Hello, I hope you guys can help me figure this out. I have an 86 camaro TPI all stock. The car will start and the engine will run beatifully untill I give it a little gas.

When I try to accelerate it, it dies on me. I can get it to stay on if I floor it. It will stay on once I get the car past 15 rpms, I just have to keep it revved. I got it take off like that & drove it around the block and I heard alot of popping under the hood. The mechanic could not figure out what it was. He wanted to start taking apart everything & anything it could be and replacing it.

My wallet cannot afford that. We already replaced the distributor cap+rotor & also the resistor+solenoid that goes under the distributor cap. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this?

Also, my second fan starts running everytime turn the key to the on position. Something that it never did before, could that have something to do with it?

 

either could be fuel filter located on the frame rail back by the fuel tank and maybe the ecm... something along those lines..

 

The fuel filter is actually a pretty easy & inexpensive fix, but would it cause all the symptoms the car is having? Popping noises under the hood,etc,etc

I will replace the fuel filter & also check the codes with the paperclip method & get back to you. Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

 

mine was having that problem and i changed out the fuel filter with no further problems...

 

I get it in the twentys it does not pop anymore.

I took it out around the block and once I have it past twenty rpms it does not give me any problems but when I have to stop at a stop sign and take off again it starts trying to die and pop again.

Also it did something else very strange, when I was backing out of my driveway I lost power to my breaks...The car was still on but the brakes got really hard. Once I got out on the street the breaks started working fine.

Any and all advice is very much appreciated...thanks.

 

that sounds like a bad vacuum leak.

 

I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding exactly what it is you are saying. More details, and more clearly typed, makes it easier to assist you.

Step 1: I'm with drewscam on the engine dying symptom, fuel filter first. Its routine maintenance anyway, so even if it does not fix the problem, you havent done yourself or your car a disservice by changing it.

Step 2: Is the popping sound a detonation/misfire sound? You mentioned changing distributor cap and rotor. Check your spark plug wires!! Ide bet you that you got 1 or 2 crossed. That would cause a "pop" just about every time you touched the gas pedal, depending on which wires were crossed. Firing order: 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2. The rotor spins in a clockwise direction. Be 100% sure those wires are in the right spot. Its free to do this very important step. If it still misfires/pops my next step would be to verify timing. You need a timing light or a shop. Don't assume that your mechanic got everything right. Even the best of us sometimes forget the simply stupid/obvious things sometimes.

Let us know how that went.

 

here is the post where this problem was fixed for another car like yours. check this post out.


Join Date: Jan 2008
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Re: Cooling fans turn on prematurely when engine is not even running
I would lke to thank everyone for all the help. the car has been repaired.

I had a new ECM installed, didn't fix the problem, installed a new Hypertech chip, didn't fix the problem $500.00 later and just before I took a sledge hammer to the car I decided to trace the wiring for the coolant fans because when problem began the fans started turning on even when the car was cold.
What I discovered was that this car had two fan relays, one for the primary fan and one for the secondary fan. I also discovered that there was a radiator fan switch on this car just the same as a carbureted engine. When I unplugged the wire to this switch the fans shut off. I removed the switch from the engine block put an ohm meter on it and saw that it was stuck in the closed postion so it was always grounded.

I replaced the switch cleared the codes from the ecm and took the car out for a drive. The fans now work properly and there were no stalling or hestation issues. I drove the car on the freeway and also on back roads for several miles without any problems.

That fact that the fans were always grounded must have effected the ecm in some way.

The good news is that the car seems to be repaired and also the Cleveland Browns beat the the New England Patriots. This was almost a perfect day.

and here is the original thread. read over it-----

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/cool...ematurely.html

 

did you ever get it running right.

 

i bet he did just didn't want to admit he got his spark plug wires crossed.

 

lol, cold!
I've done it myself numerous times. Its no biggie, as long as you fix it

Actually, the post that one92rs linked really got my brain thinking. I'm definetly not saying I don't believe it, because stranger things have happened. But, can someone explain to me the dynamics of how that could cause a hesitation? This has me baffled so much that when I get home tonight I'm going to dig through my service manual and look at the fan circuit. Althoug my manual is for a 90 model year, but is still has the dual fans.

 

the only thing i can come up with is it was somehow allowing a feedback thru the sensor creating the same in the ecm. it is a ground. working on all kinds of heavy equipment and cars for the past 26 years i have seen a lot of strange things. that would be my guess. to me a fuel filter that causes problems at an idle will cause more problems up top under more demand. and crossed plug wires doesnt clear up with rpm's.

 

**UPDATE**

Changed the fuel filter, no diffrence. Change Coolant Temperature Sensor.....Fans still kick on. I m going to look into that thread that was posted about the fans kicking in prematuarly.

