AU98TA

I have a 98 TransAm. I haven't tried to start it since I got home on Sunday afternoon. I went out this morning to go to work and the battery was dead. I jumped it off and it started up fine. Everything was okay until I put it into drive and the car stalled. I put it back in park and started it up again and it was idling real low and wanted to stall out. I reved it up to 2k rmps and held it for about 10 seconds to see if it would return to normal. No luck it idled real low and when I put it in drive it stalled out again. I restarted the car and same thing this time it was idling so low that it would stall out within 5-10 seconds. I tried starting again a few times and same results every time. It was too dark for me to look over anything at 3am this morning, so I just went back out and the battery was dead again. Any ideas what it is?? I can hear what I think is the fuel pump trying to prime but its on and off. I think its due to lack of power.

AsianIce25

iTrader: (2)

Hmmm, almost sounds like the pcm lost its memory and is trying to relearn the curves. I'd let it idle funny for like 5 minutes and then turn it off. Start it back up and see how it's doing. the low idle and stalling may be a miss as well. make sure all your plug wires are on all the way and that theres no arcing. doesnt sound like its too bad. it the SES light flashing? I bet it'll be fine today.

firehawk933

AsianIce25 is correct. My battery was dead after sitting for an extended period of time. I had to start it up and give it some gas to keep the rpms up, after 2-3 minutes it ran fine. The pcm just needs time to relearn. Nothing serious, just makes the heart stop beating for a bit!

cyphur

iTrader: (10)

This happened to me a week or two ago, i have an m6 and so I thought this to be rather odd. I had to start it a few times, but after revvin it up a few times and letting it idle back down....then a 30 second break after it died the last time....turned it back on and it was fine. Just let your pcm relearn the curves and you should be fine.

technical

Plus I think the PCM will not function correctly if your system voltage is below ~8volts.
If the battery keeps dying, then the alternator is toast which means you're always on battery power...or lack thereof.

ActionJack

My thoughts exactly. If the battery was dead then the PCM would have to relearn. And, if the battery is not charging up you will keep getting a bad battery. That is likely the alternator. You could check battery connections for corrosion and the alternator for secure wiring and serpentine belt for tightness but I would guess the alternator.