Poor old Dad
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2011
- Messages
- 351
- Reaction score
- 283
- Points
- 63
- Location
- Brisbane
- Members Ride
- VFII Calais V
Hi all,
new to forum. Well set out and very helpful people. Thanks for the opportunity to seek help.
My daughter's '94 VR Calais conked out on her way to work last Friday. There were no symptoms leading up to it, it just died. She tried starting it but although it fired, it wouldn't idle. It's exactly as if it's run out of fuel. Tilt tray home where she got RACQ to have a look. According to RACQ guy the vacuum was ok but he couldn't pull any codes as he couldn't get a connection between scanner and ecu(??).
So, dad gets to play with it
On reading this forum I've cleaned throttle body and IAC (managed to break gasket so a new one made... and then broke one of the IAC screws. Drilled and tapped a new thread, so all good again.)
It idled better after that but still dies particularly if any accelerator is used. (It will rev and hold revs, eg 2000rpm, if accelerator is "feathered" to get it past flat spot, but will eventually die if throttle is released.
Further reading and I used the paper clip trick for self-diagnosis.
At first, code "12". Then code "13"
I reset ecu and then code "12" only.
During one of it's better idling performances (30 seconds) I thought I'd put it in gear but when I put my foot on the brake (to save running into the garage door) it immediately cut out. Tried it a couple more times and same thing - immediate drop in rpm with brake application. More reading in here and then tried expelling brake booster before starting and seeing if pedal got firmer after starting. It did, so maybe no joy there?
I tried fault codes again and after a "12" I got a "13" and then 4 continuous blinks as in "4" - definitely no pause after the first blink (to denote a ten). From then it would not reproduce the "12" then "13"... it just kept blinking 4 times.
So, where it's at now is a very erratic idle. If it will idle, it sounds like a very lumpy cam. It varies anywhere between 500 and 1000 rpm. A huge flat spot if accelerator used. There's no check engine light on.
I'm lost so would appreciate any help you guys can share.... cheers.
edit: just removed throttle body again and checked IAC operation. It seems to work ok... about 2mm movement??
new to forum. Well set out and very helpful people. Thanks for the opportunity to seek help.
My daughter's '94 VR Calais conked out on her way to work last Friday. There were no symptoms leading up to it, it just died. She tried starting it but although it fired, it wouldn't idle. It's exactly as if it's run out of fuel. Tilt tray home where she got RACQ to have a look. According to RACQ guy the vacuum was ok but he couldn't pull any codes as he couldn't get a connection between scanner and ecu(??).
So, dad gets to play with it
On reading this forum I've cleaned throttle body and IAC (managed to break gasket so a new one made... and then broke one of the IAC screws. Drilled and tapped a new thread, so all good again.)
It idled better after that but still dies particularly if any accelerator is used. (It will rev and hold revs, eg 2000rpm, if accelerator is "feathered" to get it past flat spot, but will eventually die if throttle is released.
Further reading and I used the paper clip trick for self-diagnosis.
At first, code "12". Then code "13"
I reset ecu and then code "12" only.
During one of it's better idling performances (30 seconds) I thought I'd put it in gear but when I put my foot on the brake (to save running into the garage door) it immediately cut out. Tried it a couple more times and same thing - immediate drop in rpm with brake application. More reading in here and then tried expelling brake booster before starting and seeing if pedal got firmer after starting. It did, so maybe no joy there?
I tried fault codes again and after a "12" I got a "13" and then 4 continuous blinks as in "4" - definitely no pause after the first blink (to denote a ten). From then it would not reproduce the "12" then "13"... it just kept blinking 4 times.
So, where it's at now is a very erratic idle. If it will idle, it sounds like a very lumpy cam. It varies anywhere between 500 and 1000 rpm. A huge flat spot if accelerator used. There's no check engine light on.
I'm lost so would appreciate any help you guys can share.... cheers.
edit: just removed throttle body again and checked IAC operation. It seems to work ok... about 2mm movement??
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