UPDATE #2: NEED HELP! Car Dies When Coming To A Stop
 

Hey y'all -- I went ahead and cleaned the MAF, TB and IACV as advised by our venerable members. BUT, my car still dies at a stop. The car seems to resist dying if engine is cold, but if started up when it's already warm, the tendency to die is higher. What gives? MAF? IACV solenoids?

Thanks in advance for all y'all's help. I kow-tow to y'all.

it may be your alternator thats going. do you have a system? I have a system with a upgraded amp from 300 to 720 watt amp and when i idle my lights dim on and off. 1 morning on my way to work my car almost dyed when coming to some stops. So test it out yourself if u know how or a friend. or take it out if you have time and bring it to a parts center like auto zone or struass and see if its bad i dont know if they test for free or not. But its wroth the try i think.

Any codes? WHen does the car actually try to die out. Might be coils or fuel injectors.

As before in my first update -- no codes. And the car dies when coming to a stop under braking and/or steering inputs.

No, I don't have a system either. But the car lights have been dimming since I bought the car, especially when opening/closing power windows. I know my wife had the alternator replaced quite soon after we purchased it, but it's been 5+ years.

It could be many things. I don't know if you're giving us enough info. If it's a alternator problem, that could be easily diagnosed with a multimeter, or by taking it for a test at your auto parts store. Are you sure the idle is not just too low? Have you tried adjusting the idle per the service manual?

The idle is adjusted high to compensate for the low-rev dropouts. I've written more about in previous threads: "NEED HELP! Car Dies When Coming To A Stop" and "UPDATE: NEED HELP! Car Dies When Coming To A Stop".

To sum up:

- 97 Auto SE
- Car dies when coming to a stop and/or when making a turn, occasionally even dies when taping the brakes on the highway
- No codes
- Cleaned MAF, IACV and TB
- New plugs
- Idle adjusted higher to minimized low-rev dropout
- Lights dim when activating windows
- Last week started developing weird coarse noise from accessories area. Could either be alternator or water pump bearing going bad.

Agreed. A mulitimeter wd easily test to see if alternator is workin correctly.

IIRC...there are a number of diffenent Idle air valve functions. One functions for coasting and steering i think. I read it in the Haynes. that is why there are 3 or four differnent connectors at the IACV cuz its more than just for idle. Try cleaning all those connections. But its either air or fuel related.

Did u check coils, plugs, injectors. Still sounds more like an air issue to me

reading the FSM, the ckps pos helps to deterimine speed and idle. Make sure its not all dirty and check for harness continuity

What's CKPS?

Could it be the EGR valve? Does this part need servicing often?

Is it having other symptoms of surging, hesitation, "hunting" for the correct idle, general poor acceleration? If so, suspect incorrect TPS adjustment. This is a free and fast fix.

Are you having strange electrical problems like dash lights flashing randomly? Could be an alternator, but it doesn't really sound like it. Again, a multimeter would quickly suss that out.

It also doesn't sound like coils, because it seems to be happening when the engine RPMs drop.

The "coarse" noise you mention sounds suspicious. Does it sound like a whine, like older turbo engines? That is the sound mine made before the alternator went out.

ects
 

If you aren't experiencing the electrical problems iflossdaily listed, look into your ECTS(engine coolant temperature sensor). This partly explains the stalling at the light, if all of the above are in order.

[B]Definition:[/B During a cold engine test, the PCM would retard the spark timing and run the engine's fuel mixture slightly richer to help compensate for cold conditions which are so characteristic of any typical gasoline engine.... When the engine reaches it's operating temperature, the switch responds by... immediately starts to change it's fuel delivery by leaning the air/fuel mixture and advancing sparkplug timing so as to be able to handle a warming engine.

http://www.auto-repair-help.com/auto...ure_sensor.php

To start this off...i am a mechanic...and i have had similar issues with my friends Max. One thing that people neglect to mention in car stalling at idle is the Torque Converter Clutch(TCC). This is a Mechanical link inside the Torque Converter. It locks the 2 pieces of it together for fuel economy and emissions. There are certain times in which the TCC will engage. Highway cruise it will definately be engaged. Im not sure exactly at what speed it engages in a Max. However, the issue doesnt exist if the engine is cold because the transmission uses the engine coolant temp sensor for a refrence. If the engine is cold, there is no need for TCC application...mainly because the computer is trying to get the car warmed up faster. Once the engine is warm, and most likely late in 3rd gear the TCC engages. It is supposed to DISengage if you hit the brakes. If not, when coming to a stop, it will stall the engine. It is the same thing as not pushing in the clutch pedal on a standard vehicle. The only way to test it is with a scan tool. A mechanic will be able to see on the scan tool weather it disengages or not on the scan tool. There are a number of causes for it to not disengage. It could be an electrical issue not allowing the TCC solenoid on the valve body of the transmission to release hydraulic pressure. Or, it could be a faulty valve or solenoid in general.

Okay, so now my car dies multiple times coming up the driveway into my garage. Make a turn and it just dies. Restart, move a little, dies. Repeat until finally parked in garage. Arrrggh!

try the maf sensor connector i have a 95 gxe and when driving coming to a stop i would stall it turned out the connector was faulty i just cut it off and soldered the wires directly on fixed my problem

I have a new coolant temp sensor, but the car overheated recently (radiator outflow hose was loosened by a strong rear bumper collision). That could've cooked the sensor, right? The car is not throwing any codes, though.

I have a similar situation. I just bought a car that someone had overheated and wasted a head gasket. The head gasket was replaced and heads checked out. Now the car is difficult to start first thing in the morning (sometimes taking up to ten minutes), but the stalling at stops is getting progressively worse.

It will idle after start up but eventually will stall. If I start it immediately it will stall immediately. If I wait and restart it it will idle for a little bit (sometimes several minutes) before stalling. The exhaust has started to smell rich right before it stalls. I've cleaned the IACV, TB, replaced the ECTS, added ground wires. All with no luck. At first it would stall and I could open it up while driving it wouldn't stall anymore, but if I had to idle or drive slow it would continue to stall at stop. Now that doesn't even work.

Not sure what to try next... Did any of your attempts improve your stalling situation? The TB and IACV seemed to improve it for a little bit and definitely improved starting. But changing the ECTS seemed to make it worse.