81SC Fast idle when cold - normal??
 

Sorry guys for dregging up an old topic but I need a sanity check. My '81SC starts, runs, and idles great but... On cold start is zips up to 2000 RPM and stays there for at least 5 minutes as the car warms up. Is this normal? Once warm, it idles smooth at about 1000 RPM. It did this during the warm months as well as cooler so it's not ambiant temperature related.

I've only had the car about 4 months and just assumed it was part of the warm up system with the CIS but I'm beginning to wonder if somethings not right.

The warm up regulator was replaced by the previous owner. If this is not normal I'll probably start troubleshooting the CIS system. Based on some searches I'll probably take a look at the AAR first.

mike

my 82SC idles at around 1800 when it first starts up. Then drops, however when I brought it up north it idled at around 2000 rpm and I adjusted it down a little bit. Sounds pretty normal to me.

JW

That's normal behavior. If you like a lower warm idle, you can lower the idle speed to 900 to 950 and that should lower the cold idle too.

yes, mine idles high on initial start up...i mean it jumps to around 3K for first second and then settles in on around 2K. then i tried the following.

1. Turned the care on, got the intial jump, then swithched it off and immediatley restarted. This time, the idle went to a more reasonable 1100 and then dropped to 800 as it warmed up.

2. Now i crank it, but just enough so that it doesn't catch and start. Then i crank it a second time and it goes to 1100rpm, instead of jumping to 3K on the initial start. It works, not sure why.

p.s. my mechanic told me that oil is circulated as soon as the motor cranks, ie parts, cyclynder sleeves etc get lubricated very quickly.

best, Paul.

Thanks everyone, sounds like everything is quite normal. I've owned and maintained German cars for a long time (mostly those from Munich) and have learned to not be too paranoid but when you've got a great forum like this, it never hurts to ask a stupid question every once in a while if a search doesn't get it.

Mike

Exactly how mine works. I love my old toys, they are cranky and have to warm up to be good. My 2004 Bimmer just starts up and does its thing.