Weird problem, car barely idles after sitting a week
05-10-2011, 08:54 PM
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Weird problem, car barely idles after sitting a week So my SS is a garage queen, i take it out here and there, its been known to sit for even longer then a week at times but today was no ordinary day for my 40k miled mint ss. A week ago it was perfectly fine, so anyway i get in, go to start it up, out of no where it cant idle, drops to 400 rpms 600 rpms 400rpms then stalls. Ok weird, so i fire it back up and this time give it some gas the rpms come up, revs fine, let off the gas, rpms drop and the car dies. What I also realized is that my SES light for my rear o2's was not lit anymore at all. Car tries to recover its idle as it will jump up and down a bit but eventually it stalls. So weird out of no where too. any ideas? I didnt hook any tuner up to it at all, car is pretty much bone stock except for exhaust and hasnt been messed with in a long time besides an oil change a month ago.
thanks for your time
sean
thanks for your time
sean
05-11-2011, 01:06 AM
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Originally Posted by crazy3rdgen's sig
2002 SS Camaro - 12.151 @ 114 close to stock
LS1 Camaro + exhaust doesn't equal 12.1 @114mph. There must be other mods, unless you managed to shave about 1,000lbs of weight off the car.
A complete list of mods might be helpful in sorting out what the cause might be. I would also hook up a scanner and see if any new pending codes are present. I would also take a look at IAC counts, fuel trims and misfire data when the condition is happening, for starters.
Did the idle ever stabilize? And did you drive the car any?
05-11-2011, 02:07 PM
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LS1 Camaro + exhaust doesn't equal 12.1 @114mph. There must be other mods, unless you managed to shave about 1,000lbs of weight off the car.
A complete list of mods might be helpful in sorting out what the cause might be. I would also hook up a scanner and see if any new pending codes are present. I would also take a look at IAC counts, fuel trims and misfire data when the condition is happening, for starters.
Did the idle ever stabilize? And did you drive the car any?
The idle does somewhat stabilize but eventually flucuates down then goes back up, once its warmed up, when its cold it just tries to bring up the rpms but then they fall back down and it stalls.
Maybe i should try disconnecting the battery for a bit? Weird how my ses light is off when its usually always on cause of no rear o2s..
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05-11-2011, 02:25 PM
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The idle does somewhat stabilize but eventually flucuates down then goes back up, once its warmed up, when its cold it just tries to bring up the rpms but then they fall back down and it stalls.
Maybe i should try disconnecting the battery for a bit? Weird how my ses light is off when its usually always on cause of no rear o2s..
Maybe i should try disconnecting the battery for a bit? Weird how my ses light is off when its usually always on cause of no rear o2s..
Is there a roughness/misfire feeling to the idle as well, or just a surge?
And how about the basics? Good battery & ground connections? Battery voltage showing decent?
And again, did you actually drive the car any? If so, how did it drive?
05-11-2011, 09:53 PM
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I did drive it and it seemed fine, wot and all just idling was a problem. one weird thing was when the car was about to stall out everything was gettting dimmed and volts would go down as it would almost stall, but when it stalled out it would fire right up volts would go back up if I held the gas. The battery isnt that old, i'll check voltage tomorrow.
car went 113 at cecil, its just a very good running ls1 for what it is. If any track did that I would like to know who it was and I would never ever go there ever again.
car went 113 at cecil, its just a very good running ls1 for what it is. If any track did that I would like to know who it was and I would never ever go there ever again.
05-11-2011, 10:42 PM
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Bad Tank of Fuel ? If your car is a " Garage Queen ", how long does it take you to burn off a Tank of petro ?
Possible fuel Pump issue ?
Voltage Regulator ?
SS telling you it wants to get out more ? ! ?
Could be many things... Sounds like a job for a good GM Mechanic
Hopefully nothing major, good luck 12.15 close to stock
Possible fuel Pump issue ?
Voltage Regulator ?
SS telling you it wants to get out more ? ! ?
