Thursday afternoon i nearly ran out of gas because of not having my wallet on me at the worst possible time, Not sure just how low it got but i know i was about to be stranded when i pulled into the BP.

Anyway since then my car has been starting up oddly. When i turn the key i hear a "click" and nothing happens. Radio turns on, air blows, the engine just ignores the key though. After i try to start up 3-5 times the car finally rev's(It's done this in the past but it would usually start on the 2nd crank), when it finally does rev now, it idle's like crazy as if i was accelerating really hard until it cools off after about 10 seconds. My tachometer is busted and since i've owned the car its never gone below 6 so i couldn't give an accurate reading. I'm not very car savvy so i come to you guys for just about everything, could anyone point me in the direction of what the issue could be?

Also i had my fuel filter changed about 5,000 miles ago. Could it be my fuel pump? I'm just spit ballin here

Update: Car now doesn't turn over at all. Cranks for as long as the key is turned then turns off.

 

It sounds like a possible vacuum leak. You're running a MAP sensor, right? If that detects a decent air leak, it will add the fuel to compensate. I would look into this. I remember replacing my fuel injectors and forgetting to connect the brake booster back up to the intake manifold. It started with a higher than normal idle until the IAC could bring it lower.

 

I wish I knew what any of that meant. I'm still relatively new to car work. Is there any way you could rephrase that as if you were talking to a 5 year old?

Got gas an hour ago, turned car after filling up, revved for about 3 seconds and shut off. Did the click thing for a fee turns and did the same thing again. Repeated that again and gave gas this time, stayed alive and got home

 

A MAP sensor is a Manifold Absolute Pressure sensor. It means that it detects the vacuum of the engine and controls the fuel via that vacuum. Mass Air Flow sensor (MAF) cars use the amount of air flowing into the engine to control fuel. A vacuum leak on a MAF car will show a rough and lean idle, as compared to normal. This is because there is extra air than what the ECM is detecting form the MAF sensor. A MAP car with a vacuum leak will have a higher idle until the Idle Air Control valve (IAC) can close enough to achieve the correct MAP/RPM.

What happens when you hit the gas in your car? You lower the vacuum, or increase the Manifold Absolute Pressure when the throttle blades are opened. This increases fuel --> you go faster. That what the MAP sensor is thinking when you start your car...if you have a vacuum leak that is.

Now, it's difficult to understand exactly what is happening based on what you're typing here, so tell me if I'm off. You're saying that when you start your car, it revs high, right? Then after a certain amount of time, it goes down, yes? That is indicative of a vacuum leak.

The clicking and not starting issue, that's probably not related to this but should probably be addressed too. Maybe a bad starter? or a bad starter relay in the VATS starter control circuit? I would check your wiring around the starter first and make sure all that stuff has a good connection.

 

Thanks. The 'click', has seemingly gone away(hopefully for good) after i disconnected and reconnected the battery, might have come loose somehow?
Gave it a bottle of seafoam today into the fuel tank to see if it would do any good.
And yes that's right. It starts rough, almost like its gummed up and after around 5-10 seconds it sounds back to normal...ish(assuming it started and stayed on)? In the few days since, i've noticed It doesn't sound as loud also while driving.
I Was told it could be my spark plugs by a friend and i should maybe do a tune-up(which hasn't been done since i bought the car a year ago other than an oil change)
Planning on ordering just about anything there is from rockauto. Does anyone have any brand recommendations for the plugs/wires or anything else for the tuneup?

 

Well, that seafoam probably won't do anything. And I guess I'm confused here. I thought your idle was high, not low. That rough start makes me think it has a low, rough idle. Also, if you haven't already, you should replace the spark plugs, cap, rotor, and possibly wires; your friend was right. Do you have any codes? SES light?

When it starts and stalls out, is it due to low or high idle?

 

When i first start the car, it will sound likes its sputtering, almost like its being choked, and then just fails and turns off(so i guess it would be dieing out due to the low idle?)The original post was questioning the high idle after starting, that same night though after i put gas in, the choking started, and has happened on and off since.
The times that it does make it through to start, after sputtering(or even the few times it doesn't sputter) it goes nuts for about 5-10 seconds.
If i move out of park it'll calm down. As far as i was concerned that was the main problem, until a couple of days ago i was sitting at a stop light and the cabin seemed quieter than normal, a coworker agreed who i carpool with agreed with me on the way to work.

There's no SES lights coming on and i even busted out my trusty paper clip to check for any codes and it just spits out 12 so if there's anything it should know, it doesnt. So i suppose there's 2 problems? The low idle which causes the stalling out, and the high idle that happens when the car survives the choking/just starts up. Rarely do i get clean starts, but i still do occasionally.
I'm planning on getting plugs and caps and all that shenanigans in the morning, do you have any recommendations for brands personally? From what i can tell there's a million different recommendations, but AC Delco seems like a common option

-sorry if i'm not being entirely clear, first car i've had actual trouble with and i'm learning on the fly here

 

Do you have a Napa Auto Parts store where you live ?

Also, welcome to the Third Gen world. AKA Money pit.

 

Looks like there's quite a few, yeah. I'm in Orlando. Thanks, glad to be here =) I've had a few issues with it but thankfully you guys are here

 

That sounds like a vacuum leak to me. I would look for any cracked or broken hoses, or possibly a bad gasket somewhere. I bought all the tune up stuff from AutoZone and it has worked fine so far. If it's just a daily driver I wouldn't worry about the performance tune up items. Napa, Discount, Autzone, take your pick. Or you can order online I guess.

In any case, I would try looking for a vac leak. Get a friend or a piece of wood to push the gas pedal to bump up the RPMs slightly while you spray some carb/throttle body cleaner around the intake manifold gasket surfaces. If you have a spike in RPMs, you've found your leaky gasket.

 

Because of how schedule's work we probably are gonna hit as much as we can on wednesday hopefully. Leaks aren't necessarily dangerous correct, just irksome? Like my engine isn't going to get wrecked for waiting the 2+ days is it?

 

You'll be fine until then. You'll use a bit more gas than normal, but it shouldn't hurt anything.

 

Quote = "Does anyone have any brand recommendations for the plugs/wires or anything else for the tuneup?"

Unless you want to shop at Summit Racing for performance parts/etc. than Napa is a great place to get what you need for your car.
Just tell them what you want to do and they will sell you the proper parts.

 

Wrong thread.

 

Update: Car took to the tuneup like a champ, literally jumped up almost 4mpg to 19.

The tune-up of course didn't fix the issue(and it was never meant to) but the car will no longer start. It will crank and crank and crank but not turn over, there is also a fuel smelling small drip coming from underneath the motor now. Fuel pump? Is my car dead? Vacuum leak still? DISCUSS!! (I Appreciate everyones help)

 

I believe the culprit has been found(or at least one of them) this is a picture of where the leak is coming from (fuel line?) The leak is directly under the motor, water pump and belt. Is there a specific type of line I'll need to buy to fix this? Is it a difficult job? Expensive if I resort to a mechanic?