So I've had this car for almost a year and I've had nothing but issues with it. I love this car and I want to keep it but if I can't solves these last 2 issues with the car, my parents are going to force me to sell it. I use the car as my daily driver, it has a 305 engine and is an Automatic. I recently replaced the battery, the spark plugs, the alternator, the distributor, the entire AC system, one spark plug wire, and had to rewire the brights. The issue comes from On and Off good starting, and On and Off good running/idleing. Sometimes the car will start up with just one turn of the key and its going, usually on those days it has perfect idle and runs great. Other days i will have to press the gas to get it started and have to press the gas when slowing down and put the car in neutral to prevent it from dieing from bad idleing, especially at full stops. Other times I will turn the key and all the fans and lights (in car) will come on but nothing happens in the engine, no turning, no clicking, no nothing, If i wait a few hours and come back, the car will start up in one try, usually a perfect start/idle. I feel like it might be something with the computer because I've already replaced the Ignition Key and the Starter is still new and works most of the time with out a problem. If anyone has any ideas, I'd really like to keep my car any help would be greatly appreciated. Also I don't know if this is useful info, but I live in the Fort Worth Texas Area. Thanks!!!

 

Trace any wires throughout the car/engine bay and make sure none of them that you can see and reach are shorting/grounding out. While you are at it I would check all of the vacuum lines as those could cause poor idle and running rough.

If all of that is normal then it does sound like an ecm issue but I'm not any master electrical technician.

I'm sure others on the site can be more useful, just figured I'd toss in my 2 cents to get you going. DON'T SELL IT, it can be fixed!

 

These are one of the simplest and cheapest cars to work on.
Good luck with what you get if you do sell it. It will be no better.
It sounds like its going into some sort of limp mode? if the fans are turning on with the key on and its not warmed up. Maybe check battery connections and check resistance of your wires supplying the starter. Could be a bad solenoid or loose connection at the solenoid

 

I just dont get how it can be fine one second, and bad the next :/

 

Its a connection whether its in the pcm or just a ground. You won't know till you check them all...