NAPhi_Shift

hey all of a sudden when i get the car to start the revs drop down (below 500) and i gotta give it gas for bout 5 seconds when it ignites... but when the car is warmed up everything is ok...

and i have no CEL, wth is going on

cydrive

I was going to say either a dirty IACV or dirty TB but if its fine if warmed up.. ...someone jump in here...

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

Clean out the TB and IACV and it could be the ECTS as you mention cydrive... the reason hot starts are different from cold-starts is the ECTS is supposed to tell the ECU the coolant temp - and when cold, the engine runs richer.. if the ECTS is incorrectly reporting the temp as hot to the ECU, the fuel mixture is not right and so you get hard starts.

BK1

iTrader: (2)

I had the same problem this weekend (actually all week). It started right up, but it would die as if fuel was being cut. I suspected the Coolant Temperature Sensor or MAF. I changed both yesterday and the problem is gone. Started up, tried to die, but the computer compensated and saved it before it died. I think it was a combination of both, but I would start with the ECTS since its cheaper. Check IACV also like everyone else said also.

NAPhi_Shift

thanks guys, i had been holding off cleaning out my tb and iacv... and today while giving my car an oil change i also cleaned out the TB and the car runs even better than normal... no more problems!

mods you can close this thread, ty

Tfvesquire

iTrader: (2)

I agree with Njmodi about cleaning out the TB and IACV. I had the same problem with my 98 SE. Started fine all season and the minute the weather changed, the car would die right after firing it up cold and then giving it a little gas "would clear its throat." After that, the engine would start up again fine all day long.

I ended up cleaning the TB with a good cleaner (Valvoline Syntech [sp?]) and held the butterfly valve wide open and thoroughly cleaned the valve, the inside of the TB and even attached two of the plastic spray straws together with duct tape so I could reach around the inside of the TB to spray the IACV while using a old toothbrush. I don't like taking things apart with gaskets (TB, IACV) unless I absolutely have to (they never seal up the same and there's always the tendency for them to leak). I used almost an entire can of cleaner to help flush the crap out of the upper intake. Don't use carb cleaner -- too strong!!!

Also, make sure you don't even think about spraying the TB while the engine is running. You will cause all kinds of sensors to freak out, send out multiple codes and could even cause O2 and Cat damage. After you get all the air intake piping back together, have a friend start the engine while you keep your thumb on the throttle. Although the car will shutter and sound like it's running on 2 cylinders, DON'T open the throttle wide open at first. Just give it more and more gas and left off each time to allow the crap to go through the exhaust system. Then, give it a couple of good WOT runs (not longer than 2-3 secs each) to clean it the rest of the way. Take the car for a drive and get it on the nearest highway and you should notice it is more responsive than before.

BTW, after you have shut it down and let it cool, you may have to reset the RPMs as well. Many times, the butterfly valve gets wedged slightly open because of the crap and the ECM will compensate by adjusting the RPMs. Once you have removed this crud, the valve will now sit where it's supposed to and your RPMs may be affect one way or the other. In addition, some mechanics will do a tune up without cleaning the TB correctly and they may have adjusted the linkage cable to teh point where the vavle won't close all the way.

Good luck with that and hopefully it is not more involved than this simple maintenance.

Ted, Chicago

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

^^^^^ Now that's a useful and complete post.

cydrive

yeah,