Laser KF Problems

[hilikus]

Hey all, i have a Laser KF 1991 auto.

Overall the car runs well apart from a few really annoying problems.

When the car is in drive and stopped, it idles rough. If i'm in park etc it idles nice and smooth. I did a search and checked out the simimlar threads and engine mounts seem to be a common problem which i will be getting checked out. The strange thing with my case, i didn't see in the others however is, that when i turn on my headlights it idles even rougher. Is this a side effect showing that it may also be something electrial based?

Also sometimes within the 1st minute or so of starting the car it will sometimes die out. It will however start straight away again and has never done it after driving for a few minutes. I have just figured that since its an older car it may just need to warm up but have also wondered if its connected to the first problem.

I'm a complete car newb and have no mechanical sense what so ever so will be taking it to a mechanic. I would just like some advise on what it could be and an idea on the cost etc.

[smally289]

Sounds like you have an idle up problem. There is a dual feed vacuum diaphragm on the back of the carby (assuming yours is carb, not EFI) that is fed by 2 idle up solenoids mounted on the firewall. One is for A/C idle up and the other is for electric load idle up (for headlights, rear demist, thermo fan etc).
Have seen quite a few of these vacuum diaphragm units seize which will give you the problem described in your post.
As far as the stalling after first startup goes, make sure you are setting the auto choke properly before you start it. To do this, press the accelerator to the floor and hold it there for 2 or 3 seconds, release it and then start the engine. This gives the choke mechanism time to pull the choke butterfly and fast idle linkages to their correct positions.
See how ya go

[hilikus]

Thanks for the reply
I booked in to see a mechanic on thursday and he mentioned the same thing you did so hopefully it all gets fixed up.
As far as the stalling i read a how to guide on the net today and changed my spark plugs. It seems to have helped a bit, although the old ones seemed in good condition so not sure if that is the problem.
A friend from work mentioned that bad engine mounts could also be causing the problem, is there anyway i can see if their in ok condition?