My X reg rapier revving up and down

[Notty]

Hi everyone, Im a newbie so please be gentle with me.

I've just bought a 1.8 X reg Rapier 406 estate.

Great test drive nice car.

Next day, started to have problems ( no doubt these aren't new problems - just lucky for the seller that i didn't notice them )

The car has revved up and down a few times....up to about 1200 revs then down to 700 or less and just about to stall then revved up again and done this for a few times until I stepped on the throttle. It idles just about ok but i sense a little unstable at idle.

The speedo dropped to 0 yesterday whilst doing 60 and then jumped back up again.

The trip computer was showing 181 miles in tank yesterday now showing 55 miles in tank

The temp guage went up to the red whilst i was waiting outside asda for the missus and she started to overheat.I noticed no fan had kicked in so i started up the fans on 25C blowing inside the car and took her for a quick run to get some air into the system . I suspect this is a different issue and the temp sensor has failed to kick the fans into action. Anyway, I had this issue years ago with a 405 estate on really steep hills under heavy load....had to get the fans all on hot blowing, solved the problem then and also solved the problem yesterday.

Ive read about the ECU stuff all over the internet and wondered if after all of these years, peugeot has come up with a fix to these funny idling revving up and down issues.

I disconnected the battery last night and cleaned up the live terminal because it was't in the best condition and also wasn't the tightest of fit so now it fits snug and its clean. I didn't put the battery back on until this morning and left the car 30 mins+ before tryiong the ignition so as to reset the ECu ( because Ive read this before )

Ive not taken the car back out yet today just thought I'd post a few questions on here to see if theres any other help or anyone in the know.

Also, the 'brake fluid low' warning comes up on the orange screen and beeps at me when I pull the handbrake up but the reservoir is full and the seller did tell me this and said he could never solve the problem....is it related.....

apart from that what a beautiful car....loved peugeots....also got a 106 xnd 1.5 hatch 2 door still with original back tyres on a 1996 plate and 44000 miles from new ( neighbour had it from new and bought it 5 years ago ) amazing on fuel


Thanks

Notty

[Notty]

I have bought the MAP sensor thats fitted just by the exhaust manifold. A real awkward place to get to but with a bit of patience managed to get the old one off and then fit the new one on. If you do it, make sure you've got something to cover the radiator at the front if the engine is still hot like a passenger rear footwell floor mat. This stopped my arm from burning whilst trying to get under to undo the hex bolt with an allen key.

So far I have not experienced any odd idling or rev v ing as such but no doubt it will return. I've replaced this MAP sensor because I've read on the net in various places it could be that thats causing the ECU to mess about with the fuel and oxygen mixes which could be causing the hesitation and pulsing revs up and down. So far it has not done it yet.

If this hasn't solved the problem, I will remove the stepper motor.idling control valve ( not asure where it is yet ) clean it out and then refit. If this solves the problem then I will replace the the stepper motor idling control as it is probably worn and will start to happen again soon.

Wish me luck.....

PS I am surprised at no one has answered my query here with the problem, i thought it was a nationwide issue with all 406's !

I aasked Peugeot dealer/garage in Newport for price to diagnose and they said they charge £96 an hour while the computer is attached for diagnosis. I then thought, I'll do it myself bit by bit

[teerak2uk]

Clean stepper motor/idle control valve both are on the throttle body so best to remove that and make sure all the airways are clear using carb/choke cleaner spray also check breather/vacuum pipes for splits etc and also spray the carb cleaner around inlet manifold where it meets the cylinder head and whilst engine is running spray around the bolts holding the inlet manifold on as if there is any leak around there the engine note will change whilst spraying it


hope this helps

[davidireland]

Originally Posted by Notty

I have bought the MAP sensor thats fitted just by the exhaust manifold. A real awkward place to get to but with a bit of patience managed to get the old one off and then fit the new one on. If you do it, make sure you've got something to cover the radiator at the front if the engine is still hot like a passenger rear footwell floor mat. This stopped my arm from burning whilst trying to get under to undo the hex bolt with an allen key.

