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Evil Idle

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Old 01-27-2006, 08:12 AM
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Evil Idle

I've noticed my gas consumption being ridiculous lately, and started to investigate. Finally, after a few tests I found that I burn a ton of gas while waiting in line to leave my school(car is running). I usually wait 10-15 minutes a day and i've noticed that I lose 2-3 notches of gas on average every day I wait. I have the latest PCM flash and my car just turned 30,000 miles.

Some other symptoms I've found include higher oil consumption and a hesitation when starting.


Any ideas?
Old 01-27-2006, 08:17 AM
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Ugh!

Thats horrible.

Can you describe this idle? Is it... going up and down from like 3k to 1k, and repeat?

Does it fix when she warms up? Does it only happen on cold starts?

What mine does (And is normal to all cars) is it will idle high (2k) until she warms up - steadily decreasing.

Also, describe the hesitation when starting - anything major? All of our rotaries are hesitant to start, they dont single-crank like some piston engines
Old 01-27-2006, 10:50 AM
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engine running but not going anywhere= high gas usage for short miles. besides that its winter so you have oxygenated fuel. plus you are sitting there while the car is in open loop so it uses even more gas.


quite normal.
Old 01-27-2006, 11:00 AM
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I had an idle problem with mine where it would rise to 1500rpm, then drop to 800 and do this repeatedly every 3 seconds. Turned out it was a bad "neutral switch". It was replaced under warranty and it's been fine ever since. I have 38k miles on mine.

You may also need new plugs; the dealer replaced mine at 37k miles and things have improved. My mileage had dropped to 16.8 before, and after it went to 17.6 and keeps slowly improving as I drive it.
Old 01-27-2006, 12:08 PM
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At idle, you can almost hear the sucking sound from the fuel line -- Lol.

At 30,000 miles, it may be time for new plugs.
Old 01-27-2006, 02:03 PM
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Idle is not rough, it has just been using a ton more gas lately. But, I think it probably is time for some new plugs so I'll give that a try.
Old 01-29-2006, 10:55 AM
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Rotary engines use a lot more fuel to cold start and warm up than a piston engine. I guess that is why they are more susepcatble to flooding.


Actually, if there was some way to keep heat in the engine when the car was sitting, I bet the fuel consumption would really improve. I notice big differences in fuel economy between my normal 2 mile trips and when I drive greater distances.
Old 01-29-2006, 11:05 AM
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Traffic is the enemy of rotary mileage. Make sure that you blow the carbon out after warm up.
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