General Maintenance & Repairs - Car does not want to stay running?

Wasn't sure which forum this went in, so I just put it in here. As of this afternoon, my car has been acting very weird. I drove my car as I normally would to school this morning and it didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Then, I came home and ate lunch (about 1.5 hours) and went to start my car to go to work. It started, but then surged and the idle started flucuating between ~300-1200rpm and then it just dies. I have to keep my foot on the gas pedal to keep it from dying. So, I drove it to work that way, literally with my right foot on the gas pedal and my left foot working the clutch and brake.

Got to work, parked it, then when I got out of work, I went to start it, and it would not turn over. Just like if the battery were dead. So I called my g/f over to jump start my car and it turned on, but again with the surging, so I had to drive it home the exact same way I drove it to work. If I were to let my foot off the gas, it would die and I would have to restart it while my car is going ~60mph.

I finally get home and I shut her down (actually, let it shutdown on it's own). I go to check the throttle body to make sure there isn't anything restricting the hole in the butterfly and I also visually inspect the MAF wires. Nothing wrong there so I go and try to start it and guess what, it doesn't want to crank, just like at work. Does anyone have any idea what the culprit of this strange behavior could be?

I've had my cam for over 2 years now and my car has been tuned. It was running fine up until now.

Maybe fuel filter clogged??? Do you have a s.e.s light comming on?

Check the battery terminals, especially the ground and report back. Check the fuses. I like to check the cheapest shit first myself ;)

I highly doubt it's got anything to do with the fuel system, as the car will at least roll over, even with no fuel pressure.

I would also check the coolent senser on the drivers side head,mine went out before and the car wouldnt stay running I know it sounds weird but I have seen this happen alot.

Fuel filter is good, I replaced it about 7K miles ago. Checked fuses under the hood and they look good, I haven't checked the ones on the side of the dash. No SES lights at all. I'm about to take the battery to Autozone so they can check it out.

It's acting just like when you pull the PCM fuses so it can clear any SES lights, when it's trying to re-learn the idle. The only thing is, it hasn't learned it. Any other input is highly appreciated.

I am having the same problem but it only happens every once in a while. I am going to clean the battery terminals. Let me know if you get it fixed and what you had to do.

Just got back from autozone and the battery checked out fine. While the battery was off, I cleaned up the terminals and hooked it back up. Went to start the car, it starts fine, but it still has that same problem. Surges real bad and just dies if I don't give it some gas.

mrhzk35404, I'll be sure to let you know what it is once it gets figured out.

sounds like the idle control valve to me

Where is the idle control valve located (exactly)?

Well, I removed all the fuses on the side of the dash to inspect them (all were good), started my car up and it idled just fine? WTF... I'm not sure what was wrong, I checked all the fuses under the hood, the battery, the intake tract and the spark plug wires. Thanks for the help guys.

Idle controll valve, normally called IAC (Idle Air Control). Its on the top right of your throttle body. Has a plunger that moves in and out and regulates airflow around the throttle body blade to keep the car idling steady.

I'm still thinking its an electrical problem due to the starting issue. Gremlins in the electrical system can cause you to pull your hair out at times.

I had a z28 that had an issue like this and it turned out to be the alt. just an idea check your alt output and battery voltage with car running.
J

Ok guys, my car started acting up again. I thought it was fixed, but it did the same thing yesterday. I had the battery checked, it was fine, I removed the starter this afternoon, had it checked and it turned out fine also. I'm kinda at a loss here.

When I turn the ignition, it clicks and if I keep the ignition turned long enough it will start. The thing is, it seems as though when I do this the PCM gets reset because the car surges really bad at idle and eventually dies. I have to leave the car running (forced by working the gas pedal) and it will eventually re-learn the tune, I guess. Also, something I noticed today when I went to start it (before dropping the starter), when I used the key fob to unlock the car, the gauges kinda shot to the right and came back down (ex: speedometer from 5-155mph). Anyone have an idea of what it is?

Sounds like the battery/alternator, have the alt checked to see it's putting out sufficient voltage to charge the battery, also check the connections on the back of the alt for corrosion, and check the ground as well