stupid idle.

is it normal for the idle to run around the 1.1K rpm on the gauge? i know on my 88 firebird, it was more like 500rpms..but on my LT1 camaro its always been around 1.1...and when it drops, it feels like it wants to stall, just a bit...

since i bought it almost5-6 months ago, its always been fine..but just a few days ago i tossed in a bottle of fuel injector clearn and topped off with gas to mix the thing in my tank..when i started my engine up, it sounded like it was running smoother...but..it also sounded like it was idling lower.. sometimes when im at a dead stop, the idle will drop..then surge..then drop again. i have no idea why this is happening :(

i do know however that my power steering pump is probably on its way out (its really really REALLy hard to turn with the idle low..) when i rev the idle, the p.s works..so.. im wondering if this has something to do with my power steering pump locking the belts up causing the engine to strain and drop idle....


any ideas? :( suggestions? :(:banghead:

My 93 lt1 camaro was doing that the other day too.

Normally it idles around 1k or so, and then it dropped down lower and it sounded like it was going to die. This only happened to me for like a day and a half. It's back to normal now and I didn't fix it. Weird.

seriously.. it feels like.. i have water in my tank, an accesory on the belt is fucking it up or like the idle control just sucks?!

my 98 ls1 idles around 1000.

Better than my idle so far. lol :p

so do you guys know why it idles that high btw?

and..

i have 5 or 6 theories whats happening on my car:

crappy plugs/wires (havent changed in 6K miles :()
bad opti?! hoping not, since it idles alright the other times :(
fuel injectors?
gas with water in it? (this happened after i filled up)
fuel filter clogged?
bad MAF?

can anyone eliminate any of these? :D

thanks much. :]

First thing I always check for on a fuel injected motor that idles high is vacuum leaks.

.......mine does that every once in a while, idle starts to jump like the air conditioning is on or something. Most of the time it runs good so I dont care as much.

so do you guys know why it idles that high btw?

and..

i have 5 or 6 theories whats happening on my car:

crappy plugs/wires (havent changed in 6K miles :()
bad opti?! hoping not, since it idles alright the other times :(
fuel injectors?
gas with water in it? (this happened after i filled up)
fuel filter clogged?
bad MAF?

can anyone eliminate any of these? :D

thanks much. :]

Plugs and wires should last longer than 6k unless you meant 60k.
Ignition problems may cause a rough idle and possible irratic idle speeds.
If you have a fuel pressure guage you can hook up to watch fuel pressure while this is going on that could help diagnose problems.
Very possibly could be bad gas/fuel filter also.
I would also look very closely for vacuum leaks, make sure your air intake is all tight and has no leaks, and look at condition of throttle plates, if they are all carboned up then they need a good cleaning and your IAC and throttle body are probably the same way.

Totally agree with the above 2 comments about vacuum leaks.
Even a small leak can play havoc with idle speed control (or the lack of)
It can go either way whether it is a fast or slow idle. Depends on how the ECM decides to interpret it and what corrections it tries to make to compensate for it. The idle can also float up and down if the ECM is confused and cant find a set point for the IAC

it works really well while its cold.. ill go check all of those this weekend. fuel filter first @_@

okay guys, thanks for all the replies.. what i did, tho was disconnect the MAF.. it made my car run right.. and when i reconnected it, it would die out..i guess it was just in 'limp home mode' when it worked...so since my sister has a Z28, i stole her maf...

BAM! my car idles perfectly again...


btw, i almost thought it was the opti because my coolant hose is leaking...
;[