not idling, just stalls

[Noesph]

right, this is Dad's car, a 8\99 406 s2 with a 1.8 16v XU petrol engine.

pretty much the problem is that the car doesn't seem to hold its idle, it just drops down and stalls, meaning you have to rev it all the time to keep it going.

So I though it might be the Idle control Valve, took it off and gave it a clean, but that didn't work.

I adjusted the throttle cable as a quick fix to keep its revs up so he can get to work in the morning, but its still very hit and miss, sometimes it runs ok, sometimes it just stalls again.

So, should I hit the Breakers yards looking for a new ICV?

edit - I read up and tryed the off 30 seconds, electrics on 30 seconds, repeat 3 times thing, when I did that it seemed to work, but the next time it was switched on (about 3 or 4 hours later - but it was cold to be fair to the car) it was up to its old tricks again.

[mjb]

Either your ICV/solenoid needs replacing, or your throttle pot (square yellw/beige thing on/near the throttle body) is shot. If it only happens with a cold engine you could try getting some 'freeze spray' from Maplins and with a running cold engine, try cooling down things starting with the throttle pot then ICV. Personally I'd suspect condensation in the throttle pot to be the cause, but theoretically it could affect the ICV too...

Is it a large metal valve or a little black plastic solenoid on the 1.8?

[Noesph]

A little black plastic solenoid