problems starting my car

mirage · May 9th, 2003, 01:40 AM

i realize there are threads dealing with similar topics but here's my problem. sometimes when i start my car, the car will struggle to idle and then stall. it happens at completely random times. sometimes it'll happen after i left my radio on for an hour the night before. sometimes it'll happen after i got back in my car after not driving it for 20 minutes. sometimes i'll happen when i let the car sit for a couple hours after a normal drive and not fuckin w/ the radio or anything. and half the time it starts up normally. usually to keep it from stalling, i'll hit the gas and rev it till 3k rpm and if that doens't fix it i'll rev to 5k rpms. usually by then it's fixed or i'll just drive it for 30 seconds or so and it'll return to normal. anyway, any idea what causes this?

mirage · May 9th, 2003, 01:42 AM

also, there is no CEL, and i have a generic cone filter installed. no other modifications. it's a 1998 nissan 200sx SE with a ga16de. i run 87 octane gas without fail. i just changed the oil not even a month ago. and it also has about 75k miles on it. i think i'm going to take it in for a full tuneup soon. still though, i'd like any thoughts as to the possible specific cause of my problem.

May 9th, 2003, 08:22 AM

Possible IAC unit problems...

hard_charger · Sep 19th, 2003, 06:22 PM

the above post seems kinda dated, but here goes anyway...

i'm experiencing more or less the same problem. most mornings, my car starts just fine; if i turn the A/C on, it works fine. also, the car idles just fine. however, after driving around (short or long trips) and leaving the car for a while (20 minutes to 2.5 hours), i experience problems when i start it up again. the RPMs dip very, very low and the engine nearly stalls and then returns to normal again. i first noticed this problem last week when i got back in my car, started it and flipped on the A/C. under these same conditions, the engine actually did stall once. like i said, though, the engine returns to normal although the RPMs are somewhat lower than usual (600-700 RPMs -- my car is an automatic and should idle closer to 800 RPMs). however, i cannot duplicate these conditions more than once in a row. i actually have to drive around some more and let the car sit for at least 20 minutes. somehow the problem seems heat-related since this problem never occurs when the car has been sitting in a cool garage or overnight.

okay, just to rule a few things out. the battery, charging system and starter checked out a-okay at kragan. the fuel filter was replaced (supposedly) 9 months ago and i changed my oil in july. the only thing that really needs replacing is the air filter, which i plan to do shortly.

has anyone else experienced this mysterious problem? anyone have any suggestions? i'm going to clean the AAC valve and check the idle speed. please let me know what you guys think.

hard_charger · Oct 8th, 2003, 02:39 AM

now the car needs a rev or two to keep it from sputtering out...

anyone have anything at all to say 'bout this?

LIUSPEED · Oct 8th, 2003, 03:57 AM

i just hafta say that my car does the same sometimes as well.

after jes a rev or 2 its fine and it also sometimes does it when im idle at a stop light.

sfhellwig · Oct 8th, 2003, 09:57 AM

Alot of us are having this problem it seems. I have seen the suggestion to clean the IAC valve many times, just haven't done mine because its not stalling yet, just rough. Also haven't seen anyone reply if that fixed it or not. Get some throttle body cleaner and clean the valve and let us know if that works. If I get mine done first I will post to say if my idle cleaned up or not. My car recently did the "I don't want to start or idle" bit while I was traveling and I don't want it to happen again.

HoloSkull · Oct 8th, 2003, 10:02 AM

It might be that your ignition timing is set so low that the car can't maintain idle. try advancing your timing a little and check for improvement. If that doesn't work I'd recommend taking it in to be checked.

hard_charger · Oct 14th, 2003, 03:51 AM

i almost always turn off every accessory (a/c, radio, lights, etc.) in use before i turn off my car. it's a habit i picked up from my fiance who says her dad does the same to avoid putting additional load on his engine when starting it.

today, i was in a huge hurry and didn't switch off the a/c before i turned off my car. i'd been driving around town for a while running errands. now, when i got back in my car about 10 or so minutes later, it started just fine - much to my great surprise. all the conditions were present for it to act funny. curious, i tested starting the car with the a/c turned on and off throughout the rest of the day. sure enough, it seemed to start just fine when the a/c was turned on and not so fine when it was turned off. weird. anyone have a theory?