My engine always does this first thing in the morning on a cold day. I start it up, it dies before itr even gets to 800rpm. I have Mobil1 0w30 synthetic in there. I bought the truck about 1500miles ago, so changing the oil is all the maintenance i have gotten to. Do you think a new fuel filter could solve the problem? Any other ideas?

Thanks a lot for your time and help!

- Rick -

 

Remove the IAC and clean it. If it still dies let us know. Here is the senario. On warm days the PCM sets the IAC accordingly. All summer and fall the truck starts fine. When the temp goes down the IAC needs to be at a different setting. Well all summer and fall the IAC was busy getting gummed up. Now that the setting needs to be changed the crud is blocking it from setting properly and the engine dies.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

One problem, i dont know where to find the IAC (this stands for idle air control right?). Also, how do i clean it out? I heard somebody say just use a solvent so would WD40 work??

Ive also heard somebody say the TPS is bad in our engines too...

BTW, what do TPS and PCM stand for?

- Rick -

 

Where I work the IAC are alway going around 50K sometimes sooner and later. There always gummed up, for the $30 it worth just replacing it. Most times when you taking it outm clean it and replacing you end up screwing it up. Since you took the time to take it out put in a new one.

Just an Idea...

 

Hmmm, thats very interesting, at only 50K miles!

So where is the IAC? And how do i properly remove it an install a new one? And lastly, will i need to disconnect my battery inorder for the new one to work its best?

Thanks again for your continuing support!

- Rick -

 

Well i just got back inside from testing this engine again. Heres what it did:

Started it up, let the key back to on at about 600 RPM
It immediately dropped to 200RPM(could not even hear the engine turning)
After that, it moved its way up to 600-800RPM, a rough idle.
A couple seconds later, it acted like it was fine, shot up to 1500rpm like it was just started when its warm outside and went back to the normal 900 RPM.

I am going to use my digital video camera tomorrow morning to show what happens when i try to start it up. Ill have the tachometer in the picture, and u should be able to hear the engine. Any good websites where i could post a video???

- Rick -

 

changing your fuel filiter is a good idea anyway.
Could it be your trucks not gettin fuel???

 

That was my first thought too, if fuel was in there when i turned my engine off, and it freezed. Well i filled up my tank tonight, it took 19gallons, and i put in some stuff that absorbs the water, and is like antifreeze for the gas. I will see how this does in the morning.

So what this might fix is frozen gasoline that frees up when i first try to crank it over. It dies, and the second time, the gasoline is freed up, and i am able to start.... This stuff has methanol in it, so maybe this will give me a little performance...hahaha.

I still need to know of a good site to post video clips, so i can show you whats up with my engine in the mornin.

- Rick -

 

Both of mine have done the exact same thing. In fact, this morning, being -6 F, it died all together at startup after stumbling along at 200 RPMs, so I fired it up again and had to gas it to get her to hold 1500 until she would hold her own. I was pissed as I stood at the door and watched everyone else's car (Chevy Lumina, and Dodge Ram) fire right up as normal.

-AR

 

The Iac is just behind the throttle body.
Here is a pic of what it looks like. Throttle body cleaner works fine.

Regards

JMC

 

clee1052

Do you know where we can get these things for $30? My dealer wants 80 for the part alone, no labor. For 80 I'm going to try to clean it.

 

Well this morning i try to start it up, goes to 300 and instantly dies. Did that about 3 times. Then it started clicking really loud, and would not turn the engine over. I took my moms car to work, but when i got back, i tried it again. Same clicking! So i decided that i would hook my jump box up to the battery. It started, but would not stay running unless i gave it gas. It would dies as soon as i would let off. After holding it at 4500rpm for about 10 seconds, it slowly started to hold idle at 1100rpm. Therefore, my guess is that my battery is bad, or at least not up to par with the extreme cold temperatures.

- Rick -

OK, just got back from cleaning the IAC. I used the rest of my can of WD40, then after that, i used about 30 Qtips dipped in alcohol to clean the rest. Dang was it black in there!!! I installed it back on the throttle body, and it fired right up, but i dont know if that was because it had been started a few minutes earlier. I still think i will get a new battery because it might be the original... And when i bought the truck, the terminals had corrosion all over them.

- Rick -

 

Rick,

Check for corrosion on the terminals at the starter. They are a known problem.

JMC

 

Ill be sure to check those as soon as i can get my truck into the valvoline i work at. However, i put in a new battery tonight, a Champion 1000 crank amps 850 cold crank amps. It fires the engine up real quick compared to the stock battery!

The only problem i know of now is that my remote for my CD changer is not working. Its an Extreme Sound cd changer, so i dont know if its stock or not. And its NOT a wireless remote. The backlit display illuminates, and it turns on and off, but it does not play the CDs, the bottons dont do anything...

- Rick -

 

Rick,

How is it doing on cold start?