Purchased TPS,IAC & MAF.

Firing order on plugs was the first thing I checked......more than once BTW and they are in the correct order.

When I installed the CTS the car kicked on but only if I hit the gas while I was turning the key and forced it to stay on. When I let off the gas it would die.

Also it was running worse than before, I think I may have caused more damage by not flushing the system for this cold weather, I just added antifreeze to the water. I know I know I'm a jackass. Now it sounds like I need new plugs and wires, probably even new distributor cap.

But I can bet a million bucks that even after that it will still run like crap, because of that stupid fan! I am going to try and fix that first than I will buy top of the line spark plugs,distributor cap & wires. (SUGGESTIONS ON BRANDS WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED)

Once I can get the fan issued resolved I will instal new MAF,TPS & I will prob take to MECH. for IAC cause I could not get the damn thing off today. first the socket was to damn thick than I bought a wrench and that crap was to thick also! PITA, I spent the whole day today out in the cold trying to get the damn CTS sensor off....Which I accomplised, did'nt fix **** but I got it done

But I could not get the IAC off..... Anyways thanks for the suggestions.

OH btw timing is a big concern for me but I need to get it into a shop for that. The car was running like **** before the fan issue started so I was gonna get it tuned up...all the works, even some f'n paint. But now I can't even get it running. I will keep you guys updated.

 

i will always use ngk plugs. if not that then do ac delco. caps, rotors, wires i always use msd or mallory. i have used accell which is available at the autoparts with no problems also. dont go wild on the plugs either. i use platinum but it not needed.

 

I am finding it is harder and harder to find a set of good plug wires. A/C Delcos are always a good bet. Actually the best are the "Packard" line sold under the A/C delco name. But the newer a/c delco wires are made by who knows and actually say A/C Delco on them. But I've had a couple of sets on a couple of cars and those are still good.

MSD is a good bet.

Bosche premium wires are a HUGE NO-NO. Stay away.
Accel yellow wires, also poor choice.

I really am going to get off my lazy butt and go look in my shop manual eventually, and see whats going on with that circuit.

 

msd wires have never let me down and most autoparts carry them.

and if you look at the scematic it goes to the pcm via relays and one of the wires go to the engine control system.

 

try turning on the headlights and see if the "popping" gets worse.
if so, you have a grounding issue. had a car that popped and backfired only at night. took me a while to figure out it had to do with the voltage because the lights were on.

...just a thought.

 

I'm now dedicating all of my energy to figuring out why my cooling fan kick on when I turn the key....The car does not even have to be on for it turn on.

I checked the link about the fan turning on prematuraly and I replaced the climate control module relay when I disconnected it the fan shut off....When I replaced it with the new one the fans kicked on again.

What he said was causing his problem was the radiator control swtich, he said when he disconnected it the fans stopped running, well this was not the case for my car. When I disconnected it the fans continued to run so I did not bother replacing it.

I am getting tired of throwing money at this problem and yielding no results! I changed the CTS and still the stupid fan turns on.

I bought the MAF+TPS+IAC but I have not installed them yet because I don't think they will make my fan problem go away. The problems all started when the fans started kicking on like that so I need to fix that first.

Any ideas what else would be causing my fans to turn on like that? & should I go ahead and replace the Radiator fan switch even? My next step is to take the damn thing to an Auto-Electrician so he can take all my money.....

 

http://92b4crs.tripod.com/86wiring/86wiringindex.html

here are some schematics. is your car a vin s ?

 

after going over schematics go unplug the pressure switch on the a/c system. see if the fans turn off then.

also from this schematic the ground goes into engine control-http://92b4crs.tripod.com/86wiring/dia-pics/31-1.jpg

also it is a ground wire that is shared with the mass air sensor and the oxygen sensor.-http://92b4crs.tripod.com/86wiring/dia-pics/22-3.jpg

 

It was the ECM & prom all along. They replaced it and adjusted my TPS sensor & now the car runs like a champ.

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

wow. well man at least you have it running right. and some new parts to boot.

 

yep, now i want to throw some fresh paint on that bad boy and get ready for the next meet! Spring Fling?

 

I wish I would have seen this thread sooner, I might have been able to tell you about the ECM/PROM sooner. The fans running when you turn the key on is a dead giveaway of limp home mode.

My car did this when I put a flashed chip into my ECM adapter and the car ran like total crap, no power and the fans continuously ran. It was popping and misfiring all over the place and as soon as I touched the gas it died. The SES light was also on continuously. I replaced the chip and viola, it was a different car and the power smoothed right out.

Glad you got it running again.