start up problem

[fnkhan68]

recently my car has developed an intermittent problem when starting up. this only happens when the car is warm or hot and only occasionally but when i start the car it fires up straight away and then the revs drop to about 200 for a couple of seconds after which it will automatically rev to about 1400 revs and then settle down to normal idle. this process only lasts for a few seconds but this problem wasnt there before and the car has never conked out on me. the mileage is now hitting 90k with FSH and about 18 months ago the dist. cap, rotor arm and ht leads have all been changed. the only difference now is that i have been using the higher octane fuel from shell so im not sure if this could be the cause. last night i came across a clear stretch of road and i floored the car for about 2 miles, pick up was good so were the gear changes but the car did chuck out some smoke initially, but i couldnt tell what colour it was as it was dark, also the engine started pink at high revs. finally i also picked up another noise which is a sort of a hissing sound but this noise can only be heard when the car is put in reverse and no other time and yes the car does have a cat. does anyone have any views on what the problem can be. thanks.

 

[Brian WH]

Sounds as if the fuel you are using is TOO rich for the cars settings. It either wants retuning or revert to standard fuel. I would use the normal fuel as the high octane will be not suitable on your car.

 

[Ian B Walker]

I have run my 260E on all sorts of fuel with no adverse affects. If there was smoke when you floored it I would think that the cat may be on the way out. As for the hissing sound, check the lines to the gearbox. I, naturally, could be wrong though