So far I have not experienced any odd idling or rev v ing as such but no doubt it will return. I've replaced this MAP sensor because I've read on the net in various places it could be that thats causing the ECU to mess about with the fuel and oxygen mixes which could be causing the hesitation and pulsing revs up and down. So far it has not done it yet.

If this hasn't solved the problem, I will remove the stepper motor.idling control valve ( not asure where it is yet ) clean it out and then refit. If this solves the problem then I will replace the the stepper motor idling control as it is probably worn and will start to happen again soon.

Wish me luck.....

PS I am surprised at no one has answered my query here with the problem, i thought it was a nationwide issue with all 406's !

I aasked Peugeot dealer/garage in Newport for price to diagnose and they said they charge £96 an hour while the computer is attached for diagnosis. I then thought, I'll do it myself bit by bit

Its one thing that never fails on the 406, a MAP sensor!
Remove the idle control stepper motor and clean as above.
Refit the motor and turn ignition on for twenty secs and then off for twenty secs. You may have to do this a few times to relearn it.

[Notty]

Thanks for the replies....I was beginning to think I was invisible !

After I fitted the MAP sensor, the car has NOT stalled once ( bearing in mind it was stalling daily coming up to roundabouts and junctions and the power steering going off leading me into grabbing the steering wheel tighter to control the car )

I'm not tempting fate by saying this I hope ...but i do think the stalling has been cured.

The idling up and down slightly has happened a few times and between 900 to 1200 revs ( approx area on dial ) but settles quickly. The speedo keeps dropping down to zero and then kicking back in 5 minutes later.

Now, I don't know what's related to what but I don't think there's just one solution here. I will be cleaning out the idling thingy in a day or two ( as soon as there's a dry window in the weather ) using those instructions abopve ( thankyou ) maybe then things will settle some more.

I've not had any overheating ( or needle up in the red yet ) and it did seem rather strange when it happened the other day because the needle started jumping up and down also...giving false readings. I've not heard the radiator fan(s) turn on yet because the car hasn't got that hot....not sure how they turn on...is it when the temp needle goes above 92 or the temp sensor itself which i can;t see ? because if the dial needle is playing up like the speedo and giving false readings then maybe the car isnt get hot at all. It doesn't smell hot anyway....and I now what a hot engine smells like..Ive had a few overheat in the past ( especially owning toyota townaces !! with cracked heads and busted expansion bottles )

like I said, thankyou for your help. Every bit of info is indeed welcome.

Thankyou

[Notty]

Originally Posted by teerak2uk

Clean stepper motor/idle control valve both are on the throttle body so best to remove that and make sure all the airways are clear using carb/choke cleaner spray also check breather/vacuum pipes for splits etc and also spray the carb cleaner around inlet manifold where it meets the cylinder head and whilst engine is running spray around the bolts holding the inlet manifold on as if there is any leak around there the engine note will change whilst spraying it


hope this helps

The throttle body I'm guessing is the black circular plastic thing with a cable going into it and which is spring loaded ?

What or where are the bolts that are used to take it off the engine ? I don't suppose you have a photo of the throttle do you ?

Thankyou for your help also.

Cheers

[teerak2uk]

i dont have a photo but if you take a pic and post it then i`ll edit it for you explaining where the bolts will be

[Notty]

Originally Posted by teerak2uk

i dont have a photo but if you take a pic and post it then i`ll edit it for you explaining where the bolts will be

[Notty]

Hope the photos are ok. they enlarge if you click on them

I have just checked my mileage eficiency and im running at 20mpg and looking at the amount iof money ive put in over the past week then it seems correct. I guess this is because of the idling control is it ?

thanks again

[teerak2uk]

Unscrew with standard screw driver where throttle body connects to air box pipework


then unscrew bolts connecting throttle body to inlet manifold (there will be 3 or 4 i presume) maybe allen key type hard to tell in the pic