Geting frustrated.

[CadetLD]

My car was not idling right for a while. once the car got up to operating temp it would start bogging down at traffic lights or anywhere i had to sit for more than 20 or 30 seconds. I would have to heel-toe to keep it alive or else it would get down to below 500rpms and when i started off again i have to floor it to "clear its throat" then after a pop and studder it would be fine untill the next light. So I checked the ecu for codes. it turned out to be the knock sensor. so after finding one and an replacing it. it seemed to run a little better and stopped throwing the sensor code but still doing the same thing. on a side note my bov is a pice of crap and leaks. but i tested that theory by covering the opening with my hand to seal any vacume leak. Even if it was all warmed up and i sealed it with my hand rpms would still drop down to near stalling. any ideas???

heres a few specs if it helps.CA18dets15 t-28 @ 10-11psiFMICand Blitz access ECUpretty much everything else is stock.

Thanks in advance guys. -Shane

[ca18detgabby]

check plugs and coils..... might clean the maf too..... all 3 will make for erratic idle.

grounding straps always help too(just so tim doesnt have to say it)

btw vac leaks will cause idle issues too..... def need to fix that ASAP

ps this has been covered a number of times if none of those solve your problem the search button should save you some time waiting for someone else to post

[r34 gtr]

just so tim doesnt have to say it)

My work here is done.

[rico05]

My car ran like crap until I swapped everything to a new chassis and actually properly ground my ignitor. Try that.

[Woods Crasher]

My car was not idling right for a while. once the car got up to operating temp it would start bogging down at traffic lights or anywhere i had to sit for more than 20 or 30 seconds. I would have to heel-toe to keep it alive or else it would get down to below 500rpms and when i started off again i have to floor it to "clear its throat" then after a pop and studder it would be fine untill the next light. So I checked the ecu for codes. it turned out to be the knock sensor. so after finding one and an replacing it. it seemed to run a little better and stopped throwing the sensor code but still doing the same thing. on a side note my bov is a pice of crap and leaks. but i tested that theory by covering the opening with my hand to seal any vacume leak. Even if it was all warmed up and i sealed it with my hand rpms would still drop down to near stalling. any ideas???heres a few specs if it helps.CA18dets15 t-28 @ 10-11psiFMICand Blitz access ECUpretty much everything else is stock.

Thanks in advance guys. -Shane

Sounds like your car is running fine until it switches to open loop. Which means it's relying on data from your car's sensors for it to run. My car did the same exact thing. It would run fine untill it warmed up. Try unplugging the connector for the o2 sensor. If it's running fine, then replace your sensor. when you unplug the o2 sensor, the ecu "assumes" it's seeing .5 volts (ideal mixture) so the car won't bog from the ecu adding fuel. Give it a shot

[CadetLD]

Okay so a little update... I ghetto fabbed a plate to go between my BOV and flange to stop the massive boost leak. The boost leak is definatly fixedand holds pressure realy well. Originaly the boost gauge would read 10-11psi, now only 9 but pulls much harder. Anyways, fixing the boost/vac didnt solve my idleing problem so I decided to change my plugs. The old ones had alot of black carbon on them (mind you I ran a tank of fuel injector/system cleaner with these plugs). Still dosnt want to idle for me. Having some time to look around my engine bay while I was taking off the coil packs, I noticed a pretty nasty looking chassis ground wire coming from the intake manifold, its realy corroded. so I think the whole ground-kit sounds like a good idea after reading up on it. Thanks Gabby, Rico, Tim, and Woods.

[CadetLD]

Okay another update... Got to thinking about my ghetto fab block off plate.I didnt fix the vaume leak only the boost leak. The reason, I assume, that the BOV was leaking would be a torn or rotted diapragm, right? Well if I only blocked off the piping portion there might still be a vacume leak inside the bov aswell. I think it was still leaking a little bit through the diapragm and past the valve itself (its and OLD blitz SS). Long story short, I capped the vacume line off and it runs WAY better. However, after a test drive, I noticed it was still doing the same thing, only not as bad as usual and took a little longer to "choke" up. Then I decided to test Wood's O2 sensor trick by unpluging it and sure enough, it didnt change a thing. So tomorrow Im going to check the wiring because it looks kinda iffy. Theres some electrical tape in spots and looks rotted in general. Thanks again everybody. Ill keep you posted. -Shane

[float_6969]

Thanks for the updates and good luck.

[CadetLD]

update: ... IT IDLES!!! So after inspecting the wiring for the 02 sensor i found a black wire that was double layered kind of like a coaxial cable. the center part of the wire was connected to the plug for the o2 sensor. but the outer part had just been cut. a friend of mine told me it should be grounded so i stripped the wire back enough to twist it into a "pigtail" and ran a wire from that to a bolt on the firewall. fired it up, took it for a drive to let it warm up and bingo, it idles forever. sat and watched it idle for like 15 minutes i was so happy. Thanks a billion to everybody for your help in diagnosing my problem!