MAF sensor, throttle positioning sensor or fuel pump. One of these three maybe be going bad.
A fuel pump can bind up when it's on it's way out and temporarily drop the fuel pressure. When the key is switched on, can you hear the pump cycle up? Does it sound higher pitched than normal? Or lower pitched? If this is it, change the filter along with it. A clogged filter often is the reason why a pump fails. Not bad on price, but can be expensive if you pawn out the work to a shop.
A throttle positioning sensor tells the computer in voltage where the throttle is positioned, so it can adjust fuel/air mixture, timing, etc for power and economy. If the sensor stops communicating, the engine will surge and really not want to go anywhere at all. This could be accompanied by transmission shift problems, as the transmission kick down sensor is attached to the TPS. Easy fix. Probably the least expensive potential problem.
Mas Airflow Sensor is another one. It sends voltage through a wire (like a heating element) that goes in the center of the sensor, and the computer can tell how much air volume enters the engine by how fast the wire is cooled down. If it stops working, the computer cannot tell how much air is getting into the engine, and can't regulate the amount of fuel to feed the engine. Poor fuel mileage, horrible idle and sometimes the surges you experienced can happen. Expensive part, but easy to install. It's located between the throttle plenum and air cleaner box.
Without engine codes, or actually being there, these are just stabs. An auto parts place can scan the computer for engine trouble codes.
A fuel pump can bind up when it's on it's way out and temporarily drop the fuel pressure. When the key is switched on, can you hear the pump cycle up? Does it sound higher pitched than normal? Or lower pitched? If this is it, change the filter along with it. A clogged filter often is the reason why a pump fails. Not bad on price, but can be expensive if you pawn out the work to a shop.
A throttle positioning sensor tells the computer in voltage where the throttle is positioned, so it can adjust fuel/air mixture, timing, etc for power and economy. If the sensor stops communicating, the engine will surge and really not want to go anywhere at all. This could be accompanied by transmission shift problems, as the transmission kick down sensor is attached to the TPS. Easy fix. Probably the least expensive potential problem.
Mas Airflow Sensor is another one. It sends voltage through a wire (like a heating element) that goes in the center of the sensor, and the computer can tell how much air volume enters the engine by how fast the wire is cooled down. If it stops working, the computer cannot tell how much air is getting into the engine, and can't regulate the amount of fuel to feed the engine. Poor fuel mileage, horrible idle and sometimes the surges you experienced can happen. Expensive part, but easy to install. It's located between the throttle plenum and air cleaner box.
Without engine codes, or actually being there, these are just stabs. An auto parts place can scan the computer for engine trouble codes.
Excellent. Thank you for the help Dart. I'm really wanting to learn more about my car and cars in general. Tomorrow I am quite busy, but I'm gonna pick up some sea foam and put some in the tank. Something I left out from my initial post was that I recently went to a different gas station{BP} than my usual {SA}. Not really sure if that could affect anything or not but I've heard dirty gas could make it chug. Will an auto shop scan the codes for free? I am soooo broke right now so I am hoping to get this resolved as cheap as possible. And I didn't notice the pump sounding any different, but I'll listen for that tomorrow when I start 'er up.
creepindeth04
Moderator
Do you have AAMCO's in your area? I believe they do free engine diagnostics.
mariorulezman
Baptized in Flames
Dude my car is doing the same exact thing. I asked my uncle. Hes been a mechanic all his life.
You might need to...oh how did he put it...Replace the disc and rotor of the engine...
Which i believe is where all the sparkplug wires plug into on the engine.
Get that checked out man. cause my car is undrivable now because of this problem. so get it checked out ASAP
You might need to...oh how did he put it...Replace the disc and rotor of the engine...
Which i believe is where all the sparkplug wires plug into on the engine.
Get that checked out man. cause my car is undrivable now because of this problem. so get it checked out ASAP
AAMCO charges around $80 to plug in a scanner. They'll waive the charge sometimes if they fix the problem, but often will charge to delete the codes. Most auto shops will charge $50-100, depending on how low their integrity is. An auto parts store won't chage for this, but they typically won't delete the codes. Just unplug the battery for about a minute will do that.
Mario, you're talking about a cap and rotor kit. Easy fix, but typically it won't cause a surge issue.
Mario, you're talking about a cap and rotor kit. Easy fix, but typically it won't cause a surge issue.
mariorulezman
Baptized in Flames
...tap something......uh...starter maybe?
mariorulezman
Baptized in Flames
that happens with mine. Now when i start it it turns on off. and wont stay on pretty much...it sucks
but im fixin it tommorow so it should be all good.
but im fixin it tommorow so it should be all good.
creepindeth04
Moderator
High-Five!!
o/*\o
o/*\o
ThravRande
Darth Revan is watching you.
I wanna high five...
