UPDATE: Problem solved, it was the TPS/TB. The crackling noise i kept hearing was the TB getting stuck.

Ok, so I've read a bunch of the treads related to this but my issue seems a little different.

I have a 2002 SE, 160k and as usual when driving, the car has surges of power, with the throttle in the same position it suddenly looses power/hits a dead spot then all of a sudden the power comes back and the car surges forward repeatedly. It does this in all gears a various speeds. Some days it will Drive perfectly fine on one trip then i get back it and it starts acting up. One thing i did notice was there is a crackling noise whenever it does this towards the front of the dash, it sounds like someone is crushing up paper. It's hard to tell if is coming from the engine bay or the ECM, i'm going to assume it's the ECM.

Another thing is, I do not have a check engine light, while i saw almost everyone else did.

Some mornings when the car is started after sitting over night it idles terrible, borderline shutting of then after about 10 mins or so it idles normally. I thought it could be an IACV issue like others but unless I'm blind I don't see an IACV on this car, is that due to the electronic throttle?

I also believe the mounts have taken a hit as well because some days it vibrates like crazy when accelerating at low speeds, some days it doesn't. Interesting enough a mechanic friend connected his scanner that grabs live data and it showed that the mounts were going on and off correctly when we revved the engine.

Within the week I plan on doing the following:
- check fuses
- replace ECU and recode
- replace MAF(used but tested and in working condition)
- replace torn intake boot
- disconnect electronic mounts, i'm going to have someone rev the car over 1000k while i unplug them.

The following were already replaced before this issue was this bad; all coil packs and plugs, transmission(this was a bad decision on my part ), both valve covers.

I am honestly not trying to spend too much more money on this thing if the above don't resolve this issue but is there anything else i should look at replacing like the crank/camshaft sensors, throttle sensor etc?

 

I don't think the ECU is the problem. My first thought is that the MAF is the problem. These things go bad and cause all different kinds of drivability problems. And they rarely cause a check engine light.

Since you are getting another MAF, replace it first.

 

if the ecm is damaged wouldn't that damage the new MAF as well, could the TPS also be a culprit?

 

if the maf damaged the ecu or the other way around that would be the first time anybody has reported it

if you're that concerned about the ecu the simplest way to know is to take it out of the car and check. it will probably take you 20 minutes

 

i'm going to pull the ECU this weekend..the crackling noise when it happens is really concerning

 

You never mentioned a crackling noise before. Does it sound like the noise is coming from the ECU? The only noise that an ECU would make would be as the integrated circuits heat up and burn up. And once that happens, they won't work again, not even intermittently.

 

it's in my first paragraph, lol....it really weird. I tried driving with the window open to see if i could hear it from the out side but of course i can only hear it when the windows are up and the radio down.

 

Finally got around to pulling out the ecu and it looks fine...this is annoying

 

did you do the maf and intake boot already?

 

Indeed. That's what it sounds like to me.

I would do the pedal dance and reset the ECU, too.

 

I did the maf with a good one from a friend and boot, it ran much better but its still surging, just not as harsh. I did all the relearns but not the reset because i didnt have any codes but i'll do the full reset and relearns again today.

 

Are you sure you don't have a misfire?

 

I'm starting to think the same honestly but it has been doing this before and after all 6 packs and plugs were replaced.

I'm going to order a new maf from Rockauto and try that instead of a used oem one.

Could the Throttle body and TPS also be a possibility? I did buy a remanufactured TB from advance auto pats just in case.

 

I guess it possible that the TPS doesn't ramp up voltage correctly, but I can't say anyone's has gone bad that I know of.
This should be fairly easy to test with obd2 app.

 

Well it turns out it was a bad TB/TPS. that crackling noise i kept hearing was the TPS getting stuck.

I figured it out when sitting outside and the car wouldnt start and when it finally did it kept making that cracking noise which it never did before while idling. Poked around under the hood until i found the sound coming from the TB.

Replaced the TB, put in a brand new MAF & PCV valve. After the idle relearn finally runs smooth again!!