97 Camry...low idle on damp mornings....
MatthewJohn98
usually when the air is particularly damp. It idles VERY low, so low I can
barely tell it's running, It might stall out or not depending on luck. Once I
get accelerating, it's just fine. No other issues at all for the rest of the
drive. It did the same thing 5 or 6 months ago, so I took it to Firestone and
had a $200 tune-up. Now, it's happening again and what's particularly
upsetting is that it won't do it all the time, so when I take it to the
mechanic, it won't do it and I'll waste a bunch of time. Any ideas on what it
may be?
m Ransley
look.
@byplane.com Jason James
"m Ransley" <ran...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:12698-40...@storefull-3137.bay.webtv.net...
> Bad plug wires, loose - bad distributor cap are the first places to
> look.
If his engine is not running on all its cylinders, I agree with your idea,
but he didn't say it was running roughly which would be the case in that
event. A healthy (normal compression) cylinder which has no spark, becomes
an unbalanced load on the remaining good cylinders causing marked vibration.
Sounds more like the throttle butterfly valve is sticking or the idle air
control valve (IAC). The IAC can be cleaned with a soft toothbrush and carby
ceaner.
Some folks recommend doing this with the assembly off the car to prevent
damage to the O2 sensor.
Jason
m Ransley
I could see with bad electrical contacts [ it does have power doesnt it]
@byplane.com Jason James
> He did say when damp, How would dampness affect the throttle body . IAC
> I could see with bad electrical contacts [ it does have power doesnt it]
Condensed moisture inside the TB making the normal gunk all that more
sticky/glue-like?
Jason
MatthewJohn98
valve.. Saw this posting with a diagram on how to spray carb cleaner into an
opening just inside the metal housing after removing the big black air hose.
It sounds a bit too easy to resolve the problem and they don't mention a
toothbrush. Maybe it's time to return to Firestone so they can relieve me of
more of my money. When I had it there six months ago, they did everything.
Fuel filter, fuel injection cleaning, plugs. Not sure if they looked at
anything in and around the throttling section of the engine.
When I was looking at my engine. I looked for a round protruding carousel
that I thought would be my distributor cap and didn't see anything like it.
What am I looking for there?
Thanks
@byplane.com Jason James
"MatthewJohn98" <matthe...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040605233718...@mb-m21.aol.com...
> Thanks for all the information. Did some net research on cleaning the IAC
> valve.. Saw this posting with a diagram on how to spray carb cleaner into
an
> opening just inside the metal housing after removing the big black air
hose.
> It sounds a bit too easy to resolve the problem and they don't mention a
> toothbrush.
Time and again the IAC has been mentioned. This engine has the crankcase-PVC
valve breather hose admitting fumes into the inlet (for burning with the
normal mixture) just up-stream of the IAC,....hence the problem, especially
on older cars.
Maybe it's time to return to Firestone so they can relieve me of
> more of my money. When I had it there six months ago, they did
everything.
> Fuel filter, fuel injection cleaning, plugs. Not sure if they looked at
> anything in and around the throttling section of the engine.
>
> When I was looking at my engine. I looked for a round protruding
carousel
> that I thought would be my distributor cap and didn't see anything like
it.
> What am I looking for there?
>
> Thanks
Do you have the 4 cylinder? If so, its on the righthand end of the engine
( as observed facing the front of car),...as for the V6,..I dont
know,..anybody able to answer him?
Jason
Daniel M. Dreifus
> Thanks for all the information. Did some net research on cleaning the IAC
> valve.. Saw this posting with a diagram on how to spray carb cleaner into an
> opening just inside the metal housing after removing the big black air hose.
> It sounds a bit too easy to resolve the problem and they don't mention a
> toothbrush. Maybe it's time to return to Firestone so they can relieve me of
> more of my money.
Toothbrush is for cleaning the throttle body with the engine off. That
would be if the throttle is sticking coming off idle because the
butterfly valve is mired in deposits.
IAC (idle air control valve) is for the four cylinder.
Small square hole at the bottom of the throttle body right in front,
just right of center after "removing the big black air hose."
That little square opening lets air flow past the closed butterfly
valve. The butterfly valve moves when you press on the gas pedal, so
at idle it would be closed. Air entering that small hole is then
metered by the idle air control valve under the throttle body. There's
a small pintel valve that is electronically regulated to control idle
speed, and that little valve can get clogged such that the computer
signals to the idle air control valve aren't properly executed.
Spraying an emissions control safe carburetor cleaner into that small
opening with the engine idleing should clear it up, or you could
remove the throttle body for a more complete bench cleaning.
Daniel M. Dreifus
> valve.
temperature not dampness. Example, stumbling low idle only when cold.
Dampness more likely points to an electrical problem - guessing the
igniter or coil. Not exactly the same, but my Toyota truck would never
start in the rain until the igniter was replaced. Lots of fun,
covering the hood with plastic and getting soaked trouble shooting non
start only in the rain - ran fine otheriwise.
If you have the non California version Camry, with the ignition coil
in the distributor, these can also be a source of problems.
>Maybe it's time to return to Firestone so they can relieve me of
> more of my money. When I had it there six months ago, they did everything.
> Fuel filter, fuel injection cleaning, plugs.
Toyota service? At least that way you know you're getting factory
spark plugs, etc., instead of potentially an aftermarket brand, and
the techs have the specialized tools, diagnostic equipment and
experience born of working exclusively with Toyota all day long.