[johnnyr]

Can anyone tell what to look for on my Daughters 2001 model Pontaic Grand Prix GT it won't idle smooth & dies when you start it, Most of the time when it is hot it does good, the smell at the tail pipe is like rotten egg's, after you rev the engine up it will idle like it has a big cam in it but doesn't die, I don't even know where to start on checking it, it has 51,000 miles on it if that helps, The car is serviced ever 3000 miles & had a new carquest air filter installed at the last service, this just started last week, she put Lucas fuel injector cleaner in it last night before she drove three hours to come home for the weekend. The Car runs just fine after it warms up Thanks for any help you can give

[ 03-29-2003, 10:19 AM: Message edited by: johnnyr ]

 

[dnult]

Sounds like the computer has lost track of the amount of air being drawn into the engine. A big vacuum leak can cause this. Did the power brake boost host come loose or other manifold vacuum hose / fitting? Check the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor and wiring. Did you have to disconnect it to get the air-cleaner installed? Did the tab break loose on the connector and wiggle loose? Throttle position sensor may also be at fault. Is their a check engine light on? Around here, autozone will do a free OBDII diagnostic check. Good news about OBDII is that the codes are generally accurrate compared to earlier ECMs. Throttle position sensor may be faulty. See if you can obtain a service manual which explains a basic troubleshooting procedures you can do with a Digital Volt Meter to save you shot-gunning with expensive parts.

-dnult

 

[johnnyr]

I drove the car this morning & checked the best I could, the service engine light is on, no vacumn leaks that I could find, all of the electrical connectors were tight & in place, the car runs & idles good after it warms up It is just on cold starts & until it warms up, around here there are just about 4 places to have a car scaned, I took it to the one that did it the last time & they had a new man doing the scanning & he stated that thier equipment would not work on the 2001 cars & he had the sane scanner that the other one used to find the trans control relay that was bad, he just didn't know how to use it, so I guess I'll wait till Monday & take it to the dealer. Thanks

[ 03-29-2003, 10:15 AM: Message edited by: johnnyr ]

 

[johnnyr]

Got the car scanned at My X Wifes uncles Used car lots Garage, It was a purge valve sensor in the emmision system. It will cost less than $100.00 to replace the sensor labor & parts. They cleared the codes from the computer & turned the light out after they wrote down the info, so they could order the parts Monday.