hello all, new here. k i got a 1992 protege with the 1.8 SOHC. manual. got about 156000 miles. i just got this car from my brother in law. the problem i am havin is when i step on the throttle it'll chug a little bit, and once in a while when i push in the clutch to come to a stop it'll all but die. plus it just failed emissions on the HC's at idle. i've replaced the plugs, wires, cap and rotor. and no change. then yesterday i did a compression test and after i got the plugs back in and tried to start it, it would start, and run for about 10 to 15 seconds then die, no matter what i did with the throttle. today it started running again, what the heck is its problem?

 

Check the boot that goes from the aircleaner to the throttlebody for cracks/leaks and clean the throttlebody with carb spray. Reset the base idle and add a bottle of Techron or seafoam to the gas tank. Replace the fuel filter if you have'nt already.

 

i replaced the fuel filter. how do you reset the base idle?

 

There is a screw in the throttlebody. Not the one with a nut on it or threads showing.

 

i'll go see

 

there it is. does that adjust the idle? what should the idle speed be?

today the idle started being all weird. it would idle just fine the drop all of a sudden.

i'm not new to working on vehicles, just know nothig about these fuel injected critters.

 

The idle spec should be on the hood. That screw adjusts the base idle only. The ECU and BAC valve control tyhe idle under load. Electrical/p/s/a/c etc. Be sure the throttlebody is clean. That screw can be removed to clean the port out. Base idle is set by jumping grd and ten in the diagnostic connector box. This bypasses the ecu control of the idle. Set it at 800 rpm or so. An easy way to check a sticking BAC valve is with the a/c on and the idle is obviously not being kicked up tap the BAC valve with a hammer lightly. If the idle comes up to normal the BAC is sticking.

 

not to sound dumb, but what and where is the BAC valve?

 

i put another airflow meter on from the junk yard, seems much better. we'll see bout when i take it to get emissions done on monday. thanks for the help