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View Full Version : '89 LXi starts, idles low, and dies (sometimes).



charliekuney
03-09-2009, 09:06 PM
On occasion, when I start my car, it'll idle really low (< 250rpm's), shutter, and die. It seems like it only happens if I've been driving for a while, turn off my car (to go do something), and try starting it again 15-30 mintues later when I'm leaving. It never has problems in the cold, ever. When it's idling low, I can rev up however high I want, but when I let off the gas, it'll drop back down, and most of the time, die. Sometimes it doesn't die, though. Sometimes...

Any ideas? This never happened until I got an oil change...

3rd Party
03-09-2009, 09:10 PM
you could always do some sort of ball valve setup to your intake manifold to allow unmeasured air thus raising the idle...it may be harder to start in the morning unless you open the valve a little more than when the car's running warm. but this is a ghetto rigged idea, don't let my odd persuasion tempt you into this sort of thing as a permanent fix to your crappy idle problem.

AZmike
03-09-2009, 09:26 PM
The only time I ever consistently had trouble with a hot start was when my water temperature sensor was going bad. It's the smaller one on the top of the thermostat housing. Once it was started it ran poorly, but idled fast so there's a good chance it's not the case for you.

Try setting the idle with the factory instructions before doing anything else. If it was set right start eliminating possible causes: clogged PCV, faulty EACV, EGR stuck open, etc.

3rd Party
03-09-2009, 09:38 PM
or you could get block off plates for things like that and set the idle via the throttle body rotor...but again...not something i'd advise. :cool::cool::cool::cool: