UK Car Repair: stalling, dashboard lights, vacuum leak

Question
Hi Bill,

My Ford Fiesta keeps stalling as I slow down and/or come to a stop at a junction or similar as I put the clutch down and brake. The car is 1997.

Very occasionally, I can avoid it: As I put the clutch right to the floor in order to bring the car out of gear or change down a gear as I slow, I can see the dashboard lights come on, indicating a stall. I can bring the clutch back up quickly which brings it out of the stall, however, most times it just stalls anyway. It seems that as the clutch goes down, it doesn't let enough fuel through to keep the engine running over in idle. When I start the engine normally, it starts fine, and its idle revs seems fine. The problem only comes about when revs drop suddenly. It's as if its too much of a shock and it cuts out altogether. After a stall, if I try and restart the engine straight away  it often starts, then the revs die again, and it cuts out again.

Of course, the biggest problem that arises from this problem, aside from the fact I'm constantly restarting the engine every time I stop, is the situation when I'm slowing towards a roundabout or junction, I see all is clear, and then begin to accelerate again to pull away. However, the engine has cut and I coast out onto the roundabout or into the road with no power. This has almost caused a couple of incidents, so I generally stop in these instances.


Answer
hi Laura, it sounds to me like the clutch is not disengaging completely (dragging) does it stop with a bump ? This causes the car to still be in gear when slowing down. try knocking the car into neutral without the clutch when slowing and see if the car maintains it's engine speed. if not it could be something as simple as a vacuum leak or idle speed control valve. keep me posted - Paul