fuel issue

[saabfan9]

went through the fuel dist. found alot of bad but all cleaned up and all seems ok with that...trying to get her to idle any ideas?

[DrewP]

The warmup regulator on the thermostat housing may be gummed up, not sure how to test those. If you let it come all the way up to temp does it smooth out? That would tell you.

Also make sure the little pressure regulating valve mounted to the driver's inner fender is plugged in and clicking when the engine is running. It looks like a fuel injector with hoses on both ends. When I got my '79 it was unplugged and it idled like shit, plugged it back in and it started clicking away and purrs like a lazy kitten.

I always forget what Saab calls that valve in the factory manuals - pulse valve or something like that. That's how the oxygen sensor adjusts the mixture is by cycling that valve faster or slower.

[saabfan9]

my warm up regulator is by passed right now one of the lines blew off so i cut the return to loop it back into it's self....would that cause it not to idle? or is that for the cold start injector?...cold she fires right up but will not idle i still smell the old gas when it's running also white smoke..but assumed that was from the original blown head gasket combined with the old gas

[Geoff]

White smoke could be flooding.
The Warm Up Regulator is a pretty important piece in CIS.
http://www.landsharkoz.com/images/pdf/wurfix.pdf

[saabfan9]

took it apart and yes more tarnish/gummed up black fun..repaired lines...i'll see what she does after install...thanks guys

[Crazyswede]

thick white sweet smelling smoke is coolant. If its wispy or not very dense it could be residual coolant burning off. I have seen failed turbos generate clouds of white smoke as well. Even if the car has had a recent headgasket it is possible the head was cracked or had a corroded valve seat that is leaking coolant (I know...not things you want to hear). If the white smoke goes away then likely its the residual you mentioned, If it continues or gets worse...then its time to dig into it a bit more.

Tricks for idle on the older cars...there is an air bleed screw on top of the the throttle body you can turn in or out to raise and lower the throttle. Many times the air bypass valves work poorly or not at all and its easier just to set a high idle and live with it.

[SwedeSport]

The CIS cars like some heat in them before they run right.

A lot of the idle compensation issues are when its cold.

I would say try Seth's higher idle trick, and get it running enough so that the engine gets up to temp, then work on it from there.

[saabfan9]

cool thanks guys...i'm rushing to get this thing running because my 9-5 was stolen, this was going to be my next resto project after the 99 because it was a rust free flat nose (for free no less) ... if i end up throwing in the towel you'll see her posted here

[SwedeSport]

The sensor in the intake that reads the engine temp is sometimes a culprit behind cold running issues.

it runs without the 02 sensor (closed loop) until the temp sensor tells it to use the reading from the sensor. Then it switches on the emissions system, and starts regulating the fuel mixture.

I think I have that correct.... ????

[saabfan9]

well hooked up an old dwell meter I really didn't see any cut and dry type of movement on the meter i'm using not sure if it's the best for this application ..... now when cold she starts right up and doesn't sound half bad (for a left for dead next stop junk yard abandoned old saab) but as it gets warm the idle rpm starts to drop and then won't hold an idle about 2-4 minutes...any ideas what I can look into?

[saabfan9]

update time, still need help....I repaired the lines to the wur and cleaned the gunk out of it I also notice the solenoid on the fender does click. the smoke has cleared up quite a bit (between the head gasket and bad fuel) .the car is waaay better than before the car does start right away when cold .... the issue is : when cold she starts right up and runs rather well for about 2-3 minutes idle starts at about 1,500 on cold start up after the 2-3 minutes the idle slowly drops down but then keeps falling 700-600-500 then dies out and is very hard (next to impossible) to re-start if you wait 4-5 hours she starts again and then the same issue...next is to check the lamba connector right and adjust the mixture screw at the fuel dist.? am I checking one wire to gound? am I headed in the right direction or should I look at something else? .. thank you guys for the help

[Sam]

Isn't that like a classic coolant sensor diagnosis? I'm not expert but i think its worth checking.

[99Super]

Warm up regulator.
Car is starting fine due to cold start injector starting the engine and the aux air valve keeping the idle up.
As the car warms, the aav closes off and you are left with an over-pressured control circuit.
If you really want to cure this thing, build a pressure test setup and learn how to use it.
Or buy one. They look like this...

http://www.amazon.com/Tool-Aid-33865-K- ... B0002SR5NU

Every fuel-related CIS issue ever can be diagnosed with this rig. The dwell meter only shows you that the lambda system is working and how it's trying to tune the basic CIS. The buzz you hear is the Frequency Valve. Worry about it after you get the car running.

My out of print Bentley manual does an ok job of 'splainin but if you really want to understand your CIS, go find a copy of "How to keep your Rabbit Alive - VW repair for the Compleat Idiot".

Best of luck.

John

[s900t8v]

best advice by 99super, a fuel pressure gauge would diagnose this in an instant

at any rate, the problem is unlikely to be with coolant sensors etc - they're only really relevant in 16v stuff.

The most likely culprit is lean out due to blocked warm up reg/fuel dist.

I hope you have replaced the warm up reg lines with a similar grade of material / ID?

[saabfan9]

can anyone show me how or where to put a fuel pressure gauge? I'm assuming at some point between the warm up reg. and fuel dist.? would anyone have a picture of what it looks like hooked up? what would I be looking for pressure wise (spec) also what adjustments for high or low pressures?...sorry for all the questions