surging idle and stalling

[chevyguy93]

yes! the transmission is still engaged when im trying to stop, and its not only making it harder to stop, but its making it more dangerous, especially when driving on ice and snow. When you apply the breaks to come to a stop, you can feel the car still pulling you, and the transmission will jerk as its shifting late from gear 3-2, then as i get slower, it jerks from 2-1. and i cant figure it out.

[Dead_Sunfire]

Hmmm ... interesting ...

I remember reading a while back (on anopther site), about a similar problem with 2003's, but the problem seemed to only be associated with manual transmissions. I think it was a solenoid or a sensor.

Earlier in the week, I was telling one of my mechanics (I'm Maintenance Supervisor in a large factory) about the problem, and he told me that something similar had happened to one of the other guys wife. She took her car in, and the shop either disconnected (or reconnected) a wire to the transmission, and problem went away. Unfortunately the other guy is on holidays right now, and won't be back until Monday. I'm eagerly waiting his return, so I can ask him a bit more.

I search the other groups and see if I can find more info on the tranmssion problem. Maybe someone else watching this thread knows more about it ?

BP, Ontario

[chevyguy93]

your probably thinking of the TCC Solenoid. Its in the transmission and locks the 2 gears together together. Sometimes it can stick and not allow the transmission to downshift properly, and can even cause the car to stall. I had that happen in the summer, and I already replaced it with a brand new one, costed me 80$ for the new one. I dont think thats my problem this time.

[thedadas1313]

ive used brake clean to check for vacum leaks before. just put on the sttraw and start spraying at vacum pots and see if it starts to mess up

[chevyguy93]

ive already tried that. ive even tried the torch trick, with no luck.

[muff34]

Originally Posted by Dead_Sunfire

Still no engine codes on OBDii monitor.

BP, Ontario

um thought you stated earlier that you had code P0172, Has that Disappeared for some unknown reason. how`s the idle is it hanging up or normal?

[michaelscanlan]

I had a similar problem w/ my 96 2.4L.

#1) check the FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR.
This can be checked by removing it from the engine, and checking to see if the diaphragm inside it is punctured. if it is you will get gas in the vacuum line, causing ths surging.
ALSO
#2) check the MAP sensor AND the vacuum hose leading up to it.
The sensor itself is not as easy to check, but can be done with an ohmmeter.
Instructions for doing this are located in most cav manuals.
The hose, is easy to check for cracks.

Try these things out, and let me know if this solves your problem.

michaelscanlan

[Dead_Sunfire]

Me again ... I'm back ...

Well last March I was having surging / stalling problems. It turned out to be a very clogged IAC motor. I took it out, cleaned the motor, cleaned the orrifice that IAC plugs into, cleaned all the oil and water goo out of the plastic air guide (between the air filter and carb), cleaned the goo outof intake air sensor tip, and then put verything back together.

Ran great after that ... put about 50K on the dead bird over the summer ...

Until Thursday.

Same thing started happening again (-10 degree celcius). So on Saturday morning, I repeated what I did last year hoping that problem would go away again.

But it's still doing it. I'll be coasting with foot off gas, and suddenly RPM will jump to 1800. If I put in neutral, RPM will surge up to 2400 rpm. Will have to shut engine off, wait 5 minutes, then start again, and things will be back to normal. But then everytime put foot on brake (stop sign etc.) RPM will drop below 400, lights will go dim, fan slow down, and then I stall.

So what-ever is wrong, its definitely temperature related. Only happens when it's cold out. Ad when the weather warms up, the problem goes away ...

Anyone have ay ideas ? What about you Chevyguy ? Do you still have problems with your Cavalier ?

BP Ontario

[chevyguy93]

actually. i upgraded. im driving a 2003 grand prix gt now. i gave my cavalier to my brother. I dont think he's been having any problems with it, other than the block heater stopped working.