I have a '96 OBW with 2.2L and 5-speed.

 

This afternoon out of nowhere it was difficult to start, then idled all the way up to 2500 rpm and the check engine light came on.

 

I turned it off, raised the hood and manually operated the valve that connects directly to the throttle cable several times back and forth. It restarted and idled normally, but the check engine light stayed on.

 

I drove it down to Shucks without incident and borrowed their code reader. It said "Idle Air Control System". I am not very experienced with code readers, but I distinctly remember that I did not erase the code.

 

On the way home, the check engine light stayed on. I got home, disconnected the battery for a few minutes, then hooked it back up and restarted.

 

It starts and runs with no check engine light, but now the flashers stay on. Very strange. They stay on whether the key is on or off, whether the engine is running or not. But the flashing is somewhat erratic. I'll do something to get it to stop for a few seconds, like turn the key on and off, shut down and restart the engine, etc, but the flashers start right back up again after a few seconds. When I toggle the hazard switch on, the flasher are brighter, and I can actually hear that there are two separate relays clicking, the one that is supposed to for the hazard alert, and a fainter and slower click for the mystery flasher.

 

Any idea what's going on here?

The flashers are due to an alarm you have activated due to disconnecting the battery cable.

 

I think if you search you will find some comments here about resetting it.

 

For the CEL,

You can try cleaning the idle air valve with carb cleaner. Also good to check for vaccuum leaks.

I got the flashers off with the key fob. I did a quick search before my first post, but didn't see it until a more thorough search later. Sorry!

 

It now starts and runs with no check engine light, but the idle is still slightly erratic. I am a little concerned because I have to get it smogged this month. It's my only driver now. I work LONG days and don't have a ton of time to screw around if it doesn't pass smog.

 

Any ideas other than to clean the idle air control valve, which I will do next?

Any ideas other than to clean the idle air control valve

As already mentioned, vacuum leaks. Did you replace or check the air filter or anything just before this problem started?

these cars can throw IAC codes for a carboned up throttle body..You could try giving the TB a good cleaning...Also obviously as mentioned clean the IAC and take some 2+2 and spray it around the vacuum lines with the vehicle running to check for vacuum leaks...Which IAC code is it? How many miles are on the vehicle?

Thanks for the help everyone. I sprayed carb cleaner around the idle air valve and throttle body. Did not hear any evidence of vacuum leak. I changed the air filter, put everything back togther, and drove it to work last week with no problems, smooth idle, and no CEL.

 

Left work early Thursday afternoon, took it through emissions, and passed with flying colors ! ! !

 

It's got about 115K miles on it. When I first had the issue and the CEL, I don't recall seeing a code number on the scanner, just IDLE AIR CONTROL SYSTEM. After I disconnected and reconnected the battery, there was no more CEL so I never hooked it back up to the scanner again.

 

Thanks again ! ! !