'96 Rav Lumpy When Cold?

[AS90]

My 96 Rav has started running rough when the engine is cold, its fine after 6 or 7 minutes, any ideas? Also my radio reception has gone rubbish, is there some sort of amp on the aerial like on old VWs?

[anchorman]

There are both cold running sensors and injectors on your engine. Maybe bothy can rummage in his manual to tell you where they are located?

[bothwell_buyer]

My 96 Rav has started running rough when the engine is cold, its fine after 6 or 7 minutes, any ideas? Also my radio reception has gone rubbish, is there some sort of amp on the aerial like on old VWs?

Wee questions like is it diesel or petrol? Did they do diesel back then?? Could well be issues with dampness around leads etc. Spark plug gap if its petrol??

If its petrol, I would tend to look at the HT leads as an early issue, especially with the age of car. Dampness around the plugs as well.

As regards the radio reception, I found the aerial gets gummed up with muck and doesn't extend which affects the reception. There's no amp on mine and I can't see an amp fiited, according to the Haynes manual. Sounds like a wire has broken/frayed/corroded or a connection has come loose. If its the original radio, its quite easy to remove and check the connections. It may be the aerial connection has corroded. if its a top mounted aerial, you can access it by removing the internal drivers side screen vertical moulding and check out the connections. Maybe more likely as water could get down the aerial shaft??

Other things to check that are simple is Battery health; and alternator output.

good luck in this freezing weather....

[bothwell_buyer]

There are both cold running sensors and injectors on your engine. Maybe bothy can rummage in his manual to tell you where they are located?

ok

There is an engine coolant sensor (ECT) and an intake air temp sensor...... The PCM - power train control module (is that USA speak for ECU??) controls the time that the injectors are open - acting like a choke - and is governed by the signals it receives from the sensors. Then we get an igniter (located near the master cylinder on the firewall) 96/97 models which triggers the ignition coil and determines the proper spark advance, based on the inputs from the PCM.

The ECT is a thermistor mounted in the water flow but from the picture I can't identify where, other than on a cast alloy manifold...

I can scan the pages and send them to you if you like. The latter sounds as if it might be the culprit if everything is ok after a few minutes.

Whatever happened to the old paraffin heaters that we used to put on the driveway under car engines to keep them warm during cold nights??

[AS90]

Cheers Bothy!

[AS90]

After much head scratching it turned out to be a worn out HT lead, it had broken but was still touching so No3 cylinder was only firing some of the time.

[bothwell_buyer]

After much head scratching it turned out to be a worn out HT lead, it had broken but was still touching so No3 cylinder was only firing some of the time.

There we go - it almost always turns out to be something simple.....but we always look for the more complicated things.

bring back the Humber Hawk, I say, in a rot-proof version...or even the Morris Minor. No ecu's; just simple and basic...leather seats and a wind up handle on the front!!