Jmoney740

Ok so about 3 months ago my car started having this problem where it randomly started and then would bog down and die. the only way i could get the car to stay on after i started it was to rev it up to about 3000 rpms and throw it into reverse or drive and start going, once i started moving it stopped. the weirdest part is that it only does it every now and then. id say it only does it about 15% of the time i start my car. i took it to the dealership and they couldnt figure it out. it also seems like my car is misfiring so i might need to fuel injectors im not sure. anyways i cleaned out my throttle body and now when it does it it doesnt die, it just sits at about 150 or 200 rpms and idles very roughly. anyone kno what its from. im also having this problem where my car shakes between 20-50 mph while i accelerate, i dont think its my drive shafts cuz i replaced those cuz like everyone else my cv's broke. my main suspect is the torque converter but not 100% sure.

AznX TL

2.x or 3.0?

Jmoney740

its the 3.0

nsider2

I'll have to bump this for I have the same problem with my 98 3.0cl. Happened tonight actually. Usually only happens after I have been driving it a while. Tonight I had the windows opened, and while revving it to keep it from dying, I noticed a really foul exhaust smell that was unfamiliar to me. Might have something to do with it.

AznX TL

are you guys having any check engine lights?
i'd recommend a tune up for both of you if you havent done one in awhile.
jmoney- i recommend you turn up your idle a little bit with the throttle cable, just take a wrench and turn it to about 500rpm for a warm idle.

nsider- im thinking your problem lies in the exhaust system, either catalytic converter or o2 sensors. i would go to a trusty garage or acura dealership for diagnostics.

Jmoney740

ya nsider mine does the exact same thing if i have been riding my car hard on the freeway for a while thats when it normally does it. i have also noticed if i smash the gas i get a weird exhaust smell, i jut got my car smogged and it passed and it says all my sensors are operating fine. but anyways i yes i do have a check engine light just come on, right after i passed smog, thank god. when i checked the codes it says its the torque converter and the 2nd gear set. so i have no idea. and ya speaking of tune ups i jut got one and had acura completely destroy my front bumper, i have my car lowered with tein coilovers and an extreme dimensions body kit on my car and when i took it to them to do the 125k mile tune up they ran my car into the lift! completely shattered my body kit and wrinkled my whole driver side fender. =(

Jmoney740

and sorry for the poor english it 3 in the morning and im tired =P

AznX TL

do you remember the actual code?

Jmoney740

no i cleared it out cuz its a new ecu/ecm. i wanted to see if i would get the same type of codes again, i should only have a few days left till the ecu resets.

nsider2

Thanks for the info man. Yeah mine does it after driving a while. No no check engine lights anymore... I had one for the EGR valve, but I had it replaced and the light recently went off. So I know it's not that... yeah mine idles pretty low sometimes. Is 500rpm a good spot to idle at? Cause most of the time it's idling really low, like 250, and sometimes on cold day like today, it idled at like 1200 right on start up... but thats pretty rare for it, and it usually goes down to 250 or so after running a while. But it might be the exhaust, because I got down and looked and the entire exhaust is rusted, with a big hole through the outer part of the muffler heh. That'll be my next replacement I guess... along with timing belt and all that good stuff.

Jmoney740

let me know if the timing belt fixes the problem cuz i have heard that that might be out problem. but i dont have the monehy to fix it at the moment.

swiftt5389

i just made a thread about this! lol. mine does the same exact thing lol

C4PT41N_73TH47

i also sometimes have the start up then dying problem, Or the start up and revving at about 100 rpms, resulting in violently rumbing the whole car. My idle changes with temp as well- my car has higher rpms, usually in the 1500 range in freezing temperature, while really low rpms, usually in the 500 range when its hot outside or when i've been driving for a while then start the car up again. i just had my timing belt and water pump replaces a couple months ago and i've never had the check engine lights on since i've had the car. I've checked the alternator and even bought a brand new battery, but it still does this. hope we can figure a solution for this

Jmoney740

i agree c4act41n i did not realize that so many other people had this problem i just thought i had horrible luck and had a retarted car lol. ya i just replaced my ecu and since then i have had no check engine light but it still does thte same thing. it did it like 3 or 4 times today. only this time it didnt die it did the same thing as c4pt4in where it would idle at about 100 rpms then just rumble the crap out of my car. im dying to kno what the problem is but im glad to kno its not the timing belt one less thing it could be......

AznX TL

well i had a similar problem but mine was a 2.2, it was my spark plug igniter.

swiftt5389

hmm. could that be it. Mine just bogged down today like no other. Did it 3 times and if i hadnt revved it, itd done it again and again. Wierd i tell ya

C4PT41N_73TH47

yeah, i thought the same thing when it first happened to me. i did a search for it a while back but didn't find much so i just ignored it. glad i found this thread and my car is not the only one doing this

AznX TL

well since im throwing this out, i might as well tell you my symptoms.
i would start the car it would be fine most of the time, but as soon as i threw it in D or R it would die if i didnt rev it or neutral bomb it. but that wasnt until it got really bad. it would also stall out when i stopped at a stop sign or traffic light, sometimes for 5 mins before it would restart. but when it got worse it would just randomly stall out even if i just started the car.
but i took it to the acura dealership, they replaced my tps first but that didnt fix it, so they replaced the spark plug ignitor, and my spark plug coil, and the distributor cap and that fixed it for good.

Jmoney740

today i tried to take my car to a different acura dealership and i tried to explain what was going on and they had no idea what it was and of course the whole time they had my car it never did it, so all i got back from them was that they could not duplicate the problem so there must not be anything wrong...........i love the useless dealerships. Maybe ill try replacing the spark plugs and spark plug igniter. that shouldnt be too expensive.

RugDoctor42

Did replacing the plugs and igniter solve the problem?

swiftt5389

i just got my alternator replaced and I have not had the problem since, maybe that could be a cure?

Sleep_DEPRIVED_Sleeper

For those that has the low idle/ stalling problem, you guys can temporarily fix it by tightening the throttle cable a little bit. I don't remember if it's the left or the right cable, one of them is for the cruise control and the other connects directly to the gas pedal, it's best to adjust both at the same time. The factory recommended idle RPM is between 700 to 900 RPM. I got the numbers from the shop manual for the 3.0

An ignition overhaul can be all you need to fix the symptoms. Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, distributor, and alternator... all these are wear items and if you haven't changed them, then it's probably time.

Also, the stalling symptom is the precursor to your transmission crapping, so start saving or making plans for repair/ replacement of your car.