12/3 My car has problem starting. It would start but after 1 second
it would drop down below 1RPM and die. However, after revving
and warming up the engine, the idle speed is fine (slightly
below 1RPM) and it would start and run smoothly. So this
rules out the possibility of having to adjust the idle speed.
What's going on and what can be done to it? ok thx
\_ What year, make, and model is it?
\_ Do you have a ~ 1996 Camry? This is a common problem with the Idle
Air Control Valve (or something else with a similar name).
http://www.talkaboutautos.com/group/alt.autos.toyota.camry/messages/36004.html
http://tinyurl.com/485ys
My gf had it fixed twice (second time for free because they felt
guilty I guess), and it still happens occasionally. The workaround
is to have the AC on when starting to get the RPMs up.
\_ This'll happen with any mid-90's toyota. Good guess.
\_ I have an idea. GO TO A DAMN MECHANIC!
\_ is this the first time you're reading the motd?
\_ Must be the same person who didn't like the yermom joke.
\_ yer dumb.
\_ Not at all.
\_ Or try one of those fuel injector degunker solutions next time
you fill your tank.
\_ It's likely the battery. The same thing happened to my car
several weeks back. Go to a local mechanic, and they'll
test it quickly for you; then you buy a battery.
\_ Wouldn't it be cheaper to just buy a replacement battery
at costco instead of go to the mechanic?
\_ Not if you battery isn't dead. I doubt the mechanic
would charge you for the battery test; it only takes
<5 minutes. Also, go check your battery -- it should
have a sticker on it saying when it was installed.
\_ I doubt it's the battery. Once the engine is on, the amount
of electricity it takes to keep the engine going would be
pretty low. Given that the op could restart the engine
and warm the engine up. It could be a loose vacuum hose,
a bad engine thermometer, or quite a number of things.
BTW when my battery was close to death and couldn't turn
the engine over, I got a push start and drove across town
to a mechanic. Actually, turned out to be the alternator
regulator.
\_ I'd agree, but since I encountered the same situation
just a few weeks ago, I just thought I'd bring it up.
\_ So the engine would actually engage before dying?
\_ Thanks guys for the input. After browsing the web and
calling a few dealers who recommended cleaning the carb
for $100-$150, I decided to DIY. I looked at the site
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/30_V6/throttle_body
and bought a carb/throttle cleaner ($3.75). I spent about
30 min to/from Pep Boys and another 30 min cleaning the
carb, and voila! Everything's fine again! Thanks for all the
advice, I've learned *a lot* by DIY and saved time (dealers
said I'd have to leave the car for 1/2 day) and saved
over $100.
\_ You're an idiot. You saved $100 and you still aren't sure
what was wrong. Penny wise and pound foolish.
\_ The carbs were dirty, which probably restricted gasflow.
\_ Maybe. Even you don't know. "Probably". Stupid when
your car stalls on you in a week.
\_ Don't be annoying. It's not like he's putting his
health on the line--learning how your car works and
how to fix common problems is a good thing. Are you
one of the people who religiously avoids "warranty void
if removed" stickers too?
\_ Also, I would argue that learning stuff has monetary
value, so that a more expensive solution where
you learn something would still be break-even.
\_ No, I learned by watching others that you can
screw up more than you fix if you don't know
what you are doing. If this is a hobby car then
great, but if the guy needs the car working then
he's a tool. Our current society makes us all
think we are capable of DIYing everything. It's
what keeps places like Home Depot going. It's
better to learn when to call a pro, like when
your car might stall on the freeway and kill you.
\_ I hate to tell you this, but for the most
part, professionals use this same method to
fix things. There's a set of possible
problems, try fixing things until one works.
Usually, that was the problem. BTW, I
really wonder what kind of car you have that
it kills you if you stall on the freeway.
Does it explode in anger or something?
\_ If you can't see how you might get killed
when your car stalls at 80mph then you
are an idiot - but I already knew that.
\_ What's the problem? Put in neutral
and pull over. Stall != instant
screeching halt. Unless you're a
moron... oh. I think I see your
problem.
\_ Pull over where? Most freeways don't
have shoulders these days.
\_ "Most freeways don't
have shoulders?" What kinda
bizarro world do you live in?
580, 80, 680, 5, all have
perfectly serviceable shoulders
for > 95% of the freeway.
\_ On the left side.
\_ Pulling over to the left
is illegal in most cases.
\_ You have too much fear and
not enough trust for yourself.
I think it's best if you let
the mechanics do everything.
\_ ignorance is safety!
\_ There are a lot of advantages of DIY
besides saving money. How do you know you
can really trust that shop/mechanics?
Granted there are certain things you
cannot do yourself because it's too
complicated or requires specialized
equipment. In general, I find
contractors, any kind of contractors,
will never be careful about your stuff as
your would yourself, unless in rare
situations you encounter one that's very
responsible. It's interesting human
psychology that "not knowing" makes you
feel more comfortable. Just like in some
restaurants, if you see how they cook,
you'll never eat their stuff. But not
seeing how they cook, and given that they
charge a lot of money, makes you assume
that they are professionals. Next time
you get your tires replaced at ANY SHOP,
check the cold tire pressure afterwards
with a few gauges. There will be at least
one that's WAY OUT OF SPEC. I've seen
this on quite a few cars, with (oh, I
just had the tire checked last week,
yeah!) In general one should achieve a
good balance about what can be done with
DIY and what to leave to the
professional. Sometimes learning a bit
about a field can help a lot, even if
only for the sole purpose of verifying
what the mechanics is saying. I once had
a mechanics claiming he didn't tie the
engine oil cap tightly because
'a wire is in the way', give me a fucking
break, it's leaking oil because he forgot
to tighten it. Blindly trusting the
mechanics is worst than DIY. Most people
who have the skill to post on the motd
can probably build a computer by
themselves and therefore can fix simple car
problems like replacing a battery or
check tire pressures. -!ap
\_ I think you missed the point here. It's
obviously good to try to learn and
definitely true that you may be able to do
a better job yourself. The catch is the
word 'may'. Like I said, I have seen a lot
of people very knowledgable about cars
mess them up in the learning process. Yes,
now they know what not to do but their car
is messed up! If you want to make a hobby
of it then great, but you can find
examples of lawyers, doctors, accountants,
and such all making mistakes or doing a
bad job. That doesn't mean you should do
it yourself. Learn about how an engine
works and then TAKE THE CAR TO A MECHANIC.
\_ If you spend any time to read any of
the auto newsgroups, most people there
don't seem to trust a minimum wage
mechanic. But then again most people
there are pretty knowledgable.
\_ Wow. I didn't realize Carb Cleaner is
so dangerous!
\_ It's great that you found the problem, or at least it's
better. Sometime you might want to try Car Talk on NPR.
That would be a hoot. |