Think I Found The Problem...
#1
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Think I Found The Problem...
I have been having some issues with my car for awhile now, Which include the following:
- Random misfires especially at or around idle
- trouble starting; have to pump gas pedal while cranking despite the fact It's a FI car.
- Hesitation/bogging when accelerator is lightly pressed on cold engine
- Hunting for idle/unstable idle/stall at idle when cold
- Almost guranteed every time code 44 if engine is allowed to idle down for more than a few seconds when cold.
- Every once in blue moon, and I'm talking when the cow jumps over it, it will throw a 44 at idle/while cruising after car has been fully warmed.
Now, I am not attributing ALL of these problems to my theory, but I believe it could be responsible for a large part. I believe It's the MAF (or relay). My car has thrown a code 34 on It's own twice now in the time I've owned it. The first time, I tried driving the car before it had a chance to warm up. An EXTREME amsount of hesitation was present, and 2 minutes up the road it threw a code 34 and I had to pull over and restart the engine for it to run right again.
The second time, was this morning. The second the engine fired up the CES light came on. That's a little early for a code 44 I thought. When I got to work I checked codes and whatdo you know there is good ol' 34.
So, I have two questions for you all. What do you think? And also, on a 1985 TPI where is the MAF relay located. I heard these can at times go bad and cause the MAF to appear bad so I'd want to replace the cheaper part firstand see if it fixes things. Just two days ago I had the fan relay go bad which overheated the engine and trans. The relay was fixable, since when I opened it up I discovered the solder joints had seperated
Thanks in advance!
- Random misfires especially at or around idle
- trouble starting; have to pump gas pedal while cranking despite the fact It's a FI car.
- Hesitation/bogging when accelerator is lightly pressed on cold engine
- Hunting for idle/unstable idle/stall at idle when cold
- Almost guranteed every time code 44 if engine is allowed to idle down for more than a few seconds when cold.
- Every once in blue moon, and I'm talking when the cow jumps over it, it will throw a 44 at idle/while cruising after car has been fully warmed.
Now, I am not attributing ALL of these problems to my theory, but I believe it could be responsible for a large part. I believe It's the MAF (or relay). My car has thrown a code 34 on It's own twice now in the time I've owned it. The first time, I tried driving the car before it had a chance to warm up. An EXTREME amsount of hesitation was present, and 2 minutes up the road it threw a code 34 and I had to pull over and restart the engine for it to run right again.
The second time, was this morning. The second the engine fired up the CES light came on. That's a little early for a code 44 I thought. When I got to work I checked codes and whatdo you know there is good ol' 34.
So, I have two questions for you all. What do you think? And also, on a 1985 TPI where is the MAF relay located. I heard these can at times go bad and cause the MAF to appear bad so I'd want to replace the cheaper part firstand see if it fixes things. Just two days ago I had the fan relay go bad which overheated the engine and trans. The relay was fixable, since when I opened it up I discovered the solder joints had seperated
Thanks in advance!
Last edited by FireDemonSiC; 10-21-2009 at 08:29 AM.
#2
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Car: 92 GTA/ 00 TA
Engine: 383/350
Transmission: 700R4/T-56
Re: Think I Found The Problem...
The relays are located on the firewall.
Very similar issues were had with my 88 TA. Only a replacement MAF fixed it.
Very similar issues were had with my 88 TA. Only a replacement MAF fixed it.
#3
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Car: 1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula
Engine: 5.0 305 Tbi
Transmission: 700r4
Re: Think I Found The Problem...
i kinda hvae the same problem but mines a 89 firebird 305 tbi but i never got the codes till one day i shut the car off and never sae them again could that mean i have a bad relay too
?????
?????
Last edited by jon89; 10-22-2009 at 01:08 PM.
#4
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Re: Think I Found The Problem...
Viprklr, mine is an 85. It was to my understanding there were two relays. The burnoff, which is decent sized box on the ecm, and the power relay which people say is in the relay cluster on the firewall. But in this 'cluster' on my car, there is only one relay and I thought it went to the fuel pump. So where is the maf power relay located?
#5
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Car: 92 GTA/ 00 TA
Engine: 383/350
Transmission: 700R4/T-56
Re: Think I Found The Problem...
I don't know on an 85. If you have a book.....
Otherwise, someone else can chime in or i'll look in my books when I get home.
Otherwise, someone else can chime in or i'll look in my books when I get home.
#6
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Car: 91' Firebird SOLD
Engine: 350 TPI +bolt-ons
Transmission: 700r4
Axle/Gears: 3:42
Re: Think I Found The Problem...
Hey man, on these cars , the fuel injectors will almost always make your car act this way. They are notorious for going bad on tpi cars. They will not trigger a code either when they do go bad. I had a problem a few weeks ago with my 350 tpi. I would get to a stoplight and it would just die on me. Also horsepower was down and there was a lot of hesitation. Car just ran like complete ****. Well , i did have a code 45 also. Turns out , my 02 sensor was loose and I had a bad injector. Get a multimeter and set it to ohms and to 2K. Then pull the connector off of each injector with the engine off, and key on. Then just test each injector.Your ohms should be around 0.013 to 0.020. Anything like 0.003 or 0.010 is bad. They should all be pretty close to each other. As for your codes, I beleive you are on the right track with that. I would def. rule out fuel injectors first though. https://www.thirdgen.org/injectorswap
#7
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Car: check
Engine: check
Transmission: check
Re: Think I Found The Problem...
Viprklr, mine is an 85. It was to my understanding there were two relays. The burnoff, which is decent sized box on the ecm, and the power relay which people say is in the relay cluster on the firewall. But in this 'cluster' on my car, there is only one relay and I thought it went to the fuel pump. So where is the maf power relay located?
RBob.
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#8
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Car: 85 Iroc-Z
Engine: lb9
Transmission: W/C T5
Axle/Gears: 3.42
Re: Think I Found The Problem...
Hey FireDemonSiC did you ever figure it out. I have an 85 with same problems, just wondering if you fixed it and what it was? Thanks
#9
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Re: Think I Found The Problem...
All the other problems were caused by a bad MAF sensor. Other than my EGR going problematic for a week, I haven't had a check engine light since I replaced it in december.
#10
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Car: 85 Iroc-Z
Engine: lb9
Transmission: W/C T5
Axle/Gears: 3.42
Re: Think I Found The Problem...
Thanks I was a fraid of that been tweeking the iac and tps, but i am afraid i am going to have to bite the bullet and get a new maf. thanks
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