ravencr

My wife started her car this morning and it's sputtering like crazy. When you give it gas the tach pegs itself at zero and it runs real rough. No check engine lights are on. The engine smells like something is burning, but moreso on the inside of the car with the heat on. I have no clue what's going on. I sprayed Amsoil throttle body cleaner through the MAF as their directiosn indicate just to make sure the MAF sensor wasn't dirty or anything like that. Right now, it's drying. Could a fuel filter get clogged all of a sudden? What could cause this?

Chris

VSsc400

iTrader: (1)

I've got a similar problem. No power from the car at all. something smells like its burning. First fule pump, rotors, caps, wires and plugs are being changed. I should know in a few days exactly what is causing this. My idle was down to 450 -500rpm zone.

ravencr

Sme here man! How did it happen to you? Did it hit all of a sudden? Ours drove fine last night and this morning it runs like crap. It barely will make it up a slight slope. Yours do the same thing?

Chris

VSsc400

iTrader: (1)

does the same thing. happened as i was standing in red light.

pcmw

Sounds like the car is not getting fuel, air, or spark. Sorry. That is vague. But you need to check the basics. Open the fuel cap and try it again, you may have a weak pump or clogged fuel filter, releasing the pressure will help. Try checking that all the plugs wires are attached and your cap/rotor is moving correctly. Finally, check that the engine is seeing air. That is all you can really do on the driveway without a mechanic.

MW

ravencr

Thanks for the info guys! I'll check those things and see if it makes a difference. Anyone else have any ideas?

Chris

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

the smell leads me to believe it is getting fuel. the lack of power and poor idle lead me to believe it is still getting fire, just not much. I'd go out on a limb and say the Mass Airflow Sensor is shot. As a test i went outside and unplugged my sensor from the airbox tube and attempted to start my car, got almost the same results.

the car stuttered on startup and idled irratically untill i played with the idle speed for about one minute then it came under control. If you are experiencing a burning smell this could indicate that not the Mass Airflow sensor, but most likely a sensor that controls all of them. one of the more main sensors.

of course this is all a shot in the dark, but unplugging the M A Sensor gave me almost identical results without the burning smell because i am not burning any sensors. plugging it back in fixed it immediately.

pcmw

in that case.... unplug your maf and see if the symptoms change.

MW

ravencr

Great info guys! I took it into a shop today, so I'm sure they'll be able to figure it out, but I will tell them what you said so they can check that first. That's awesome!

Chris

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

the smell is most likely a sensor, but as a test i went back outside and pulled the boot off the throttle body and allowed more air in WHILE the mass airflow sensor was hooked up and got very similar results again. which would tell me the lack of airflow was really screwing with my mass airflow sensor and posing these results.

i guess you'll know tommorrow for sure though, huh?

ravencr

Well the car responded that way because the air flow decreased immediately when you disconnected the tube. So, as a result, the voltage coming from the MAF to the ecu decreased, which tells the computer to immediately reduce the fuel, which causes the same response. I kind of wish I played around with it some more today to see what the problem was. All I know is the MAF sensor is abot $870 new, so that sucks. Do you have any idea where I might be able to find a good used one?

Chris

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

gotta be a junkyard somewhere near you with one.

i saw a wrecked sc400 on a "popular online auction site" that had an opening bid of 2,000 and never even got one bid because it was wrecked, but STILL RAN AND DROVE. just a lot of body damage on each side as it was crushed inbetween two cars. you may pay half as much for just one sensor. if i ever see that car again, i'm putting in my bid. it was an emerald green '93 and probably 4 months ago.

(p.s.- i had the car turned off when i pulled the boot.)

ravencr

What did ya mean by the p.s.?

Chris

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

the car was off. when i attempted to start it, it almost didnt happen.

ravencr

Gotcha! Thanks for the hard work on this. I wish I had checked that before I took it to a shop, that's for sure. Maybe I'll go by there tomorrow morning before they begin work on it, and see if I can do what you did and see if works the same with it disconnected. I'll let you know!

Chris