Electron attachment to tetrachloroethene (C2Cl4) has been studied in the energy range from similar to0 eV up to 9.5 eV, using a trochoidal electron monochromator with an energy resolution of about 70 meV. Production yields for the parent anion and various fragment anions are compared with previously published data in order to clarify some existent discrepancies. In particular, an inconsistency concerning the Cl-/C2Cl4 peak is investigated, and additional transitions leading to anion formation are presented. Moreover, a newly discovered mechanism for the production of a spurious anion signal at zero electron energy is presented. This mechanism appears when metastable anions that have been formed initially upon attachment undergo autodetachment in regions where electrostatic fields are present. Zero-energy peaks generated that way represent dangerous pitfalls and have to be taken into account, at least in electron attachment studies that are based on in-line instruments. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.