New guy here with some questions. Have done tons of research and still no solution. Lately i have had a high idle/ rough running problem at 1100rpm according to the scanner (gauge is wrong). I have a scanner until monday but will have access again in a week or so. I hooked it up this afternoon and noticed the o2 mV was going crazy, anywhere from 4 up to like 800 and back down and back up. Is this normal? Also noticed at idle my spark advance is at 21 degrees. Is this high? just put new wires on. and believe the cap and rotor were replaced before i bought the car two weeks ago. The scanner says my EGR is off on all 3, could this be the problem? In desperate need of help!

Thanks!

 

Also forgot to mention sometimes the car will stall at idle and sometimes it will run but with like a skip/studder

 

Thats a fine spark for when the car is just idleing.

From what you say about the air fuel ratio(your NB o2 sensor going up and down from 400-800Mv) it may be a vaccum leak? Does it idle weird? Mainly does it idle somewhat high sometimes as thats a good problem with a vac leak. High or hunting idle and a lean conditon as for air fuel ratios. You could try and get a vaccum guage and hooking it to a port on the back of your intake and see what its pulling. If it steady at idle arround 16-20 you can rule out a vac leak.

I cant help on the egr info but is it throwing a check engine light? Just woundering if it tosses one here and there but is only on for a slight amount of time.

 

The o2 sensor is not reading from 400-800, it actually reads like 4.4 - 800. Where could i find a vaccum gauge. as for the EGR there is no code but there was a previous code 33, but the light has never come on since the problems began. When the car idles it will seem like it misfires but returns to normal then skip again and continue to skip and return. That is when it is running had way decent but sometimes it will idle right down and acts like it will stall out

 

Autozone or a place like that will have a vac gauge and you cam usually just rent them for free or little money.


From 4 to 800mv...that's a large gap for fuel ratio. Get a vac gauge on there.

Look for a steady reading when idleing.

 

Will stop somewhere to find one in the morning, where abouts is that port it should go on? And if its on the intake how will that tell me if it is a vac leak anywhere else besides the intake?

 

A vacuum gauge can tell you an awful lot about the engine, more than just indicate a vacuum leak.

You should buy a Chilton's manual for your car to go with that gauge. It explains the different readings on the vacuum gauge and what they might possibly mean.

Your EGR may be causing you some big problems here. The 3.1 engines have the digital EGR that is very problematic when it is older. My 3.1 bird once upon a time had that go bad and it was a real pain to fix it. Its expensive to replace too, and I'm sure that is not helping your mood. Be careful if you poke around it or try to remove it to clean the parts. The spacer plate under it is usually cracked and broken. I welded mine back up to repair that part.

You might want to open your newly acquired Chilton's manual and go to the engine controls part and check/test your MAP sensor. This sensor tells your engine what the vacuum is inside the intake and then it sets the fuel to match it. If this sensor is faulty or dirty, or the vacuum hose going to it is cracked, you get the problems that you are describing.

I also got that problem from a faulty coil once. I never could find it until I ran the car at night with the hood open and saw the arc-ing and sparking going on!

Good luck!

 

I would buy a vacuum tee assortment from the auto parts store when you get the Chilton's book and tee it in at the MAP sensor. That way you see the vacuum the ECM is seeing. Maybe kill two birds with one stone?

 

alright, vac gauge and manual tomorrow. can you tell me where abouts the MAP sensor is so i can try and clean it and try that before i spend money. But the chilton manual is a must have by the sounds

 

AND the chilton manual will tell you where the MAP is and even show you a picture of what it looks like.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...erm=map+sensor

 

Ah! I just went out to take a look at this, It appears that around the coil there is blue on both sides that look like it is arcing around the mounting for it. BUT i also saw that same blue like where spark plug wires cross and touch eachother. is that normal or should i buy the things to keep them separated?

 

Pictures say a thousand words..lol See that green electronic clip off to the left(its on the passanger firewall)?? Thats your MAP sensor. Just T-in on the back of the manifold if all else fails. Your map will see what the vac guage reads anyways. If you have a vac leak it will be all over for the vaccum and or it will be really low.. less then 16" hg is not right.

Best way to find a vac leak IMO?? To get yourself a can or 2 of carb cleaner and start spraying areas. Such as all vac lines that come off the back of your intake manifold, then every gasket that has to do with the air track. Such as, the intake manifold gaskets, the throttle body gaskets and so on. Also have you ever though of the IAC?? Idle air control sensor? That may be dirty and slamming shut causeing your issues. Just another idea as there are alot of things that can cause problems such as that. But check that vaccum first and formost.


Keep this in mind though when you get the issue found. I have basically any electronic or emmisions item in my garage that you would ever need on that 3.1L. They are all good parts and the only reason there not on the car is because its turbocharged now and more of a street/strip car. I have the whole ERG assembly, MAP, and many other items just in case you need a part that can be overy pricey new.

 

Will run out and check MAP and IAC. Any ideas to the spark thing? is this a issue?

 

If your seeing a arc, yea thats a issue. Look for a broken wire ir something of that nature. Technically the wires shouldnt be crossed although Ive never ran into problems with mine touching eachother or being crossed.

 

I had a mysterious problem under the hood, I had my wife grab ahold of the wires when it was running.. When she bounced off the garage wall, it told me that I needed new plug wires.. It was great...

 

i dont know for sure if the wires are arcing but there is a blue glow. And I JUST replaced the spark plug wires yesterday. Around the coil though is where it kind of glows the most.

 

The IAC is on the thorottle body correct? it has wires going to it? There are two things i imagine one is the TPS and one is the IAC. Which is which?

 

sorry to post so many times so recently, but found a rather large vac leak under EGR. you could actually hear the leak under the hood, i cant believe i did not figure it out sooner,going to try and pull it apart and put a new gasket or silicone on it unless a exhaust bolt breaks >< that will ruin my day :P

 

The IACV has 4 wires going to it and it is shaped in a sqare pattern.. The TPS has 3 wires in a row

You might want to check the ohms reading at your TPS .. I believe it should be at .45 at closed and around 5.0 at WOT

 

Fixed the vac leak under EGR, The high idle and periodical stalling out has been fixed. Now the only problem is a misfire. I believe this is because the coil and my brand new plug wires are leaking. one wire actually will make a visible arc while the rest just glow blue. on both sides of the coil they are leaking out to the metal mounting bracket. does this bracket act as a ground or can i take the coil out and hang it and see if it stops the problem? then place something on the bracket so that it will not leak out to it?

 

I have had problems if that bracket wasn't mounted right. The new coil comes with new hardware to mount it.

New plug wires have been found bad right out of the box before, too. Always check the resistance on each one before you install them, so that you can more easily return them for another set.

 

Update: All is well with the car, no more misfires and idles beautifully, Thanks for everyones help!