Cold weather and BAD idle!!
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TECH Junkie
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Highland, Indiana
Cold weather and BAD idle!! OK guys, this may be a really common thing but just like the rest of us, even the smallest problem with my baby gets me worried....
Anyway I was leaving my girlfriends house tonight and started the car up (its about 3 degrees F ) it started just fine and the idle immediately started sounding horrible, it was surging between 500 and ~1300 rpms and died a few seconds later
this happened a few more times with the idle surging as high as 2000 RPMs , the damn thing sounded like it had a VERY aggressive cam, lol
After it warmed up it ran just fine, just wondering if this is pretty normal or if its a sign of something I may want to watch out for.
Also, I believe the car has been retarding timing recently since my Y-Pipe has been knocking but this is JUST an assumption
Anyway I was leaving my girlfriends house tonight and started the car up (its about 3 degrees F ) it started just fine and the idle immediately started sounding horrible, it was surging between 500 and ~1300 rpms and died a few seconds later
this happened a few more times with the idle surging as high as 2000 RPMs , the damn thing sounded like it had a VERY aggressive cam, lol
After it warmed up it ran just fine, just wondering if this is pretty normal or if its a sign of something I may want to watch out for.
Also, I believe the car has been retarding timing recently since my Y-Pipe has been knocking but this is JUST an assumption
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: bc canada
Ive got a 99 Ta and live in a cold climate up in bc canada ,when it hits about -5 or colder (20f or less ) mine doesnt like it too much either til it warms up. If you dont have a vaccum leak which would be easy to hear under the hood and its just idling funny (no other noises )i wouldnt worry too much.
On The Tree
Joined: Aug 2004
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I live in Texas and its about 32 degrees out here, I also had the same problem leaving my G-friends house also. but at a red light my rpms would drop down to about 500 and when i hit the gas pedal it bogged down and then took off. I think it could be my spark plugs.
Thread Starter
TECH Junkie
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From: Highland, Indiana
I started it up again this morning and the idle hung around 1500 for a few minutes then dropped back down around normal , but it still seems to be running kinda rough, whats goin on ?
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On The Tree
Joined: Oct 2005
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Make sure the connections on your battery are tight.
Mine wasnt surging as bad as yours, but when you disconnect the battery the computer relearns the curves.....
Mine would always sit right above stalling for a few mins, surgin to 1000 and back for a while...
Then it'd be normal... the clock on my radio was fine, everything seemed ok.
So I was poking around and noticed my battery cable was loose....tightend her up and everything was fine...
Mine wasnt surging as bad as yours, but when you disconnect the battery the computer relearns the curves.....
Mine would always sit right above stalling for a few mins, surgin to 1000 and back for a while...
Then it'd be normal... the clock on my radio was fine, everything seemed ok.
So I was poking around and noticed my battery cable was loose....tightend her up and everything was fine...
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TECH Resident
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Barbaria
Mine was surging like hell. I have a small cam and everything is programmed, in normal weather above 30* it drives perfect.
I tried to drive it yesterday when it was 10* and when I turned it on, the idle was around 1300rpms and the car was driving itself when I wasn't on the brakes. I made it to the gas station down the street, bought gas and turned it on again. Idle shot up to 1300 again, then dropped real fast to 500 and died. I had to give it some gas to get it back on, and it wouldn't hardly idle at all, just jumping back and forth from 600 to 1000rpms. I had to 2 foot it and hold the brake while holding the gas to keep the car around 1000 so it wouldn't die. Once it warmed up it was fine and drove normal again.
In my opinion, I'm really not too worried about it. It rarely gets below 20* here so I'll only have to deal with this a few times a year. I don't want to tune it to drive in really cold weather because then it won't drive right when it's warm. I would only be worried if it wouldn't drive right when the engine was warmed up.
I tried to drive it yesterday when it was 10* and when I turned it on, the idle was around 1300rpms and the car was driving itself when I wasn't on the brakes. I made it to the gas station down the street, bought gas and turned it on again. Idle shot up to 1300 again, then dropped real fast to 500 and died. I had to give it some gas to get it back on, and it wouldn't hardly idle at all, just jumping back and forth from 600 to 1000rpms. I had to 2 foot it and hold the brake while holding the gas to keep the car around 1000 so it wouldn't die. Once it warmed up it was fine and drove normal again.
In my opinion, I'm really not too worried about it. It rarely gets below 20* here so I'll only have to deal with this a few times a year. I don't want to tune it to drive in really cold weather because then it won't drive right when it's warm. I would only be worried if it wouldn't drive right when the engine was warmed up.
everyone who has this problem should get ur batteries tested and if they are ok, do a voltage drop test with ur alternator. this will see if there is resistance of current flow going to the alternator. when ur car is running, the alternator is your source of power.
Its cold here Indiana maybe 22* or lower. I started my car up today for the first time in 3 or 4 days and it was idling pretty rough. At stoplights the idle would dip down to about 500. Its normal for my car to do this when its really cold.
Thread Starter
TECH Junkie
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Highland, Indiana
Originally Posted by Syxx613
everyone who has this problem should get ur batteries tested and if they are ok, do a voltage drop test with ur alternator. this will see if there is resistance of current flow going to the alternator. when ur car is running, the alternator is your source of power.
I'm sure it will still be fine for a long time since it only happened when it was REALLY cold out...
