i’ve done a search a few times and it doesnt seem anyone has had a similar problem as mine, although others have had starting issues
Problem #1 - my start up problem is random and most of the time when it occurs is when the car has been run/driven for about 10-15 miles, i cut it off for maybe 5-10 minutes, then i go back to start it up…it will start…but then it’ll act as though its not getting gas, so i have to pat the gas, in essence kind of fighting to get it to stay started until it, i guess gets teh fuel it needs in order to stay on. then after that its fine and drives fine.
Problem #2 - there’s also another issue, its when the car is ‘cold’ and hasnt warmed up yet, for instance when i’m leaving work and on the road within the first mile or two, it will act as though it doesnt have power and itll feel like its trying to cut out, until i floor it, then it seems to work its kink out, then when teh SES light comes on, everything is driving perfectly normal.
i’ve replaced teh distributor already because the car just completely died on me on one occasion when leaving my mom’s house…so i was kind of wondering would adjusting the dist. possibly fix the issue… i know one of the things thats going to be mentioned to do is to check the SES light, but i’ve only found one thread that made partial mention of how to check the SES light in these cars and it involved a paper clip and looking for the lights to blink, but i dont know what to pull and what to plug the paper clip into in order to get the code.
If someone could either help w/ the problem and/or help me find out exactly what to pull and what to plug in order to try to find out the code, i would greatly appreciate it.
For your problem #1 So your saying that after driving for a while you shut the engine off and come back and when you fire it up it doesn’t start like it should or maybe even stall? Our cars are old and it could be a few things but try replacing the main relay or fixing it. It is located under the steering column held by one bolt. Here is a link of EricTheCarGuy showing how you could fix it instead of buying a new one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viIZ8k60awY
I hope it helps.
yea that’s what’s happening w/ the first problem, i have to press teh gas pedal like i’m starting a carburated (sp?) motor. ill check that video out, thanks. anyone else care to give some input? i would gladly appreciate it
when i got the car i did a full tune up, so i’m highly doubting the fuel filter is an issue…i’m going to see if i can find the main relay and get that soldered up like in teh vid and also clean the fitv and iacv as i found on ti.net
where did the distributor come from. even though its new have you gone threw and tested its components. both of your problems sound ignition related if you ask me. first is first though. you need to find out what that CEL is. there is a ton of info on this site about it. until you figgure that out. all you get is speculation and maybe’s out of us…
i got it from advance auto parts. i’ll admit i SWEAR i heard the same/similar whinning noise one day that i heard before my §§§§§ went out the first time, then i didnt hear it again. i will definitely check it out this weekend and i’m already planning to pull the relay and resolder that
just a FYI for anyone who ends up having the same issue…my #2 issue was resolved by replacing my oxygen sensor… #1 after some ‘testing’ was just heat soak…somthing i guess i have to deal w/ on this car