wagonryan Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 So I went wheeling the other day in my 2000 OBS, went through a big puddle and my car nearly stalled as I exited it. I caught it right before it died and gave it a lot of gas. It then started running really weird. The idle would jump from 1k to 1.5k over and over again. I limped it home and started looking at things. I initially thought I got water in the intake but after tearing apart my intake and taking out the spark plugs I could not find any signs of water. even so, I took off the ignition coil and other sensors on the intake manifold and dried them out with a space heater. after doing that the car started up fine so I let it idle for 5 minutes and the sporadic idle would start again and not go away. when i'm actually driving the car, it sputters around 2.5k and won't let me go above 4k like at all.. sound familiar? Today I had my buddy hook up his phone to my car and he found those two codes. he cleared them and we restarted my car and the the p1507 came back as soon as the idle started doing the weird thing. he said that usually cars idle rough when the o2 sensor isn't reading correctly, which would be p1133 (the air/fuel sensor). what do you guys think would be the culprit? as it is, I have to call into work tomorrow because I can't get there and have limited funds to buy a new part that doesn't fix the problem. I'm going to clean the IACV tomorrow and see if that fixes it. if not I think I'll replace it as it might be the bigger issue out of the two. any thoughts on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 The 1507 usually has to do with the idle air control valve. On that car I believe its above the front of the throttle body and has a shiny electrical motor on the end of it sitting horizontally. The 1133 is likely due to a failing O2 sensor. Its probably shorted from the puddle. When you have both of these codes-sometimes the neutral switch on the trans is failing. Try unplugging it and driving it with it unplugged. If it drives better that is likely your problem and its under $25 at the dealer. Its also wise to get some shop/compressed air and blow out the electrical connectors on the back of the right side of the engine. 3 big ones on the edge of the bellhousing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonryan Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 I unplugged what I think is the neutral switch and the car wouldn't even turn over. I did some reading and thought it was the the one with the green and brown wires attached to the clutch pedal. I reattached it and it started right up. Did I unplug the wrong thing? I'm cleaning the TB right now and IACV. They were both VERY dirty so hopefully a good cleaning will change something. One thing I noticed is that the gasket is broken. I'll go to the dealership and buy a replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 The switch is on the transmission not on the pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonryan Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 ohhh I thought I read somewhere that the other end connects to the clutch pedal. i'll have to take another look. one question first though, I understand that the neutral switch might be throwing those codes, but would it affect how the car runs? I cleaned the Iacv and that helped a little so now i'm addressing the a/f sensor. the dealership fudged up on my order, giving me a rear o2 sensor instead of the front one like I specified. I realized this after taking off the front one and seeing that one had a male connector and the other a female.. anyways I ran the car without the front o2 sensor and it acted the same during idle, but worse. it sounded choppier and was more constant than after the iacv cleaning. does that mean the front o2 is working, but not perfectly? perhaps a cleaning might help? I have till tuesday to figure out if it's not actually the o2. would be nice since they want $230 for it instead of the $170 I paid. pucking fuddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 I had something like that with my 99 Subaru. Its a manual and I thought that was the only year that the neutral switch caused that. But yes that switch will make it run rough. I believe it engages the ECU's "Limp Mode" which causes rough idling. In my case my car would just die when I put the clutch down. I didnt want to believe the message boards for the switch since it seemed way off. We swapped the idle sensor and cleaned that area along with the ECU and it still was there. Swapped the switch and the problem went away. Grrrrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonryan Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 I think that switch is my next step in the diagnostic/part swapping process. so far i've directly addressed the two codes; I cleaned the IACV and throttlebody, replaced the A/F sensor and the surging still persists. I took apart my ECU and everything appeared to be clean and dry except the outside casing.. there was a little bit of mud splashed on the case indicating moisture. So the next step is the neutral switch and if that doesn't do it i'll swap my ecu with a junkyard one. from there if I can't fix it I feel like i'll have to take it to the dealership because I can't spend time and money guessing as it's my only car $$$$$$$$$$$ anyways thanks for the input and i'll let you know how it goes. -Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Can probably just dry out the ECM if that did happen. Pretty tough sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Well I have an extra ECU if you think you need to swap that out. PM me if you need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 With the ECU being dirty are you guys saying it is mounted in the engine compartment and not inside the passenger compartment? As far as the neutral or shifter switch causing the trouble, I think you are on the right track by cleaning it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonryan Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 oh yeah it's mounted in the cabin on the passenger side under the carpet. i'm definitely going to relocate it up higher where the glovebox is supposed to be. I took it out ages ago and it seems like a smart thing to do since I gravitate toward bodies of water. like I said it was a pretty big puddle lol a little bit of water came inside so it very well could be the ecu, but i'm gonna try the cheaper part first. on my way to the dealer now to buy one! weeeeeeeee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonryan Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Hey so problem solved. in case this happens to anybody else, I replaced the A/F sensor and the neutral switch. MAKE SURE YOU RESET THE ECU I installed the new parts and nothing changed. was about to drop my car off at the dealer so they could rob me and it popped into my head. reset it and poof has been running great. idles a little low ~500 but better than surging. doesn't ever die or anything so whatever codes are gone, but i have a different one now for a cat.. meh im not too worried about it. thanks for all your help and hopefully this helps someone else Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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