ok i have a 1990 loyale factory ea82, 3at.... whats happening is when im driving, and i have to push down on the accelerator to either pass someone or going up a hill it will cut out as if it isnt getting enough fuel. first i figured maybe its the fuel filter but the check engine light come on so now im puzzled and haven't messed with it yet or drove it since the C/E light came on. any help, thanks in advance.

Edited June 25, 201213 yr by 1990loyale

is this after the car is warmer up good? if it is my dad had a problem like that with his geo metro where it would get wormed up and the engine will cut off so he thought it was a fuel problem so he replaced the fuel filters and fuel pump cost over $250 for the parts and he put them on:banghead:and the problem was still there so my dad asked this very smart old man in boring oregon who works on geo metro's as a business what could be wrong with it and he said replace the spark plugs and it fixed the problem so try replaceing them first then the spark plug wires:cool:

hmm. never thought of that. but yes it doing it once it warms up... i thought it may be the fuel filter cause this car still has the ORIGINAL one on it, still says SUBARU on it. lol... but i did let the car set for a year and half with a full tank of fuel cause the tranny locked up the day after i filled the tank cause a bearing in the differential broke. i replaced the tranny about 2 months ago and been driving it daily since and it ran perfect as it did before it ever broke down until this issue.

the spark plugs got corodid and one had a the electrode brake off so it would not fire right after it got good and warmed up, my dad put new spark plugs in it and it runs good now:)

Well, ill pull each of mine out and check them. Thanks for the tip.

ok i pulled out all the plugs, yes there white from apparent running lean. but i still dont know what could be wrong. it did it today after i first started the car and drove off, so its not just doing it when it warms up. i also noticed RPM's drop down when it does it... please help, any more details needed ask me. thanks.

First do a tune up. Fuel filter,Plugs,wires,Distributer cap and rotor plus air cleaner element and pcv valve. Search this site on how to pull codes. Also may be the catalytic converter getting clogged.

I don't know what time of cel there is in there, but most local auto parts places can read them for you. some types have a method to get it to blink and tell you whats wrong with it. the car is telling you what is wrong with it, just find out what it is saying and start there.

 

some free things to check is whether you have any air getting into the system after the MAF (assuming fuel injection in the 90). even the hose from the air cleaner should be sealed up.

o2 sensor? on catalytic converter... on the older cars they don't kick in till the engine warms up....

do a code check, do a "search" in task bar above on "Engine codes" and how to read them. Your looking for a flashing red light, probably just under panel under steering column on computer... it will flash codes to tell issues when test wires are connected.

Edited June 26, 201213 yr by Indrid cold

Sounds like a dying fuel pump to me, but what do I know.

 

You can easily read the code by looking at the ecu led and counting the short/long blinks. Pulling the code would help troubleshoot it further without just taking stabs in the dark.

try check OHM on fuel injector into crab?

12.8-14.5 OHM.

also check o2 sensor or fuel pump but maybe they're right.

Edited June 26, 201213 yr by Suba_GL_87

Thanks for all the info. But I drove it yesterday from my parents house back to my house to get it in the garage, but I noticed its doing it when I first start the car and drive off and not just when it warms up. But im gonna get the code and go from there.

Maf sensor? Unplug it and see if the problem goes away. When you unplug it it will go into a default mode.

 

The only other thing is temp sensor which is on the thermostat housing if you have a multimeter check the resistance cold then warm it up and see if it changes.

 

Check your cap and rotor. If the center button in the cap is stuck it will ark and you'll get weird problems like that.

 

 

......your green check connectors are unhooked right?

Does it have any idling issues? Low idle maybe?

I had a gummed up IACV on my GL causing it to fall flat on it's face at WOT. No matter when I went WOT, it would completely stall and die.

I have no idea what the IACV has to do with WOT, but cleaning it out made the problem better.

Maf sensor? Unplug it and see if the problem goes away. When you unplug it it will go into a default mode.

 

The only other thing is temp sensor which is on the thermostat housing if you have a multimeter check the resistance cold then warm it up and see if it changes.

 

Check your cap and rotor. If the center button in the cap is stuck it will ark and you'll get weird problems like that.

 

 

......your green check connectors are unhooked right?

 

Ill try that. And yes there unhooked... as for idling, it idles perfect like nothing is wrong. Just cuts out when you push down on it when driving.

Keep it simple and don't go looking for lions when there is a cat in the room. It really sounds like a fuel delivery problem and since you had the car siting for a year you probably got gum in the filter. Start there and replace the filter. If that doesn't fix the problem, then do a pressure test on the fuel system to check the quality of the pump, but I am willing to bet that the problem is in the filter. Aslo run some fuel injector cleaner thru the system to make sure the injector is working properly. I like the lucas stuff or seafoam.

 

Another thing that happens is rust in the tank clogging the pickup and you can easily pull the inspection cover and look in the tank for debris. I doubt that is the problem, but it is another check you can do before throwing alot of other stuff into the mix.

 

Good luck

Keep it simple and don't go looking for lions when there is a cat in the room. It really sounds like a fuel delivery problem and since you had the car siting for a year you probably got gum in the filter. Start there and replace the filter. If that doesn't fix the problem, then do a pressure test on the fuel system to check the quality of the pump, but I am willing to bet that the problem is in the filter. Aslo run some fuel injector cleaner thru the system to make sure the injector is working properly. I like the lucas stuff or seafoam.

 

Another thing that happens is rust in the tank clogging the pickup and you can easily pull the inspection cover and look in the tank for debris. I doubt that is the problem, but it is another check you can do before throwing alot of other stuff into the mix.

 

Good luck

 

Thanks for your info. I also still lean on the fuel filter but doesn't hurt to try this gs to narrow it down. I have used f/I cleaners when I got the car back on the road with every fill up so far, and when the car was setting for the year it had a full tank of gas in it cause it broke down the day after I filled the tank, so I wouldn't imagine rust being in there but stranger things have happened.

So I figured it out, I checked the codes and its showing 3 long flashes and 3 short which is the "coolant temp. Sensor" may also explain why the temp goes up half way then drops back to normal when I know its not an air pocket.

So I figured it out, I checked the codes and its showing 3 long flashes and 3 short which is the "coolant temp. Sensor" may also explain why the temp goes up half way then drops back to normal when I know its not an air pocket.

 

The temp going up and down is still probably a bad thing. There are actually three temp sensors on that car. One in the radiator to tell the fans when to come on, and two by the thermostat. The one with one wire is for the gauge, the one with two wires is for the computer. That's the one that's upsetting the computer and throwing code 33.

The temp going up and down is still probably a bad thing. There are actually three temp sensors on that car. One in the radiator to tell the fans when to come on, and two by the thermostat. The one with one wire is for the gauge, the one with two wires is for the computer. That's the one that's upsetting the computer and throwing code 33.

 

Yeah, thats the one connected to the thermostat housing. Its $97 at auto zone and $70 on that rock auto site. Whytf is it so expensive? Lol

Pick n pull is your friend with troubleshooting gremlins, especially expensive gremlins. You can find spares to test things and there is a 30 day warranty so you can always take something back for credit or exchange.

I may have one on one of my spare intakes. Do you want me to look?

I may have one on one of my spare intakes. Do you want me to look?

 

its the sensor connected to the thermostat housing, if you dont mind to look and if you have one let me know and we can work something out like a payment or whatever. thanks.

I'll grab one this evening for you.

I'll grab one this evening for you.

 

thank you very much, PM me when you get it and we will go from there.