Idle Drops To Zero Upon Start-Up

[SuperCoupe400]

The idle on my '03 G35 Sedan (187K miles) drops to zero one or two seconds after startup, but only on the first startup of the day. It drops so low, you'd swear the engine is about to stall, but it never does. The RPMs just return to normal within a second, then the engine runs and drives as normal. It's been doing this for the past 6 to 9 months - I just never bothered to take it to the dealer for analysis. Well last week, for several days, it finally refused to start at all. But for the past week it's been starting just fine again.

I did, however, get the codes pulled on it last week. Absolutely nothing at all found. No engine light either.

Looking through old posts here, the closest I could find to these symptoms was a possible malfunctioning throttle body.

Has anyone else had this issue? What was the culprit? What does it sound like this could be? I really would rather not fork over the $140 my stealership wants for an inspection, and my independent shop won't touch the engine.


Thanks.

[sstroudwku]

remove the throttle body and clean the carbon out of it. Then look up the idle relearn process without using consult II.

[SuperCoupe400]

Thanks Steve.

Btw, what's "consult II"?

[The Bodyguard]

I had been having a similar situation for about ten months except mine would stall at the wrong place at the wrong time!!! However the past two weeks it got worse with the cold weather until the battery died!! I've since replaced the battery, and no more stalling and no idle pirates add of the last couple of days... I to had found that throttle body may need to be cleaned but I never got around to it, now the battery goes out and everything seems fixed with the new battery!!
I had a similar experience with my M45 where the car would stall out and spur all kind of lights on the dash like "slip" "vdc" "abs" and others I can't remember... After a new battery, the car was as good as new!!! Seems all the electronics in these cars are very dependent on a good working battery!!! So for now... I'm good!!

[SuperCoupe400]

That is a bit bazaar. This battery is only a year old, so I doubt that's a culprit here. I will go back and check for corrosion on the cables though.

[joe603]

Be careful with the TB. The butterfly valves are electronic and VERY sensitive. You will break it if you try to manually move them.

[SuperCoupe400]

Thanks for the good word, Joe. I'll be sure and handle that bad boy with kid gloves.

[sstroudwku]

Sorry I've been busy, Consult is Nissan's computer based software. A good generic scanner has the work support option to idle relearn. The throttle body's are electronically controlled. However, they are not that sensitive to manual movement. If you've ever broke the actuator from manual movement you must also use a 5lb sledge hammer as a fine adjustment tool... lol

[joe603]

I've never done it...just read about people who cleaned them and they no longer work.