Need help with random stalling

[Irukandji]

Hey guys, before you flame, YES I DID SEARCH. I searched previous threads and didnt find exactly what i was looking for (but did come across many similar threads).


Anyway, heres my problem,


I'm driving .. approaching a light, so i downshift then push in the clutch before i stop, my idle goes to about 200-400 and my engine shakes a little then dies, so i hafta restart the motor, the idle flucuates from 200-600 and occasionally dies, so i hafta keep my foot on the gas pedal to keep the idle up. It did this about 4 times, but now I drive the car and it drives like normal! doesnt stall. Any idea what could have caused this?

I checked the vacuum lines and i really doubt its a MAF.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Amish240coupe]

Had the same problem...exact same problem....things I replaced to get rid of it...
Fuel pump/filter, clutch, master/slave cylinder. Dont know which one it was exactly...because right after that, about 2 weeks later my fuel pump went completely out, and when he was doing that job, he also did my clutch and slave/masters...so I dont know which one did the trick, but it worked

[Irukandji]

anyone else know wahts going on?

[ass15]

have the same problem.... it kinda started week after i installed the jwt ecu.. + 370cc.... been driving with it for about 2 months now, stalled 3 or 4 times.. on a stop light and just downshifting (slowing down)..

the fuel pump is walbro 255 ( doesn' t make noise) its fairly new (about 6 months old), fuel filter is z32, ..

[Irukandji]

hmm... well i checked my fuel pump and it seemed to be in good condition, fuel filter... i dont think that would be the problem, ill double check on all the lines and report my findings

[cr00k_lyn]

Mines never stalls from downshifting, but if i just push the clutch all the way down and put the car in neutral it will usally stall or wanna stall. Still havent figured out why, i heard it was b/c i didnt have a z32 maf at the time, but since now i have a z32 maf it still does it. I just learned to live with it till i figure it out and make sure i downshift when coming to a stop instead of putting it in neutral from whatever gear.

[i8yourfwd]

Maybe it's just an S13 thing.. Mine does it too.. lol

[Irukandji]

haha geez...now my car does it at EVERY stop, even when i downshift, its also feeling pretty sluggish on the freeway, im beginning to think its the fuel pump, anyone else have any opinions?

[JerkFaceJason]

I just fixed this problem on my car, on an unrelated issue.

*please note* this worked for me but there are alot of things that cause a bad idle

There are buttons by the very top of the pedals underneath the dash.

2 for the clutch, and 2 for the brake.

there is one button that presses when you push the clutch in for starting the car, and one on the other side for when you let go (which the wires go into the main dash wire harness).

the thing is, the rubber bushings or plastic pieces of crap that were supposed to be pushing these things has long since cracked off and fallen to the floorboard.

what you need to do is look under the pedals and see if the clutch is pushing that button when you dont have your foot on it. If it isnt, duct tape some shit to make it reach

my car always had a stalling problem even when I swapped motors, but this seems to have fixed the "my car doesnt like to coast to a stop" problem.

my only explanation for this is that that switch is there to tell the ecu if the clutch is disengaged (ie when you push the clutch in or are in neutral), so if your missing those pieces, it never knows when to start idling when your in neutral. In otherwords, it thinks the car is still in gear and you are controlling the gas, thus stall in neutral when coasting to stop.

check and see its quite an easy fix!

[Irukandji]

ah its not the rubber thing.

[Irukandji]

shit this is annoying

[Irukandji]

does anyone know if it could be the fuel pump? or o2 sensor? i hav no idea whats goin on.

[idlafie]

hmm... well i checked my fuel pump and it seemed to be in good condition, fuel filter... i dont think that would be the problem, ill double check on all the lines and report my findings

N1sm0r....
What year is your car again? S13? S14? Stock KA N/A or KA Turbo'ed or SR20?? I don't recall if you posted it or if I just missed it. When was the last time you had a tune-up done on your car? Replaced the spark plugs? Distributor cap & rotor? Air filter? Had the fuel injectors flushed out or poured a bottle of injector cleaner into the gas tank?? Ever clean out the throttle body with a can of throttle body cleaner?? Checked to see if your ECU is throwing a code??
Your stalling problem could be due to poor maintenance on the vehicle. A clogged air filter or fuel filter can restrict air or gas flow causing stalling. A dirty throttle body can cause carbon buildup in the intake system which can cause your EGR valve or IAV valve to stick open and not close as rapidly as it should during deceleration. Or whoever tuned your car last could have adjusted the idle or timing incorrectly causing your car to be more succeptible to stalling. Usually I see this several weeks after the 240's been smog tested. Smog Tech's tend to lower the idle so as to get the car to pass smog.
Most of the 240's I've worked on, (S13 & S14), usually just need the throttle bodies cleaned out & the air filter/fuel filter changed out. I also have the guys who's car I've worked on replace the plugs/distributor cap & rotor, cuz they've never had it done before. I also check the timing & idle just to be safe...I've had to adjust that too. You'ld be surprised by how much a difference this stuff makes.
ID
...weekend 240 mechanic...and the holder or many semi-private tech days....

[Irukandji]

idlafie, ive been told to replace the distributor cap and rotor and sparkplugs. while im at it, i will check out the throttle.

thanks for your help!

[Irukandji]

N1sm0r....
What year is your car again? S13? S14? Stock KA N/A or KA Turbo'ed or SR20?? I don't recall if you posted it or if I just missed it. When was the last time you had a tune-up done on your car? Replaced the spark plugs? Distributor cap & rotor? Air filter? Had the fuel injectors flushed out or poured a bottle of injector cleaner into the gas tank?? Ever clean out the throttle body with a can of throttle body cleaner?? Checked to see if your ECU is throwing a code??
Your stalling problem could be due to poor maintenance on the vehicle. A clogged air filter or fuel filter can restrict air or gas flow causing stalling. A dirty throttle body can cause carbon buildup in the intake system which can cause your EGR valve or IAV valve to stick open and not close as rapidly as it should during deceleration. Or whoever tuned your car last could have adjusted the idle or timing incorrectly causing your car to be more succeptible to stalling. Usually I see this several weeks after the 240's been smog tested. Smog Tech's tend to lower the idle so as to get the car to pass smog.
Most of the 240's I've worked on, (S13 & S14), usually just need the throttle bodies cleaned out & the air filter/fuel filter changed out. I also have the guys who's car I've worked on replace the plugs/distributor cap & rotor, cuz they've never had it done before. I also check the timing & idle just to be safe...I've had to adjust that too. You'ld be surprised by how much a difference this stuff makes.
ID
...weekend 240 mechanic...and the holder or many semi-private tech days....


the car had recently been smogged, so timing may be the problem. I'm still not certain. When the car does stall... its very rare and the idle tends to flucuate from 200--> 600--> 200 ---> 500 then stall. After stalling, when i try to restart the motor, it dies instantly after idling for a fraction of a second....

[borohingacoupe]

Mine does this too! I have a stock KA in my s13 and so far I have changed my o2 sensor and plug wires. My air filter is good, but not sure of the fuel filter. my car was smogged very recently, but I had this problem before smog.

Matt