>
> The ISV electrical operation can be tested with a 9-volt battery. Movement 
> of the ISV valve sometimes becomes sluggish because of oil/dirt 
> accumulating on the surfaces of the valve "cylinder"; it can be 
> resurrected by careful cleaning/flushing with carb cleaner, etc. The ISV 
> needs to be removed for this.
>
> Even "good" mechanics often won't do these things for inexpensive parts 
> because of the time required--they can easily just replace the BPV with a 
> new one at not more total cost than needed to remove the old one, test it 
> and re-install. If you aren't able to take on such diagnostic work 
> yourself, you may be forced to replace things by educated guesswork. 
> That's usually the expensive way to go with maintaining these cars, but 
> you've got to go with what works best for you and your available time and 
> facilities.
>
>>2. When I attempt to listen to a CD, it will begin to play for anywhere 
>>from 5-30 seconds before the music is replaced by static. Just had my 
>>radio head unit overhauled by Brett Seamens (thanks to a lister's 
>>suggestion), but apparently that wasn't my problem. Does anyone recognize 
>>this symptom?
>
> Yes, that's the symptom I had when the CD player's FM-modulator unit (a 
> small box located/buried in the passenger-side footwell) went bad. 
> Replaced the modulator with a used one and that solved the problem. It's a 
> bit of a problem to access this unit although not that bad once you get 
> the hang of working upside-down with your head on the floor. I'd advise 
> assuming this _is_ the problem and simply to go ahead and replace it with 
> a (_known_) working unit. I was fortunate to get one from a lister who 
> removed it from his own vehicle (being parted out)--however as with many 
> well-used parts, it worked fine for only about a year and now I need 
> another one :-(
>
> Phil
> -- 
>
> Phil Rose
> Rochester, NY
> mailto:pjrose at frontiernet.net
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