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98 Cav z24 Engine idle.

S

SnafuFlux

CEG'er
Joined
Jul 7, 2002
Messages
385
Location
London Ontario, Canada
Ya ya I know, not contour, and I'm asking about a crappy car. its not mine, its my gfs, and its all she could afford.

Now that thats done with, I have an issue with it. The idle is intermittent. At times while sitting at a red light, it will start bouncing between 500 and 1500 rpm. I'll have to put it in netural just to let it calm down. other times it will just die all together.

When accelerating, I can feel the car actually bog down when it gets close to 1500 rpm. Mind you this doesn't happen all the time, but it happens regularly enough for me to be annoyed. I'll have to floor it pretty much, just to get the car back, or it'll stall out as well.

I've had a tune up already, including - plugs, wires, air/fuel filter, and an oil change, to no avail.

any ideas before I pay $ to get it diagnosed?

TIA!!!!
 
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Not knowing much about cavys I would suggest to clean the MAF and the IAC if possible. Its a good place to start. BTW it isnt a auto is it? If so, the TCC (torque converter clutch) might be slipping. How many miles are on it?
 
it is auto, and it has ~160k km's on it. Not sure what that translates into miles. I forgot to mention there are no CEL's showing either. I suppose I could look to find where the MAF and IAC is.
 
Have you cleaned the IAC and MAF yet? Do scan it even though the CEL is not on. I hear "Mr. Transmission" does free scans.

The last Cav I dealt with was a 1984 (OBD-I) and when the O2 sensor went, the CEL turned on.
 
I looked at the maf, it's covered in like some black coating. but it looked clean. I have no idea where the IAC is. There was a code that came on, but then it went away again. Is that normal for these cars?
 
The fault could be intermittent. It is probably pending now. Do scan it and post the code(s).
 
I say a cavalier is a great car. I have one and it has actually had less problems than my contour. oh well, check out www.j-body.org they will have all the solutions for you. Good luck.
 
I have tried J-Body.org. They told me to look at the IAC and MAF as well. however I know people here. People will actually work with me (tony for one, great source for help).

It seems that the IAC is indeed in the same location. I was looking at it the other day and thought it might be that. While I'm getting the code reader I'll also get some carb cleaner. Can I use carb cleaner on a MAF sensor as well?
 
MAP sensor or a manifold absolute pressure sensor, a variable resistor used to monitor the difference in pressure between the intake manifold at outside atmosphere.

This information is used by the engine computer to monitor engine load (vacuum drops when the engine is under load or at wide open throttle). When the engine is under load, the computer may alter spark timing and the fuel mixture to improve performance and emissions.
 
MAP Sensor

MAP Sensor

All signs point to the MAP sensor...

p0108 is the code I get.

DTC P0108 Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) Sensor Circuit High Voltage

so the next question is, where is this located. and can I clean it or do I have to replace it? OOR, would something cause the map sensor to screw up?
 
wow amazing. also it looks like the 2.4l is easier than the 2.2l

to be honest, I'm not even sure where the throttle body is. I'll have to take a deeper look at it later.

thanks man. if I have more questions I'll be asking :)
 
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