91 Galant DOHC

[ericgib2424]

So I finally got the car on the road and got the out of province inspection passed on the car but I am still having a couple of issues.

1. After going over about 40-50k/h the anti-lock brake light comes on. Not too sure as to why. The car did sit for a number of years before I bought it.

2. When in first gear it does not want to idle. It does have a oscillating idle in neutral but never stalls. But once in first it will oscillate and then just stall. Anything that I can look into with this one?

 

[DSMlover2011]

First of all, I would check for boost leaks because of your idling problem. It may also be caused by a faulty idle control sensor. Pertaing to your original question, I think your clutch isn't fully disengaging which is putting a slight strain on your motor when you have it in gear and causing it to stall. That's what it sounds like based off the info given. The anti-lock brake light is probably being caused by a rusty or faulty abs sensor. Hope this helps.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

So I finally got the car on the road and got the out of province inspection passed on the car but I am still having a couple of issues.

1. After going over about 40-50k/h the anti-lock brake light comes on. Not too sure as to why. The car did sit for a number of years before I bought it.

2. When in first gear it does not want to idle. It does have a oscillating idle in neutral but never stalls. But once in first it will oscillate and then just stall. Anything that I can look into with this one?

1. Check your brake fluid level. Sounds simple but there is a sensor in the reservoir that will turn the brake light on if the fluid is low. It could be tripping the sensor when the car is moving. In addition to topping off the reservoir, bleeding the brakes can help rule out a fluid issue.

2. This is a VR-4, right? I agree on the boost leak test, as this is usually caused by boost leaks in and around the throttle body. It could also be a dirty, throttle body, misadjusted BISS (Base Idle Speed Screw), dead ISC (Idle Speed Controller) or a faulty FIAV (Fast Idle Air Valve).

Check out these links:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/2198-idle-surge-very-bad-need-help.html
Terry's Talon Troubleshooting Tips #3 - Fast Idle (aka. Idle Surge)
TB Cleaning
1G BISS Adjustment
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/364030-idle-speed-control-not-good.html
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/259300-fiav.html

Here are two videos which make it very easy to test your ISC (Do both).

YouTube - ‪DSM ISC motor testing & Replacement‬‏

YouTube - ‪DSM ISC‬‏

 

[ericgib2424]

Awesome Thanks for the quick replies. I will go ahead and take a look at these tonight. As for the anti-lock brake light, I have just recently replaced the front brake pads and also bled all of the brake lines and also have just topped up the brake fluid so I can rule out these. Thanks again for the replies and I will hopefully have more information tomorrow.

 

[Talondvr]

Manual trans i assume? If so put it in 1st gear and rev it up with the clutch still pushed in. If the car moves at all you have adjusting to do.

Search dsm clutch adjustment on youtube. Jacks transmissions (<-- I think) has a vid to make the adjustments.

 

[ericgib2424]

Manual trans i assume? If so put it in 1st gear and rev it up with the clutch still pushed in. If the car moves at all you have adjusting to do.

Search dsm clutch adjustment on youtube. Jacks transmissions (<-- I think) has a vid to make the adjustments.

Yes it is Manual. I will go ahead and try this out tonight.

 

[ericgib2424]

So after some testing for awhile this afternoon it now idles when its cold properly but if the engine has been running for a bit it will idle at about 750 - 800 rpm for a bit and then just slowly stall out. I am stumped as to what it could be now. Any ideas?

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

What did you check? Did you check your ISC?

 

[ericgib2424]

I checked the ISC and out all looked good except for I had to clean out the throttle body and adjust the Biss a little bit . One full turn and it brought down the rpm to about 750 to 800. But now it will idle properly while it its cold but when it warms up. It will slowly stall out

 

[ericgib2424]

Just realized that my thermostat is gone in the car. Would that be causing issues with it not idling once it is warm?

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

I checked the ISC and out all looked good except for I had to clean out the throttle body and adjust the Biss a little bit . One full turn and it brought down the rpm to about 750 to 800. But now it will idle properly while it its cold but when it warms up. It will slowly stall out

Did you set the BISS once it was warmed up at normal operating temp? It sounds like you having a problem with your FIAV or you set the BISS before it was warmed up. The FIAV makes the car idle higher when it is cold to help it warm up faster. Once it gets up to normal operating temp the RPMs will drop and this is where you are having the problem.

Just realized that my thermostat is gone in the car. Would that be causing issues with it not idling once it is warm?

It could cause other issues but I don't think it is your idle issue. I would recommend getting a thermostat though. Also make sure your coolant system is burped and full as I have seen low coolant levels create idle issues.

 

[1457gvr4]

Sounds like your ISC is toast which is common. Did you properly test the resistance on the pins? Also, pull the ECU and check it for bad caps, also common.

As for the brake light, either low fluid or the pads are just really worn down causing the fluid to read low also.

 

[ericgib2424]

Sounds like your ISC is toast which is common. Did you properly test the resistance on the pins? Also, pull the ECU and check it for bad caps, also common.

