Oh boy...it's like my car is messing with me!! i FINALLY took the plunge and ordered wheels last night, and this morning my car was acting up!! WTF

I was able to find a couple threads about this, so i kind of have a list of things to check, but i'm not super knowledgeable on how to go about them...

anyway - driving to work this morning, car felt great (cold morning, butt dyno was loving it!). all highway driving...when i get close to work, there are a couple stop signs. i get to the first one and stall. i was like, umm, what?? and stall isn't even the right word, there's no lurching of the car trying to engage, no driver error, it just DIES! so i started her back up and took off. next stop sign...same thing!

so then i really start paying attn b/c i realize it's not ME, i'm not "stalling," the car is just dying sub-1k rpms. so i pull in and i have to go over a dip, so i'm going slowly, shifter in 2nd gear but clutch in as i slow down, i'm watching the tach...gets to 800-1k and BAM, just drops off and dies. no lurching, no flicking up and down, just dies.

so basically from there i realized that even at a stop, i had to keep my foot on the gas to keep the car at 2k or so. the car felt great, no cel, no power loss whlie driving on the highway, just a complete death under 1k.

so based on a few other threads i found, i've got a short list...but can anyone help me figure this out please?? i really don't want to take it to the shop unless i have to!

oh - about 62k miles; 2nd engine, only about 14-15k on this engine. oe cat, replaced sometime around 20k i think. nothing aftermarket except revi intake, had that on a couple thousand miles w/o issue.

the usual suspects (probably not the cause since it runs great >1k rpms):
-sparks
-coils
-cat

other things:
-clogged MAF?
-throttle body?
-SSV valve? (whatever that is)
-something related to clutch where it's not sensing "neutral" properly?
-battery and/or alternator?

 

reliving what happend this morning...what strikes me most is how "smoothly" the car shut down. no lurching (like a stall), no shaking like i left it in gear, no shuddering or anything.

like, i didn't notice the car was off until i wasn't driving off from the stop sign. what would cause such a smooth shut down?? i still had battery power b/c radio was on, but could it be the alternator?

 

What you describe is word-for-word what happened to me earlier this month. I was also suspecting sparks/coils/plugs. But then i remembered my battery was on its last breaths and finally got around to replacing it. Pick up a Red-top, installed it, drove around for the day to reset the ECU. I haven't had a problem since.

 

oh snap, really??? that would be AWESOME if it's just the battery. i'm obviously out of warranty so i'll have to pick one up today.

is it weird that i had battery power (i.e. radio) though? and isn't it weird that i can run it at highway speeds but not idle?? i guess not - i guess revving helps it generate power, but as soon as i take away the revving it just dies...?

can we get our batteries at any auto store? never had to buy one for the 8...

 

yeah you can get it at autozone

 

thanks dozer. do you know of anyone else that has dealt w/ this? i really hope it's just the battery.

worth upgrading or just get oem replacement?

 

I'm not saying that the battery fixed it, but it just hasn't happened since. I was hoping someone here might explain the connection though, if that is the case.

 

^^ ha ha oh, damn. well maybe some other people will still chime in then...

it's kinda scary when turning left...KNOCK ON WOOD

 

is the optima red top battery worth the extra $$? it's like 75 more than duralast, with a much shorter warranty.

 

if you do have Autozone around you, I "strongly" suggest you get their Duralast battery instead for 2 reasons

- Duralast cost like 80-90 bux, 3 yr free replacement warranty. and like 84 months prorate after. (Assume that Autozone wont go out of business in the next couple of years lol!)

- Buying Optima at Autozone means rip off, They're selling YEllow top for like 210 bux and Red top for 170 something ? You can get the same battery almost ANYWHERE online with shipping for at least 30 bux less.

By the way, you need a GROUP/size 35 battery. do NOT get those 75/35 or whatever dual size battery, the terminals are reverse. pain in the ***.

 

My stupid moment: the reason I held off so long on picking up the red-top was that I knew I needed a 35R with reverse posts, which was hard to find here in stores. I actually ignored the 35 red tops in Walmart every time I was there because they didn't say specifically they 35R. Then I actually looked at them once; guess what, posts were in the right orientation, go figure. So I bought it after facepalming.

 

ah, ok thanks nyc. i didn't really want to pay 170 plus for a battery!

i have GREAT NEWS though...i found the problem and it costs exactly $0 to fix

i was about to just go buy a new battery in my gf's car, but i gawked at the price, so i figured i'd just start her up at lunch and look under the hood (didn't have time in the a.m. when it happened).

well guess what...the intake tube of the revi, that part that has the accordian tube that connects to the intake box, came loose and was not connected anymore! so i guess at some/full throttle, it could still pull in plenty of air, but as soon as i slowed to a stop, it wasn't getting any air flow and it just shut off. ha ha, wow, am i relieved to not have to diagnose or spend money!!

so anyway, hooked that pipe back up and drove it around the block...all good for now!

thanks for everyone's help.

 

Wee... another bad install.

 

^ umm, right, or the clamp just came loose. it's been on for months and thousands of miles, it's not like i installed it last night. thanks for chiming in though, very helpful.


anyway - what kind of dog is that? just got a mutt from the shelter that has similar ears and snout, different coloring though.