camaro981289

iTrader: (25)

Hello i was just seeing if somebody could answer my question. I have a 1998 chevy camaro 3800 and i am having a problem. The engine keeps dying once you let go of the accelerator. To start it u need to turn the key and then press the accelerator and rev it up a little bit. I used to have to do that all the time untill the engine stayed on but now when you let go of the accelerator the car just shuts off and a service engine soon light turns on as well as low oil. the engine has enough oil in it because we have checked it. When your driving and say your going 30 mph and let go off the accelertor the engine tone goes down normal but once the rpm's hit 1 the engine just dyes. if your traveling in 4th gear and u stick it in neutral the car dyes right away. I dont know what the problem is but people have said it might either be a fuel pump, fuel filter or injectors. Has anyone has this problem before and might know the solution? please help me out. i miss driving my car and i dont want to keep driving my mothers suburban around any more.

chino_man279

iTrader: (7)

How long since the fuel filter has been changed? If it has been awhile, I would change it out. It is a couple of dollars and could not hurt anyways. Get a fuel pressure gauge on the fuel rail, what is it reading? My 98 V6 camaro is still running the stock fuel pump with about 200k miles on it now, but I am guessing that this is very rare...will probably go out tomorrow now.

When you start it and have to give it the pedal, does it start right away or does it crank over a few times? Could be a dirty IAC motor or bad TPS. Does the car feel normal under hard acceleration?

Fill us in with some more info, someone here can help I am sure.

lo_jack

iTrader: (27)

Sounds like the pump to me. I was getting hard starts where it barely wanted to turn over but eventually did. Replaced the pump, no more problem. Are you priming the pump fully on key on? Does it make the right noise when you prime?

Come over here and investigate further.

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

CHeck the FP with a guage but I wager its the MAF, they tend to go bad and it will mess up the ablility to idle, my friends 99 Grand Prix GT had a similar issue. Also get the codes checked. Since that will probably point you in the right direction.

camaro981289

iTrader: (25)

I went to the local auto zone and got the codes checked. turns out it was the Massive Air Flow sensor. Beleive it or not the car fixed itself(second time it does that.) The guy said it needed a new sensor but he wasnt sure. i didnt want to pay $147 and it turn out not to be the sensor so i took it apart and the sensor wasnt broken or burnt. We messed with the wiring and tried it but didnt work. i started the car and when he disconnected the MAF the car shut off indicating that it wasnt the MAF. To make this short i bought a fuel filter for like $7 and went home to install it. by the way its not easy driving a car around when u have to stick it in neutral and push the accelerator lightly while braking at a stop light. your just not use to it. I got home and went inside to grab some tools. when i came out i decided to move the car to a better location where i could install the filter easier. when i started the car i put it in reverse and parked it where i wanted it. i was already use to just dropping the accelerator to shut off the car but this time when i did it the car stayed on. I drove it around the block a couple times and it was working perfect. My low oil light doesnt turn on anymore and the car starts up normally. the only problem right now is my power wire on my car is old and dirty so the battery keeps dying. easy fix though. Thanks for your help to everyone that replied to this problem. i probobly will take the car to get it serviced somewhere so i know what the problem is exactly. once again thank you for your help.


P.s. my dad was blaming me because he thought it was a whisper induction lid i bought and installed that cause this problem but i prooved him wrong haha.

lo_jack

iTrader: (27)

Glad you got it figured out.

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

A car will run without a MAF on it, the car reverts to its basic Tables and runs on Speed Density, More modified the car is, the less of a chance it will run without, MAF's are for driveability and gas milage, if it works, thats great but something in the PCM Parameters said the MAF messed up, I say clear the codes/disconnect the battary and just monitor.