Ford KA running fast

[OrigFirestarter]

Hi there,

My girlfriend has a Ford Ka 1.3. Recently the engine has been running fast and recently has been over reving. Last week the engine light came on indicating a malfunction which was fixed with a top up of the oil. I wondered if there was an obvious reason to why the car is running so fast. Could it be due to the mixture?

Many Thanks

[OrigFirestarter]

I just read on the fixafordcar.co.uk website that over reving is quite a common problem. The fix for the problem is replacing the little black hose which sits under the coil, as it sucks in alot of air and causes all sorts of problems. Any ideas if this sounds familiar or correct?

[larsen_huw]

If it's a vacuum hose, then yes, that makes sense to me.

The Ford Ka engine is essentially the same engine as Ford made back in 1960, with some electronic bits bolted on in an attempt to modernise it, so vacuum hoses becoming perished or split can still be a problem.

[OrigFirestarter]

is this the most likely reason for over reving? I checked all the pipes last night and the car ran a bit better today, I will check this pipe in more detail tonight. However the car is still pulling, anymore suggestions?

[larsen_huw]

Sorry ... your Ford is about 15 years too young for me to be of much practical use ...

My guess would be the ISCV ... if i need your Ka has one ... that's Idle Speed Control Valve in English .... find it ... remove it .... leave it in Carburettor cleaner overnight .... clean and dry it .... refit it with a new gasket ... cross your fingers and fire the engine up! :)

[OrigFirestarter]

i'll have a go with that. thanks

[OrigFirestarter]

After reading the Haynes manual I thought it might have been the accelerator cable sticking. I got a bit of WD40 on it and its fine now.

[larsen_huw]

Good. Nice to know it was something very simple! :)