idle problem

on a 1990 mitsubishi eclipse with a 1.8L. until its at operating temp. it idles low and dies unless your on the gas. and if your trying to drive it barely moves. could this be like a TPS or coolant temp sensor, or is it more like a head gasket thing. once it gets to operating temp. it runs good. kinda lost and need help fast.

does the idle go up once it gets hot?

Check the oil and make sure theres no coolant in it, that should rule out the head gasket. My talon 1.8L did this after i installed an aftermarket intake, and in the process disconnected the wire to the coolant temp sensor. It was trippin a check engine light too, is yours? If so find out what the code means. If not check the coolant temp sensor, because it sounds exactly like what my car was doing. Cutting off at idle until it got to operating temp.

Check the oil and make sure theres no coolant in it, that should rule out the head gasket. My talon 1.8L did this after i installed an aftermarket intake, and in the process disconnected the wire to the coolant temp sensor. It was trippin a check engine light too, is yours? If so find out what the code means. If not check the coolant temp sensor, because it sounds exactly like what my car was doing. Cutting off at idle until it got to operating temp.


i have no check engine light on. i tried turning the key on and off 3 times to get the codes but it doesn't work :s. is there another way to check the codes? my dad thought it sounded like the coolant temp sensor also. where is it located on the 1.8L? i checked the oil and i dont see any coolant but im going to change the oil and see if any coolant comes out. thanks for the help

dude, do you have water coming out of the tailpipe? also, does it over heat?

no it doesn't overheat. stays about in the middle or a little under the middle. the only problem it has is barely runs until its at operating temp

then i dont know, sorry dude, hope its nothing too bad for the sake of your wallet lol.

this is what my car does,revs up by itself like a ghost,then back down and up again,if thats what youre talking about then my street racer friend said its the vacuum system is what has a leak.not getting enough air to operate the turbo and engine itself properly is what that means,i guess.

this is what my car does,revs up by itself like a ghost,then back down and up again,if thats what youre talking about then my street racer friend said its the vacuum system is what has a leak.not getting enough air to operate the turbo and engine itself properly is what that means,i guess.


Sounds resonable. ISC, vacuum leak, any small holes could possibly cause this. Do an air leak check.

Answer a few questions for me first. What aftermarket mods do you have done? How long ago did it start doing this? Did you change anything before it started doing this? Is there a strong fuel smell (more than normal) coming from the exhaust or just inside the car when you first start it?

Maybe take it out somewhere in the middle of the night, somewhere really dark and check to see if there are sparks coming off anything from the coil pack on down to the spark plugs. Try reving the throttle body through different ranges to see if that brings anything out. Just one idea.