Problem, need help diagnosing

murray1 · 05-10-2008, 04:53 PM

I posted this on 2gnt also but this site has always provided some great help so thought I would post it here too.

Ok, here is a explanation of what happened.

I was driving home from work, every once in a while I thought I was feeling this little jerk but wasn't sure about it, especially since I was lower on fuel(about 1/8th of a tank). When I got into the city and had to slow down I took my foot off the gas pedal but the car didn't really slow down, it actually held at 90 km/hr(around 50ish mph) in 5th gear like it had cruise control on. When I would push the clutch in the engine would rev to around 3500-4000 rpm and after like 10 seconds or so it would drop down to idle speed. The traffic then got heavier and slower and I noticed my car was starting to heat, at one point just momentarily the needle was inline with the hot line. I got off the road as quick as possible which happened to also be at a gas station and I filled it up while having the hood open to let it cool.

When I tried to leave it did not want to start. I left it for a bit and tried again but again no start. I called someone to come and pick me up and about 45 mins later when they arrived I tried once again and just got it to start, it was idling poorly and didn't sound to good though. I decided to try and drive it home, I didn't have any major issues but it was doing the same thing high rev with clutch in and acting like it was on cruise control(if I shifted from 2nd to 3rd at about 45 km/hr it would actually speed up a little without ever touching the gas pedal).

I took it to a shop and dropped it off because I had to work and didn't have any idea what it might be. Just as I was leaving I tried to start it again but it wouldn't start, I guess the shop got it to start this morning though. They haven't looked at it good enough to know what it is yet and I was just wondering if you guys had any ideas. The one guy said something like he thought air might be getting in(I don't know what he meant by that or into what though).

I also was on the low side of oil right around the min line, I don't know where all my oil went considering it doesn't leak or give off smoke like it should if it were burning the oil. Anyways I threw in a liter of oil at the gas station just in case.

Oh yeah I also did keydance because my CEL came on when I got it started again, I received a code of 22 which I guess is

Engine coolant temperature sensor voltage too low

Harness and connector / Engine coolant sensor

Would that actually have caused this or would that just be due to the heating?

Sorry for the essay I tried to make it as short as possible(well until I added this extra line...)

Locke · 05-10-2008, 07:23 PM

A bad ECT can cause fuel economy issues and rob some power, but not the severe lag before your idle drops.

Take care of the ECT code, clean the IAC (for good measure) and start looking for vacuum leaks.

murray1 · 05-10-2008, 07:27 PM

Can it cause good fuel economy problems?

When I filled up I got 40 MPG. All highway driving pretty much.

Car_guy_09 · 05-10-2008, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murray1

Can it cause good fuel economy problems?

When I filled up I got 40 MPG. All highway driving pretty much.

I wasent aware there was such a thing as a good fuel economy problem

TalonESIT · 05-10-2008, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murray1

I posted this on 2gnt also but this site has always provided some great help so thought I would post it here too.

Ok, here is a explanation of what happened.

I was driving home from work, every once in a while I thought I was feeling this little jerk but wasn't sure about it, especially since I was lower on fuel(about 1/8th of a tank). When I got into the city and had to slow down I took my foot off the gas pedal but the car didn't really slow down, it actually held at 90 km/hr(around 50ish mph) in 5th gear like it had cruise control on. When I would push the clutch in the engine would rev to around 3500-4000 rpm and after like 10 seconds or so it would drop down to idle speed. The traffic then got heavier and slower and I noticed my car was starting to heat, at one point just momentarily the needle was inline with the hot line. I got off the road as quick as possible which happened to also be at a gas station and I filled it up while having the hood open to let it cool.

When I tried to leave it did not want to start. I left it for a bit and tried again but again no start. I called someone to come and pick me up and about 45 mins later when they arrived I tried once again and just got it to start, it was idling poorly and didn't sound to good though. I decided to try and drive it home, I didn't have any major issues but it was doing the same thing high rev with clutch in and acting like it was on cruise control(if I shifted from 2nd to 3rd at about 45 km/hr it would actually speed up a little without ever touching the gas pedal).

I took it to a shop and dropped it off because I had to work and didn't have any idea what it might be. Just as I was leaving I tried to start it again but it wouldn't start, I guess the shop got it to start this morning though. They haven't looked at it good enough to know what it is yet and I was just wondering if you guys had any ideas. The one guy said something like he thought air might be getting in(I don't know what he meant by that or into what though).

I also was on the low side of oil right around the min line, I don't know where all my oil went considering it doesn't leak or give off smoke like it should if it were burning the oil. Anyways I threw in a liter of oil at the gas station just in case.

Oh yeah I also did keydance because my CEL came on when I got it started again, I received a code of 22 which I guess is

Does it Feel like your gas pedal is sticking? The overheating may be a whole separate issue, but the idling could be due to either a stick throttle cable, or a bad TPS (someone please correct me if this sounds off).

The mechanic may have a few things to test, I don't understand the "air getting in there"? Unless he was referring to your coolant system; which would need to be burped in order to get the air bubbles out of the system.

Did all these problems occur at the same time? They may not all be related to each other...

murray1 · 05-11-2008, 12:25 AM

No my gas pedal was not sticking. And yes everything occurred in the same day within about 20 mins. I was fine didn't notice anything odd going to work and then all that stuff happened on the way home.

dr1665 · 05-11-2008, 10:08 PM

If the ECU is reporting issue with the CLT, replace it. Make sure the connections are clean and just replace it. Pick up a new thermostat and radiator cap while you're at it. Will set you back less than US$30 at Autozone.

Typically, when the CLT fails, it adivses the ECU that the coolant (and therefore the engine) is something like -200*F. This throws the ECU into something of a perpetual warm-up mode. Fuel trims are calibrated for extremely cold weather. This might explain why the car wants to start up once it's cooled down, but will not when warmed up.

Be sure you've got the coolant levels topped off and a good sealing radiator cap. Steam pockets, combined with a bad CLT sensor (which is the larger of the two, with the multi-pin connector, BTW) have been the cause of numerous problems with these cars, often resulting in countless hours of trouble shooting.

Good luck.

murray1 · 05-12-2008, 05:24 PM

Well I just heard back from the shop. It was all that coolant sensor. When it went it started screwing with the ECU which caused the fuel issues etc.

The retards already replaced it and everything and want $370 for it though... They were supposed to let me know not just go ahead and fix it for me... Time to go bash some skulls.