Idle Question.. (car stalling)
Colov99
04-12-2005, 09:25 AM
I have a 1991 pontiac bonneville LE. I posted this in the Bonneville forum but I want the opinion of the engineers here.
It seems to me like my car has no idle at all. If I stop at a stoplight the car's RPMs will drop to 500 or lower and then the car will die. So I have had to put it in neutral and rev it at lights to keep it going. It also died once on an offramp from the mass pike at 50mph. So I am wondering if there is a quick fix to keep the idle up so I can get it 100 miles to my house to play around with it more. (Cleaning the TB was recomended)
Being on a college campus I have acces to not to many tools so would this be my Idle adjustmant that needs tweaking or should I not try to fix it and just have it towed?
Thanks for your help
=c
It seems to me like my car has no idle at all. If I stop at a stoplight the car's RPMs will drop to 500 or lower and then the car will die. So I have had to put it in neutral and rev it at lights to keep it going. It also died once on an offramp from the mass pike at 50mph. So I am wondering if there is a quick fix to keep the idle up so I can get it 100 miles to my house to play around with it more. (Cleaning the TB was recomended)
Being on a college campus I have acces to not to many tools so would this be my Idle adjustmant that needs tweaking or should I not try to fix it and just have it towed?
Thanks for your help
=c
Racincc85
04-12-2005, 12:11 PM
The 3.8L engine that's in your car is EFI, so it has no idle adjustment. The idle speed is controlled by the computer via an idle air control motor (IAC) in the throttle body. Most likely the passageway it's in has gotten carboned up as well as the motor itself. Standing on the driver's side of the car looking towards the passenger side, the IAC is located on the back of the throttle body (side closest to the firewall) at the bottom. You'll probably have to remove the air intake tube running from the air cleaner to the throttle body to have enough room to access it. I would try removing it, cleaning it with a toothbrush (Don't use any solvents on it) and then clean the hole that it mounts in with a wire brush. If that doesn't work, it probably will need replacing. If my memory serves me correctly, the part is $40 or so. If the car is high mileage and you are feeling ambitious you could remove and clean the entire throttle body too. That will probably improve your throttle response some. Good luck!!
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