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cold stall/erratic idle


dmh
01-26-2003, 06:06 PM
'95 G20 auto, completely stock, 120K miles

When the engine is cold (<50 F), car starts fine but stalls at first stop sign (100 meters or so). After stopping the car and just before stalling, the engine idles very erratically. After restarting and running for just a couple minutes (literally), there are no more stalling or idle problems. There are no engine codes, the gas mileage is good, and the car has plenty of power. During hot weather, when the temperature stays above 65 F or so in the evening, there is no problem. There is never a problem when the engine is warm.

"Fixes" that had no effect: Cleaned throttle body, replaced front O2 sensor (for other reasons), replaced fuel and air filters, and used Techron additive.

Sorry if this has been addressed before but I could not find it in my search.

dangermon
06-16-2003, 01:43 PM
same problem here on 94 G20.... mechanic said it is just a Nissan/Infiniti thing and they couldn't figure it out...

dmh
06-16-2003, 07:41 PM
great.

nebia
06-26-2003, 06:19 PM
make sure your IACV is working properly.

ie-does the car fast idle when you first start it up cold (~1500rpm) and then slowly ramp down to 800rpm (warm/base idle)?

--nebia

dmh
06-26-2003, 08:55 PM
yes, it does "ramp down."

I recently cleaned out the egr tube, egr valve, and bpt. They were clean and the egr seemed to be functioning ok.

Maybe this egr clean up will help. I won't be able to tell until next fall when the temp at night falls into the low 60s. I live in Houston, where nightime temps are in the 70s during the summer and early fall.

Thanks.

noodle32
12-01-2003, 07:15 AM
I have had the same exact problem - what you want to do is in order to get it running right - you have to play listen to the engine while it is in neutral - what you want to do is rev the engine to force fuel through the injectors into the engine itself - you may hear as your pressing the pedal sort of a gasping sound - that is the air being brought in from the throttle body - the key is to get the engine to the precise air/fuel ratio - which will occur once enough air and fuel have gotten into the engine allowing it to run normally - (how to achieve this is you want to create a quick yet constant rev (pushes gas) when you press on the pedal as the air is sucked in when you take it off - kinda like this (air/fuel/air/fuel/air/fuel) you'll hear it when you push and release the accelerator - until after a few minutes there should be no studders or stalls - this is only a temporary solution until the necessary parts are replaced which should be ASAP - most of the time as long as the engine is used frequently you should be okay until it gets cold (because fuel vapors shrink as it freezes in cold just as its vapors expand when it is warm) this is usually done by the fuel accumulator - which may need to be replaced - it keeps the engine pressurized in even the coldest weather to ensure warm (normal) starts - you may also need to get a new fuel pump - this is probably the one of the most probable reasons for the engine to be acting this way - especially if it is an electric fuel pump (more than likely) what is happening is you're getting too much air and not enough gas (the cause for a bad fuel pump) I had this same exact problem - replaced the cold start, the fuel pump relay - it all helped but I kept having the same problem - this is a very common problem that can happen to any car - hopefully you find this information helpful!

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