Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Need some help rather fast!!

I just went out to start up my car for the day. I started it up and it idles at 2k RPM, and after about 15-20 seconds, it just drops to likt 250 RPM and it sounds like it doesn't want to stay on. I gave it a little gas to try to keep it going and whatnot, and if I do, it just goes back up to 2k RPM for a few seconds, then drops back down and dies....HELP PLEASE!

Edit: I just tried putting it in reverse/drive, and i took it around the cul-de-sac, and it sounded and seemed like it ran normal but i couldn't tell completely. When I got back on to my driveway and put it in park it did the same thing, it'd idle at 2k RPM, then drop to 250 or so, quiver, and do it over and over until it died. Could this be an IAC problem? I thought of that and read about it under the FAQ section, but I read nothing about the RPMs dropping and the car dying..

If it happens only at idle I'd suspect the IAC, especially since this seems to have sprung up rather suddenly.

IAC or vacuum leak.

Thank you thank you. Is it the IAC though, even though it keeps dropping to 250 RPM and below, and dying? Is it still driveable?

Sounds like a vacuum leak because that's exactly what my 96 did when I broke the hose that goes to the purge flow solenoid (which vents the gas tank vapors into the intake manifold).

That hose was rather brittle due to age, by the way.

Well how can I know for sure? I assume it's not driveable? Where is the hose at?

It could be IAC, but the symptoms hint toward TPS.

??????????

Ok, do this, go buy some carb. cleaner. And while the car is running, spray it around the upper intake manifold on where you can see the black gaskets. Once you find the leak you will hear the idle smooth out momentarily, then go back to the rough idle.

Sounds like it's time to clean the uim and lim. I had this problem last winter, and the new gaskets on my uim fixed the problem. Very common when the weather starts to get cold.

Is it driveable right now?