As for the brake light, either low fluid or the pads are just really worn down causing the fluid to read low also.

I checked the ISC pretty thoroughly. Had proper resistances on the correct pins and made sure it had proper movement when turning on the car. I also pulled the checked the ECU about 2 weeks ago and this problem has been ocouring since before then.

Did you set the BISS once it was warmed up at normal operating temp? It sounds like you having a problem with your FIAV or you set the BISS before it was warmed up. The FIAV makes the car idle higher when it is cold to help it warm up faster. Once it gets up to normal operating temp the RPMs will drop and this is where you are having the problem.


It could cause other issues but I don't think it is your idle issue. I would recommend getting a thermostat though. Also make sure your coolant system is burped and full as I have seen low coolant levels create idle issues.

Im pretty sure I adjusted it when it was cold. That was my bad.

So I took the car out for a bit and let it warm up and adjusted the BISS so that it idles higher and now my idle surge is back. The good news is that it does stall anymore when idling, Bad news is every light I stop at the car beside me thinks I want to race them.
There is something diffidently that isn't adjusted or working properly. Does the FIAV know whether the car is running hot or cold by the thermostat or by some other method? I will probably get some more time tonight to do some testing with it. I will go through "Terry's Talon Troubleshooting Tips #3 - Fast Idle (aka. Idle Surge)" again and see what I can find. Anything else I should try.

 

[97eclipseNT]

one thing that wasn't mentioned about the brakes (since it's the ABS not BRAKE light) it could be the reluctor ring for the wheel speed sensors. Those commonly crack and cause abs issues.

 

[ericgib2424]

one thing that wasn't mentioned about the brakes (since it's the ABS not BRAKE light) it could be the reluctor ring for the wheel speed sensors. Those commonly crack and cause abs issues.

Thanks for the info. I will check those out tonight

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Im pretty sure I adjusted it when it was cold. That was my bad.

So I took the car out for a bit and let it warm up and adjusted the BISS so that it idles higher and now my idle surge is back. The good news is that it does stall anymore when idling, Bad news is every light I stop at the car beside me thinks I want to race them.
There is something diffidently that isn't adjusted or working properly. Does the FIAV know whether the car is running hot or cold by the thermostat or by some other method? I will probably get some more time tonight to do some testing with it. I will go through "Terry's Talon Troubleshooting Tips #3 - Fast Idle (aka. Idle Surge)" again and see what I can find. Anything else I should try.

As I suspected. What did you end up setting the idle at? The ISC (with the stock ECU) only works within the range of 750 +/- 100 (so 650-850 RPM's). If you set it higher then that it will be out of range and can cause the surge. Follow this to set it properly: http://www.vfaq.com/mods/BISS-1G.html. Also boost leaks around the throttle body (biss o-ring, shaft seals, tb gaskets, etc) are very common causes of idle surge.

The FIAV knows when to operate based on the tempature of the coolant flowing throw it. If you look at it you will notice two coolant lines attached it it. Again, it has nothing to do with your thermostat.

 

[ericgib2424]

As I suspected. What did you end up setting the idle at? The ISC (with the stock ECU) only works within the range of 750 +/- 100 (so 650-850 RPM's). If you set it higher then that it will be out of range and can cause the surge. Follow this to set it properly: 1G BISS Adjustment. Also boost leaks around the throttle body (biss o-ring, shaft seals, tb gaskets, etc) are very common causes of idle surge.

The FIAV knows when to operate based on the tempature of the coolant flowing throw it. If you look at it you will notice two coolant lines attached it it. Again, it has nothing to do with your thermostat.

Maybe that is my problem. I may have set it too high. I will double check this once I get home. I did notice this morning that after I had drove it for about 20 minutes after I turned off the car for a minute and the started it again it idled fine. High but kept a steady Idle. I think it was idling at around 1100 ish.

 

[ericgib2424]

So after some testing again and after replacing my thermostat I have a different issue. The car idles fine when cold and When it is hot but the transition in-between the car will idle at like 500 and then stall out after a bit. Also When it is Hot the car did surge for a couple of times then it balanced out again. When the car is hot is is idling around 1000 -1100 and that is with the BISS almost bottomed out which I know is not right.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

So after some testing again and after replacing my thermostat I have a different issue. The car idles fine when cold and When it is hot but the transition in-between the car will idle at like 500 and then stall out after a bit. Also When it is Hot the car did surge for a couple of times then it balanced out again. When the car is hot is is idling around 1000 -1100 and that is with the BISS almost bottomed out which I know is not right.

That brings us to a boost/vacuum leak. Air is getting past the throttle plate/BISS screw even with the screw all the way in. A boost leak test would be the best way to find exactly where but I would suspect the throttle body shaft seals or the BISS o-ring right off the bat.

 

[ericgib2424]

Time to finally answer this really old thread. YES it was a boost leak. It was on the underside of the throttle body. New gasket fixed that problem. The car idles great, boosts great and run great. Thanks for all the help and I'm looking forward to tuning it up this summer.