low idle?

flyin_hawaiian · 11-06-2009, 03:21 AM

i have a 86 4a-ge with 114k miles on it and when i start it up in the morning it warms up fine (around 2100 rpm) but as the day progresses and as the engine heats up, the idle drops to below 1000 (today it was at its lowest at 600 RPM!)

This is a problem for me because i need to add a lot of gas before i can start releasing my clutch if i dont want my car to stall.

any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

traintech86 · 11-06-2009, 04:40 AM

well the stock idle is at 800(says the sticker on the engine bonet). some comon things i have heard is that intake leaks can cause this. a temp fix would be to turn the idle up, but you really should investigate why and not just cover up the symptoms.

welcome and nice 2 btw

mr3 · 11-06-2009, 08:11 AM

That's not too bad. If my car isn't warmed up completely it will idle at 400 rpms maybe a little lower. Everyone who sees it doesn't believe that the car is able to do it but it does. I have pics to prove it if you don't believe. Haha

lsgheero · 11-06-2009, 09:05 AM

thats nuts lol, my car feels like it is about to die at anything below 1k lol. but I also have afm cams... so this could be why.

flyin_hawaiian · 11-06-2009, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lsgheero

thats nuts lol, my car feels like it is about to die at anything below 1k lol. but I also have afm cams... so this could be why.

yea my car feels like that too and it does die out sometimes without adding more gas. and everything in my car is stock.

the car doesnt ride smooth too at low speeds (ex: driving through a parking structure.)

ill do a little more diagnosing and see if i can find anymore symptoms.

i appreciate your help guys.

lsgheero · 11-06-2009, 02:02 PM

May want to check/adjust the tps as well.

DJZ · 12-27-2009, 10:19 PM

Hello, I am having the same problem, well similar... I have an 86 AT 183kmi, It runs fine in the morning or whenever the engine is cold (temp gage less than half). However once the engine warms up and I come to a stop, the RPM falls to less than 500, resulting in a stall. I like to make a silver lining and say that it doesnt like to go slow, but it's become a real pain in the neck. So far I have flushed, drained, and refilled the coolant. Put in the high milage stuff too. I am going to replace the spark plugs and once I get my hands on a voltmeter check the TPS. I love this car and have had it for less than two months. It drives extremely well, except for the little issue. The suspension needs a little love and Im gonna throw in a Kenwood deck and speakers. well, I hope someone out there can help. Thanks.
~DJZ~

muffinman · 12-28-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJZ

Hello, I am having the same problem, well similar... I have an 86 AT 183kmi, It runs fine in the morning or whenever the engine is cold (temp gage less than half). However once the engine warms up and I come to a stop, the RPM falls to less than 500, resulting in a stall. I like to make a silver lining and say that it doesnt like to go slow, but it's become a real pain in the neck. So far I have flushed, drained, and refilled the coolant. Put in the high milage stuff too. I am going to replace the spark plugs and once I get my hands on a voltmeter check the TPS. I love this car and have had it for less than two months. It drives extremely well, except for the little issue. The suspension needs a little love and Im gonna throw in a Kenwood deck and speakers. well, I hope someone out there can help. Thanks.
~DJZ~

try adjusting the idle on the throttle body when it's warmed up to operating temp.

DJZ · 01-02-2010, 04:07 PM

Replaced the spark plugs, and holy crap! they where the Original Nippon-Dessin spark plugs from japan. The car now will sit at 500 RPM and sometimes 400 rpm, but if it rides there for more than 30 seconds or so it stalls, so a little improvement is good!

Muffinman - I have only heard bad things about adjusting idle, but I will give it a try...

randomxzero · 01-02-2010, 06:46 PM

well if you recently got the car the idle could have been messed with by the previous owner? best thing to do is to get the haynes manual and adjust it to where its suppose to be at

scottohno · 01-06-2010, 02:23 AM

well if plugs made a difference....

DO THE WIRES, CAP, AND ROTOR

DUH!

consider an oil change too. and an air filter, nd possibly a tire rotation.

the first thing i do is chack everything when i get a car. on my aw11 when i got it the electrodes burned off the spark plugs. ran hard til i got it home, replaced, got wires, cap, rotor, oil change with high mileage oil, and even topped everything off.

YellowJacket · 01-06-2010, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJZ

Muffinman - I have only heard bad things about adjusting idle, but I will give it a try...

Thats what the idle screw is for. if your idle is too low, and you can fix it with that screw, then consider yourself lucky. Most have the opposite problem... idle too high and screw is already bottomed out. If you have the rubber cap over the hole as in the picture, you remove it... then a flathead screwdriver to adjust.

Adjust it with car full warm, all accessories OFF.

scottohno · 01-14-2010, 01:16 PM

well before he adjusts that it sounds like he needs a tune up BAD

plugs rotor, cap, wires, oil change, trans fluid change, coolant flush, air filter mod(as seen above) or at least change, check your tire pressure, run your tank empty on gas (almost empty, not pushing it) then put some injector cleaner in there and you can do this for about $200 and your car will be 100 % great running condition. i dont care if the previous owners said they put all this stuff in there, i always do it myself. i get bosch wores from autozone so i get free replacement, same with cap and rotor i think, maybe not, but you NEED a tune up from the sounds of it. what did the old plug look like?

flyin_hawaiian · 02-19-2010, 02:22 PM

well i found out why my idle was low: my radiator fan wasn't working. so it caused the car to overheat and have a low rpm. should of checked that earlier :P

still have to find out why my car jerks while driving slow.

