idle problems (spuddering)

[brainwashed]

Check your spark plugs/coilpacks. It seems that yours is misfiring bad. It happened to me when coolant filled the spark plug hole grounding the spark.

hmmm... how do i do that? haha. i've never dealt with these kinds of spark plugs before.

[brainwashed]

fixed!
thanks to a very very awesome poster on this forum who sent me a code reader to borrow! i was able to fix my baby without taking it somewhere.

the first thing i tried was replacing the fuel filter and pcv valve. i get better gas milage now haha . but that didn't fix anything.

for the last 4 years my check engine light has always been on. sometimes it would go off. but 90% of the time it was on. after hooking up the code reader i found two codes. one was telling me that cylinder 4 was misfiring and the other was saying that there was "insufficient flow" to the egr valve.
the first thing i did was replace all the spark plugs to see if that would help anything. still nothing though. then i took the egr valve off and took a toothbrush and some gasoline and scrubbed the crap out of it. then i soaked the inside of it in gas for a half hour and then cleaned it some more with the toothbrush. then i hooked it back up and tried starting it again. poof! one code gone! i was still misfiring though. the only thing i could think of to do was try replacing the coils. so i ordered that from advance auto and i found out that just one was 100 bucks! i do not have 600 bucks to play with at the moment so i ordered just one in hoping that maybe the guy at the counter might screw up. and give me all 6 for 100 bucks. no dice though. put the new one on and poof! no more misfire! car is fixed!

so now that my baby is fixed i took a nice drive down to johnson city yesterday and everything went fine! but one thing dampened my victory. my cd player finally took a crap on me. so now i'm in the market for a new cd player with a mp3 hook up. this is the 5th stereo i've been through. i should also mention that i listen to hardcore/punk and that i like to blast the stereo when i'm cruising. that might have a little to do with why i've been through so many stereos in the last 8 years.

so i'd like to thank anyone who helped me out in anyway with advice and that special poster who will remain nameless for letting me borrow that code reader! you guys saved me so much money!

i love this board!

[BeeVenom]

The hose that seems to go no where is for the front axle. Mine isn't looped but kinda hangs out of the way

[tom4bren]

brainwashed,

Sorry I didn't get to meet up with you when I was in JC earlier this month. We didn't get in till Sat morning & had to leave Sun afternoon.

Next time you're near civilization (no rush though), can you send the reader back. I have an intermittent CEL on my Eclipse that I need to turn off from time to time (about once a month). It's just a low temp indicator (P0128) due to the fact that I'm running without a thermostat but it won't go off on it's own.

Tom

[Grif]

Code readers are great. I like mine. But would never spend the cash that the typical car parts place wants for a decent one. Heck, those places (Autozone, Advanced Auto Parts, O' Rileys) will pull your codes for free if you just ask.

That said, they are not the end-all/be-all for diagnostics. Its amazing how much crap can go wrong with the engine and not even throw a code. I had a erratic idle prob for months and not one code was thrown.

BTW: If your check engine light is not on, you are NOT throwing any active codes. Provided the check engine light and computer are working properly, no active codes are stored if the CE light is off. There can be "pending codes" (intended to store codes that are not deemed serious enough to report unless repeatedly detected) and "historical codes" which is simply a history of codes thrown since the last reset, but those are largely academic, and a decent code reader can pull those up for you as well.

I have a cheapo code reader from ebay I got for 40 bux that sends codes and real-time engine data direct to my android based phone. Its a no-brainer if you already have a droid, and the software is free.

[tom4bren]

Code readers are great. I like mine. But would never spend the cash that the typical car parts place wants for a decent one. Heck, those places (Autozone, Advanced Auto Parts, O' Rileys) will pull your codes for free if you just ask.

Agreed. I got a cheaper model that I keep at work in case I or any of my co-workers need it (used twice the first week I had it). IIRC, it was only $50 at AutoZone.

The parts stores that read the codes for free are fine when needed but since the low temp code on my Eclipse shows up about once a month, it gets to be a pain to stop in that often.

BTW, I do also have a scan guage mounted in the RV (so I can keep an eye on the Alt Voltage (I have the power inverter from hell mounted in it)). Again, it's just easier to have the other unit for the recurring codes.