A mate and I recently restored my 1500 egine for my beetle and it has been running like a champ for the past couple of months. I went on a few road tips and the car performed great. Now that i have been back it doesn't seem to want to Idle anymore. It runs fine when you first start the engine and first start driving but when you pull up it cuts out straight away. Then when you restart the engine it wont idle at all and you constantly have to keep your foot on the accelerator to keep it from cutting out again. Can anyone help me out if they have heard of this before....

Does it have an automatic choke? If so, check that the choke is operating correctly. This is easy to check as the choke will open even if the engine isn't running. First check the choke butterfly with the engine cold, it should be closed. Then turn the ignition on, without starting the engine, and wait about 5 min. Then have a look at the choke butterfly, it should have opened up. If not, feel the choke cover, it should be hot. If not either the heating element is burnt out or the wire is not connected.

have i heard of this before?? hhhhmmm, funny you should have this problem now.
i was stuck in a new farm shopping centre last week with this exact same problem, lol.

the things i looked for were:

- check to see if there are any loose wires from your carbies or your choke/s
- check if theres a fuel blockage (there could be crap in your fuel filters or something)
- you may have a blocked idle jet

if its just happening all of a sudden (not gradual) its likely to be one of the above problems.... just have a look.

thanks for the ideas. Had a look around last night but it all seemed ok. I guess it will be trip to the mechanic...

Have you checked the point gap. Sometimes after the first few weeks the cam block can wear, allowing the gap to close up.

Blocked idle jet or a faulty solenoid (if your carby is equiped with one). If blocked idle jet you can either pull the carby apart and clean all the jets or try the following:
- remove the airfilter
- rev the engine up to about 3000rpm
- slowly put you hand on the carb without stalling the engine
- repeat the above 4 or 5 times, it might clear the idle jet
What you are trying to do here is suck more fuel and less air through the carby which hopefully will clear any blockage. I had the same problem as yours and knew it was a blocked idle jet. Couldn't drive the car home so called the RACV and he taught me the above which worked in my case.
Good luck
Raf

[Edited on 2-2-2005 by karmannghia60]