AWS taking waaay too long.
 

Last night the accelerated warmup system on my 87 T2 started taking a much longer time than normal to finish. It took close to 40 minutes of driving to get it to stop and get down to it's normal 750 rpm idle.

Today my drive to work it took a much longer time than usual as well, but probably more a long the lines of 15 minutes before it dropped down to the 750 rpm idle. On my drive home the AWS never finished.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...22-07_0334.jpg

That is where it was at when I finished driving home from work. Solid idle around 1450 rpm. Does anyone have any idea on what this could be? The car is stock for the most part, could it be the stock ECU going bad?

hmmmm..... probably the AWS going bad more like it. Remove that ho and see if it gets better.

Do you still get the initial revs at 2500ish when you start the car dead cold? the AWS is wat handles that. That system shouln't mess with what your system seems to be doing.

The thermo wax is probably messed up, that is what keeps the idle at 1500 until warm. Your temp seems fine, if the gauge is working right. So the hose going to the thermo wax may be plugged up which makes it take for ever to get it warmed.

Doesn't sound like the ECU at all.

+1 ThermoWax not extending and turning the cam, dropping the fast idle roller at the back of the TB.

Yup, the car still starts the AWS as it always has. Which hose is being the bad guy in this situation? Does anyone have a picture? The AWS is something that I've never really understood on these cars because it's, well, something that seems really stupid to me so I never really tried to figure it out. :sadwavey:

look nobody races a cold motor, i have my shit off so my car can low idle for a bit and warm up to a good running condition. aws is scary

What did you do to disable it?

The AWS runs for seventeen seconds on startup and no longer. Pull the plug off it if you don't like it.

Like the man said, your water thermowax is not extending probably because the water isn't passing thru it. See the FSM for details in the FUEL SECTION.

Which plug do I need to pull to stop the AWS? Maybe I'm just completely blind and stupid but I can't find it in the FSM.

Edit:

Found where the AWS solenoid valve is in the Hayne's manual. What exactly do I do? Unfortunately I don't have any time to take care of this today as I have class and a midterm.

To bypass AWS, start the car in gear. This may be in the FAQ/archive. The main purpose was to heat up the pre-cats, and reduce emmissions. You can also unplug it.

Karl573 why are you still looking at the AWS? The problem (as posted by AUGieDogie, pfsantos, and HAILERS) looks like the cold idle thermowax.

The AWS only works for the first 30 second if you start the car in neutral, and is the surge to 3000 rpm. It doesn't hold at 1500 rpm. Only the thermowax cold idle assist does that.

Sorry, this whole ordeal confuses me just because it's something I've never dealt with before or have even heard of outside of these forums. And it isn't a problem I see posted on here everyday like a lot of others.

So I'm guessing I need to replace the hose going to the thermo wax. What could be clogging it up?

my car was doing about the same thing, i just adjusted my TPS and then reset my idle with the variable resistor and the screw on top of the intake, now it sets at high rpm just until its warm enough then drops to 750 just like it is supposed to, that or like everyone else said, thermowax could be the issue

Well, part of the problem is you have a series four (Good) and there is NOTHING called AWS on a series four. Look in the FSM for Air Bypass Solenoid. It's on the top of the engine and just to the right of the intercooler. Round in shape. One plug with two wires. It aft of the BAC and up a bit. And it functions for seventeen seconds whether n/a, turbo or series five (misnamed AWS solenoid in that FSM).

That said, your problem is like suggested in the first few posts about this. It is a water thermowax problem most likely cause by the water flow thru it being not sufficient or non existant. Look in the FUEL section and Intake Air System and look for Water thermowax. There's several pictures of it. It has nothing to do with the TPS etc. It has EVERYTHING to do with the water temperature of the coolant. Even if no coolant is passing thru the water thermowax, the heat buildup of the engine will eventually make the piston of the water thermowax extend and lower the idle.

If the hose to and FROM the water thermowax is free of crud, it might be the passage in the throttle body/thermowax is ....crudded up. There is a hose on the rear side housing that has a hose that goes to the throttle body/thermowax. The water leaves the throttle body and goes to a fitting on the side of the bac and from there to the back of the water pump housing to return to the radiator. Make sure these hose still exist.

Just a question... Can the thermowax itself get stuck? After 20 years of use, it is very possible that things just get froze up and stuck.