I have a 2001 protege 3 manual. About 6 months ago, I received an engine light, when i checked the code, it said it was running rich. Since then, every so often, the car wont idle right. When stopped at a light, the engine will idle at about 1500 rpms then will drop to around 200 for a second, sputtering and almost dying. NORMALLY it will bounce back back up to its normal idle speed. recently, the idle issue has gotten worse, meaning, it will take longer for the idle to bounce back up or will do what it did today and almost died on me.

If i do not give it some gas and bounce the rpm's back up, the car acts as if it will die.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? Does anyone have any clue as to what this may be? And does anyone know if this idle issue may be related to the running rich.


Thanks for the help guys.

Taylor

 

It sounds as if the idle air control motor is getting stuck. The engines were really bad for having alot of carbon on in the throttle body and egr valves. Pull off the throttle body and clean it out and pull off the IAC motor on the throttle body and clean out the carbon. Another possibility is a vacuum leak check your PCV hose and other vacuum lines for any cracks. Check the intake air hose from air box to throttle body for any cracks.

 

mgprotege5 is right to check the IAC and vacuum lines. What code is CEL? P0171?
my money's on the air in take hose having a crack in one of the ribs close to the block. These don't open until the block torques, since the air box is stationary, the end of the hose connected to block moves with the block. When that hose stretches , the hiden cracks will open sending way more air into the engine than the MAF indicated to the ECM. Good hunting and check hose CAREFULLY.

 

Carbon build up makes sense, im going to pull it all off later today and give it a good cleaning.


I dont remember what code its showed.. The light isnt always on, and the computer reader ive been using doesnt always show a code, only every once in a while. I do know it runs really rich, so an air leak would make sense. But why would the air leak only be noticeable when im at a stop? The engine is pretty stationary, im not revving or torquing the the motor when im at a stop, so if there was a crack, it wouldnt be spreading.

The idea of an air leak makes sense, but why would it only become apparent when im idling?

Ill take a look and see what i can find, ill clean the throttle body as well and see if that helps at all.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

Alright, so I pulled the intake off and checked the throttle body. I opened the butterfly valve and noticed that it would stick a little in the closed position if you let it sit for a while.

Heres what the throttle body looks like now..



you guys were right, lots of build up.. plus, my gasket is old.... Im going to clean up the throttle body and order a new gasket.

I also checked the intake manifold. There were some hair line cracks in between the ribs, but nothing that looked like it was causing an air leak.

I would like to order a whole new air intake system, short ram or something. Do you guys have any suggestions as to what brand is economically smart, and still good for my car?