Idling problems and Car shutting off at stops
Newbie
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Pennsylvania
Late to the party but dealing with the same issue
Found this thread while trying to diagnose my 2004 sport back RA. Thank you for having posted this bit. I am having the same problem with the low idle and car shutting down randomly at stop lights. However I have some additional symptoms. Non of which have triggered a code that I am aware of.
-Occasionally when driving the lights dim and I can hear the heat/air slow/stutter when I let off the gas. (this also happens at idle when the cooling fan randomly & irrationally kicks in.)
- When the car stalls (stopped @ a light and RPM drops 500 - 0) anything electric is gone? Radio channels clear, Tripometer goes back to zero, no lights, locks, windows... all dead. If the key is removed and reinserted, everything goes back to normal for an hour, day or even a week? No real patter that I have noticed.
Now here's another head scratcher. The headlights when left on automatically shut off with the car when the key is removed (Normal). Now if the car stalls and I remove the key (all power being gone) the lights left in the on position still drain the battery? So it's basically like turning the lights on when the key is out, without getting light?
Once, while driving, the car would not go past 3000 RPM. Per advice previously posted in one of the threads here, I fiddled with the mass airflow sensor and it has never happened again?
Again, Thank you in advance for any insight you can offer. The car is just turning 98,0000 and has been a great little grocery getter. Even dealing with the above issues for the last 8 months, it's yet to leave me stranded.
-Occasionally when driving the lights dim and I can hear the heat/air slow/stutter when I let off the gas. (this also happens at idle when the cooling fan randomly & irrationally kicks in.)
- When the car stalls (stopped @ a light and RPM drops 500 - 0) anything electric is gone? Radio channels clear, Tripometer goes back to zero, no lights, locks, windows... all dead. If the key is removed and reinserted, everything goes back to normal for an hour, day or even a week? No real patter that I have noticed.
Now here's another head scratcher. The headlights when left on automatically shut off with the car when the key is removed (Normal). Now if the car stalls and I remove the key (all power being gone) the lights left in the on position still drain the battery? So it's basically like turning the lights on when the key is out, without getting light?
Once, while driving, the car would not go past 3000 RPM. Per advice previously posted in one of the threads here, I fiddled with the mass airflow sensor and it has never happened again?
Again, Thank you in advance for any insight you can offer. The car is just turning 98,0000 and has been a great little grocery getter. Even dealing with the above issues for the last 8 months, it's yet to leave me stranded.
Found this thread while trying to diagnose my 2004 sport back RA. Thank you for having posted this bit. I am having the same problem with the low idle and car shutting down randomly at stop lights. However I have some additional symptoms. Non of which have triggered a code that I am aware of.
-Occasionally when driving the lights dim and I can hear the heat/air slow/stutter when I let off the gas. (this also happens at idle when the cooling fan randomly & irrationally kicks in.)
- When the car stalls (stopped @ a light and RPM drops 500 - 0) anything electric is gone? Radio channels clear, Tripometer goes back to zero, no lights, locks, windows... all dead. If the key is removed and reinserted, everything goes back to normal for an hour, day or even a week? No real patter that I have noticed.
Now here's another head scratcher. The headlights when left on automatically shut off with the car when the key is removed (Normal). Now if the car stalls and I remove the key (all power being gone) the lights left in the on position still drain the battery? So it's basically like turning the lights on when the key is out, without getting light?
Once, while driving, the car would not go past 3000 RPM. Per advice previously posted in one of the threads here, I fiddled with the mass airflow sensor and it has never happened again?
Again, Thank you in advance for any insight you can offer. The car is just turning 98,0000 and has been a great little grocery getter. Even dealing with the above issues for the last 8 months, it's yet to leave me stranded.
-Occasionally when driving the lights dim and I can hear the heat/air slow/stutter when I let off the gas. (this also happens at idle when the cooling fan randomly & irrationally kicks in.)
- When the car stalls (stopped @ a light and RPM drops 500 - 0) anything electric is gone? Radio channels clear, Tripometer goes back to zero, no lights, locks, windows... all dead. If the key is removed and reinserted, everything goes back to normal for an hour, day or even a week? No real patter that I have noticed.
Now here's another head scratcher. The headlights when left on automatically shut off with the car when the key is removed (Normal). Now if the car stalls and I remove the key (all power being gone) the lights left in the on position still drain the battery? So it's basically like turning the lights on when the key is out, without getting light?
Once, while driving, the car would not go past 3000 RPM. Per advice previously posted in one of the threads here, I fiddled with the mass airflow sensor and it has never happened again?
Again, Thank you in advance for any insight you can offer. The car is just turning 98,0000 and has been a great little grocery getter. Even dealing with the above issues for the last 8 months, it's yet to leave me stranded.
scan it to be sure the CEL is not burnt out, lol...
sounds like an electrical problem...make sure your battery terminals are tight. any other symptoms you can think of?
Newbie
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Pennsylvania
Thanks for the reply Cranswick, You are truly appreciated!
Yes I purposely drove with the gas cap off see if the CEL is working and throwing a emissions code. All is good there.
So far I have cleaned and tightened the battery terminals, checked solenoid (as you previously advised in the post, Thank you) and checked for codes (none showing). Someone I was speaking with suggested that it may be a relay switch in the ignition system which is buried in the steering column? This is my daily driver and I am not familiar enough with the electrical workings of the ignition system to begin teardown based on a beer induced brain storming session. It was also suggested, given the odometer (98K) that the timing could have slipped but I have found nothing in my research that relates timing to completely random electrical failure without obvious engine problems?
It does seem that I have been putting a lot of gas in it lately. However it typically has a power loss which resets my tripometer so I am now in the process of counting miles on the odometer to see. Any thoughts on the ignition switch theory?
Yes I purposely drove with the gas cap off see if the CEL is working and throwing a emissions code. All is good there.
So far I have cleaned and tightened the battery terminals, checked solenoid (as you previously advised in the post, Thank you) and checked for codes (none showing). Someone I was speaking with suggested that it may be a relay switch in the ignition system which is buried in the steering column? This is my daily driver and I am not familiar enough with the electrical workings of the ignition system to begin teardown based on a beer induced brain storming session. It was also suggested, given the odometer (98K) that the timing could have slipped but I have found nothing in my research that relates timing to completely random electrical failure without obvious engine problems?
It does seem that I have been putting a lot of gas in it lately. However it typically has a power loss which resets my tripometer so I am now in the process of counting miles on the odometer to see. Any thoughts on the ignition switch theory?
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