11-06-2009, 03:21 AM	#1 (permalink)
flyin_hawaiian No Skills Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Hawaii Posts: 12 Thanks: 4 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	low idle? i have a 86 4a-ge with 114k miles on it and when i start it up in the morning it warms up fine (around 2100 rpm) but as the day progresses and as the engine heats up, the idle drops to below 1000 (today it was at its lowest at 600 RPM!) This is a problem for me because i need to add a lot of gas before i can start releasing my clutch if i dont want my car to stall. any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

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11-06-2009, 04:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
traintech86 Cage Fighter Join Date: May 2009 Location: Yokosuka, Kanagawa Japan Posts: 1,799 Thanks: 27 Thanked 47 Times in 43 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (3/100% )	well the stock idle is at 800(says the sticker on the engine bonet). some comon things i have heard is that intake leaks can cause this. a temp fix would be to turn the idle up, but you really should investigate why and not just cover up the symptoms. welcome and nice 2 btw

11-06-2009, 08:11 AM	#3 (permalink)
mr3 unskilled Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Plymouth Mtg, Pa Posts: 2,406 Thanks: 24 Thanked 98 Times in 93 Posts iTrader Rating: (7/100% )	That's not too bad. If my car isn't warmed up completely it will idle at 400 rpms maybe a little lower. Everyone who sees it doesn't believe that the car is able to do it but it does. I have pics to prove it if you don't believe. Haha

11-06-2009, 09:05 AM	#4 (permalink)
lsgheero RAR! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 747 Thanks: 9 Thanked 31 Times in 31 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	thats nuts lol, my car feels like it is about to die at anything below 1k lol. but I also have afm cams... so this could be why.

11-06-2009, 02:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
lsgheero RAR! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 747 Thanks: 9 Thanked 31 Times in 31 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	May want to check/adjust the tps as well.

12-27-2009, 10:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
DJZ No Skills Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Seattle Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Hello, I am having the same problem, well similar... I have an 86 AT 183kmi, It runs fine in the morning or whenever the engine is cold (temp gage less than half). However once the engine warms up and I come to a stop, the RPM falls to less than 500, resulting in a stall. I like to make a silver lining and say that it doesnt like to go slow, but it's become a real pain in the neck. So far I have flushed, drained, and refilled the coolant. Put in the high milage stuff too. I am going to replace the spark plugs and once I get my hands on a voltmeter check the TPS. I love this car and have had it for less than two months. It drives extremely well, except for the little issue. The suspension needs a little love and Im gonna throw in a Kenwood deck and speakers. well, I hope someone out there can help. Thanks. ~DJZ~

01-02-2010, 04:07 PM	#9 (permalink)
DJZ No Skills Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Seattle Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Replaced the spark plugs, and holy crap! they where the Original Nippon-Dessin spark plugs from japan. The car now will sit at 500 RPM and sometimes 400 rpm, but if it rides there for more than 30 seconds or so it stalls, so a little improvement is good! Muffinman - I have only heard bad things about adjusting idle, but I will give it a try...

01-02-2010, 06:46 PM	#10 (permalink)
randomxzero 562 Understeer Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: 562 Posts: 1,171 Thanks: 10 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	well if you recently got the car the idle could have been messed with by the previous owner? best thing to do is to get the haynes manual and adjust it to where its suppose to be at

01-06-2010, 02:23 AM	#11 (permalink)
scottohno control your hose Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Fox Lake, IL Posts: 5,100 Thanks: 43 Thanked 93 Times in 83 Posts iTrader Rating: (7/100% )	well if plugs made a difference.... DO THE WIRES, CAP, AND ROTOR DUH! consider an oil change too. and an air filter, nd possibly a tire rotation. the first thing i do is chack everything when i get a car. on my aw11 when i got it the electrodes burned off the spark plugs. ran hard til i got it home, replaced, got wires, cap, rotor, oil change with high mileage oil, and even topped everything off.

01-14-2010, 01:16 PM	#13 (permalink)
scottohno control your hose Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Fox Lake, IL Posts: 5,100 Thanks: 43 Thanked 93 Times in 83 Posts iTrader Rating: (7/100% )	well before he adjusts that it sounds like he needs a tune up BAD plugs rotor, cap, wires, oil change, trans fluid change, coolant flush, air filter mod(as seen above) or at least change, check your tire pressure, run your tank empty on gas (almost empty, not pushing it) then put some injector cleaner in there and you can do this for about $200 and your car will be 100 % great running condition. i dont care if the previous owners said they put all this stuff in there, i always do it myself. i get bosch wores from autozone so i get free replacement, same with cap and rotor i think, maybe not, but you NEED a tune up from the sounds of it. what did the old plug look like?

02-19-2010, 02:22 PM	#14 (permalink)
flyin_hawaiian No Skills Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Hawaii Posts: 12 Thanks: 4 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	well i found out why my idle was low: my radiator fan wasn't working. so it caused the car to overheat and have a low rpm. should of checked that earlier :P still have to find out why my car jerks while driving slow.