Could be many things... Sounds like a job for a good GM Mechanic
Hopefully nothing major, good luck 12.15 close to stock
05-11-2011, 10:57 PM
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one weird thing was when the car was about to stall out everything was gettting dimmed and volts would go down as it would almost stall, but when it stalled out it would fire right up volts would go back up if I held the gas. The battery isnt that old, i'll check voltage tomorrow.
Again, I would scan for codes (even with the SES off, you might have stored and/or pending codes). Modern fuel injected engines have a lot of electronics, and tons of DTCs and data values that can help point you in the right direction. Scanning software can save you a bunch of time.
05-15-2011, 03:22 PM
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alright well battery voltage is fine, i just fired the car back up and it also is acting completely normal, granted the SES light which is usually always on is now off... weird!
05-17-2011, 12:09 AM
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I just got my Speedlines and new tires installed on my T/A, so I've been driving that for the last few weeks. I went over to my Mustang and 'Z today to take 'em out and naturally they had a bit of a slow crank and idled a little funny. 'OP I think your car is just telling you it needs to get out more. The worst thing you can do to any car is let it sit...
05-17-2011, 12:26 AM
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weird prob im not sure what the cuase of your prob is sounds electronic, but my advice to you is even if its a garage queen you should still open the door and let it run at idle for about 5 min every 2-3 day and change oil every 3 months no matter how many miles you put on it, nothing sucks more then a time seized engine
05-17-2011, 09:50 AM
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I disagree. The worst thing you can do is this:
I would never recommend to regularly start a cold engine and run it for just 5 mins of idling. Either run it until it's FULLY warmed up (both oil and coolant), or don't start it at all.
Changing oil every 3 months is a waste if you're using synthetic, unless you're driving it 5-10k miles every 3 months.
As for sitting, my garage queen '98 sits for 4-5 months every winter, and during the summer gets driven maybe once every 4-6 weeks. When I do drive it, it's long enough to get fluids properly heated up. After 13 years, the stock engine burns no oil, makes no noises, and runs like a brand new car.
Keeping Stabil in the fuel is an important step for these seldom driven cars though. I do that, and would recommend it to anyone else as well.
As for sitting, my garage queen '98 sits for 4-5 months every winter, and during the summer gets driven maybe once every 4-6 weeks. When I do drive it, it's long enough to get fluids properly heated up. After 13 years, the stock engine burns no oil, makes no noises, and runs like a brand new car.
Keeping Stabil in the fuel is an important step for these seldom driven cars though. I do that, and would recommend it to anyone else as well.
05-17-2011, 11:14 AM
#19
I disagree. The worst thing you can do is this:
I would never recommend to regularly start a cold engine and run it for just 5 mins of idling. Either run it until it's FULLY warmed up (both oil and coolant), or don't start it at all.
Changing oil every 3 months is a waste if you're using synthetic, unless you're driving it 5-10k miles every 3 months.
As for sitting, my garage queen '98 sits for 4-5 months every winter, and during the summer gets driven maybe once every 4-6 weeks. When I do drive it, it's long enough to get fluids properly heated up. After 13 years, the stock engine burns no oil, makes no noises, and runs like a brand new car.
Keeping Stabil in the fuel is an important step for these seldom driven cars though. I do that, and would recommend it to anyone else as well.
I would never recommend to regularly start a cold engine and run it for just 5 mins of idling. Either run it until it's FULLY warmed up (both oil and coolant), or don't start it at all.
Changing oil every 3 months is a waste if you're using synthetic, unless you're driving it 5-10k miles every 3 months.
As for sitting, my garage queen '98 sits for 4-5 months every winter, and during the summer gets driven maybe once every 4-6 weeks. When I do drive it, it's long enough to get fluids properly heated up. After 13 years, the stock engine burns no oil, makes no noises, and runs like a brand new car.
Keeping Stabil in the fuel is an important step for these seldom driven cars though. I do that, and would recommend it to anyone else as well.
