Lumpy idle, adjust aux air.

[T.Hanson]

After noticing a low, lumpy idle on start up for awhile,...not inclined to cure itself, my inner genius thought to Google search the problem on previous posts.( Achives).

To use the information, discover the naughty little adjustment nut (later, valve cover mount aux air valve) loose, relaxing on the job.

Besides being an exercise in fumble futz trying get the the teeny open end or box wrench to do anything, adjusting and tightening the nut is in the process of curing the start up idle problem.

Search the archives.Your solution is there someplace.

[alotawatts]

Search the archives.Your solution is there someplace.

I have been..... but have not found specific 'how to' details on cleaning and the adjustment nut.
Share ?

UPDATE: Found this from ALFA GTV
There are a few ways to check the AAV but only one way is reliable. I am afraid you are going to have to pull the thing off the car. With it off the car clean it out with carb cleaner or something else and then clean out all the carb cleaner with dish soap and water. This cleaning process is needed about once a year on a GTV6 in order to keep an AAV operating in top form. When it's really clean put it in the freezer and when it gets cold look through it and you should see a large opening inside. Now heat it up to about 150F and it should be fully or very very nearly fully closed. If it does not open up fully you will have cold starting and running problems. If it does not close fully you will have an irregular idle and power loss.

Cleaning the AAV almost always seems to fix them. If it doesn't you may try playing with the little adjustment nut on it. It seems that some AAVs close fully, but don't open very far. This is optimum for horsepower but not for starting in near freezing temperatures. Others open a lot giving great cold starting but don't close all the way which robs some horsepower. With the adjustment nut and a lot of patience you can set up your AAV to suit your needs...well, sometimes...maybe. Furthermore if you adjust the AAV you will probably need to re adjust your idle speed. To optimize it for cold starting take a cool AAV that is at least partially open and jam something inside it to keep it from closing. Now loosen the adjustment nut and then force the AAV to open up a little more. Now while holding it open tighten the nut. That will bias the AAV toward effective cold starting. @To bias it toward more horsepower you can just loosen the nut on a warm AAV, it should then close fully. At this point tighten the nut. You will gain a little power but cold starting will suffer. If you fiddle with it enough you can get it to open most of the way and close most of the way which is how most of them work from the factory. If you have cleaned it, adjusted it and still can't get it to open and close properly you will have to buy another.

[T.Hanson]

There's a FAQ on Aux Air valves.

I've had the valve mount version off. By itself, putting it in the freezer works to look through the barrel, see the slide disc work, open, close.

As advertised, squirt it full of carb cleaner, then Gunk, or just Gunk, then 409, simple green, soapy, clear water. Object is to get the crud film out of it to allow it to work clean.

But here's the confusing part for me. Adjusting the side nut, which way, for what. My car was barely idling, edge of killing on start up. The nut was loose, all the way left stop. Figured that wasn't right, to move it right about half the adjustment and tighten it. At least the silly nut fits under a box wrench now.

The car starts and idles higher, nice. But reading the FAQ, it looks like my adjustment wasn't supposed to do that. Go figure. It worked, so far.