slight hesitation at idle?
slight hesitation at idle? Hello everyone, it's been a while since i posted here. just got back from a 6 month deployment and have an issue when my car is at idle. there is a very momentary hesitation when the engine is around 700 rpm. above that it runs like a champ, but this hesitation has me worried. there's no codes or SES light, no loss of power. just this half a second hesitation when it's idling in park or at a stop that occurs randomly. sometimes it's just once, other times it'll do it 2-3 times in a row. what could this be, a timing issue? detonation? maybe a coil pack going out? my work schedule makes it difficult to get it to a shop to hook it up to a diagnostics computer. so until i can get that done maybe some of you gear heads can help me out with some ideas. regular maintenance is not a problem for me, but troubleshooting stuff like this is over my head. thanks
so i read after a search that one thing to check is to watch around the spark plug wires while it's dark to see if there are any sparks/arcs. i didn't see anything like that, but i noticed on the gauge panel that every time the hesitation occurs, the check gauges light flashes in sync with it. it's really quick so i didn't see it before since most of my driving is during the day, and when i do drive when it's dark the lights on the gauge panel prohibited me from seeing it flash.
more research, looking at my repair manual it says causes of engine missing at idle are faulty plugs, bad wires, vac leaks, bad coils, uneven or low compression, faulty injectors. so i guess i'll start with plugs and wires and work my way down the list. maybe i'm not as bad at troubleshooting as i thought! god i hope so...........
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
You mentioned that the "check gauges" light is flickering when the hesitation happens. Take note of what the gauges are actually doing at that moment, and see if anything is out of the ordinary (such as the volt meter).
i've been watching the gauges closely since this started. nothing out of the ordinary, sorry i forgot to mention that at first. voltmeter, oil pressure all are normal and don't flicker. the rpms don't change either.
ok, replaced the plugs and wires today. let it warm up and sit at idle, shifted it to reverse and drive and let it idle. seems to be running smoother and no hesitation. hopefully this fixed it, i'll know for sure when i drive to work in the morning.
oh ya, forgot to mention that none of the old wires seem to be cracked or damaged, and the plugs are all equally worn, but nothing curious about their condition. weird....
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