Idle + Warm Start Problems...

[jnbjones@boulder.net (Jason Jones)]

Hey again,

Thanks alot for all the advice on the strut nut question...I'm waiting
for the stuff to arrive, so until then...

Anyway the reason for this post is in reference to an idle problem I've
had since I bought the car a couple of months ago.  It is fine for the
first 2-3 minutes, then for about 15 minutes it rhythmically hunts
before stabilizing.  Though if I present it with a large electrical load
such as headlights + fan on hi + stereo (with sub) turned up loud, it
will again start hunting.  It has never stalled, so I wasn't in a HUGE
hurry to fix it.  Except now, seemingly with the warmer weather, I am
having warm/hot start problems.  Also, once it does start, for a few
seconds it sounds like it is only firing on one or two cylinders and
then smoothes out and goes into the routine described above.

I have looked for vacuum leaks and found none (though I could have
missed one).  The aux. air regulator checks out.  I went to test the
cold start valve and found that it was not leaking, but it was pulsing
as if the engine was warm when it had been sitting all night.  At no
time could I get it to come on for a few seconds and shut off as Bentley
says it should.  I tested the harness and of course found it to be
pulsing as well.  This is clearly not right, right?  So there may lie my
starting problem, but what is it the thermo-time or the relay?  For
kicks, I un-plugged the relay after starting the car and found the same
old hunting idle, so these are separate things I guess.  I am also
suspicious of the control pressure regulator as it can apparently cause
both of these problems.  I think I got 12 ohms through the
regulator...is this continuity or not...what should the resistance be?

FYI:  I did look for past posts regarding this problem and came up
short, so I apologize if this has already been addressed.

Thanks!
Jason.