Spazzaroth Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 So I replaced the ICM and the coil pack in my 89 Reatta. now the car starts up fine and it runs but as soon as I let off the gas it dies. Any suggestions as to what to check? I hooked up the new coil pack exactly like the old one to the ICM and I've double-checked to make sure all the cables are running to the correct spark plugs... Not really sure what else it could be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 Checked tpm. Goes from .5 ro 4.16 with no jumps or issues. If I keep my foot on the gas it runs fine. But as soon as the rpm drop below 1000 it dies. I'm perplexed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 Allright. Well I disconnected the maf. Car runs now. Le-sigh. I wonder if I even need to replace the ICM and coil pack. Was it the maf all along? Survey says? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 Never hurts to have an extra coil pack and ICM. If you don't need it today you will one day. And the best part? You know you have a working one on the shelf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhuppertz Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 Good to have spares, especially when the failure rate of the replacements seems to be high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 I put on the new MAF and the car still died. Put back on the old coil pack and ICM and it'll idle now without dying but it misfires at higher RPMs. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Have you cleaned the Idle Air Controller (IAC)? If your old ICM & coils you have on now are misfiring I would put the other one back on. I don't think the ICM would prevent the engine from idling correctly if it is otherwise running good. Is the MAF brand new or just another used one? If it is used you might want to try another one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 It's a brand new maf. I just took apart the throttle body and cleaned it very thoroughly including the IAC. I figured out why it was misfiring it was because I hadn't a fix the old IAC down and it was shorting out. Here is a short video of me starting the car and what happens. This is with me not doing anything but cranking the car. No throttle or anything. https://photos.app.goo.gl/1FaNsMPyhphP9eqc8. This is exactly what it was doing with the new IAC and coil pack on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 (edited) Here's a longer video of the car not dieing literally 10 seconds before. Just after I stopped filming I turned my headlights on and the car immediatly died. https://photos.app.goo.gl/BnT9x16qsDANomnW8 Edited April 12, 2019 by Spazzaroth (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booreatta Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Try replacing your battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 Alternator and battery are brand new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 New Alternator, battery, maf, new icm new coil pack, new cam sensor and magnet, new water pump, 4 new tires, new headlights. I'm about to drive this thing into the bayou and forget about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 It is hard to say just from listening to the video but I hear a lot of mechanical noises coming from the engine. I would suspect a bad timing chain and/or tensioner from what I'm hearing. Is this a high mileage engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 +1 on the IAC. This is not the MAF or TPS. Dirty/failed IAC can do exactly that no idle but runs fine otherwise. Please read my write up linked by Ronnie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 I agree with Ronnie that the engine is pretty noisy which of course is a little difficult to narrow down without being able to probe. They can rattle as rpms drop while in the act of quitting but it almost sounds like it is from the valve cover area, like a loose rocker(s), collapsed lifter or something like that, but that shouldn't prevent idling . The rolling idle sounds like IAC, vacuum leak or maybe EGR leakage. If it has a new cam sensor magnet, was that done using the external method or did it get a timing chain set as well? It wasn't mentioned, so guessing it was an external repair. Did this ever run well or has this always been an ongoing problem? Would like to see what the warm idle timing is, what the MAF is reading, and maybe IAC steps reading. Interesting that it apparently changed how it runs when the ICM/coil pack was changed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 (edited) The cam magnet included a new timing chain etc with the water pump. It's the only work I didn't do to the car myself. Should I try and replace the iac? I have cleaned it pretty thoroughly. Could be a vacuum leak. The odd thing is that most of these problems all really started when I replaced the alternator and battery. It seemed like all the electrical components started failing. I'm going to put the new icm back on tomorrow. And see if I can get anywhere with it. How ould I go about diagnosing a vacuum leak? Also most of those noises on the engine started after I unsuccessfully replaced the IAC. It is over 200,000 mile engine. So yeah, real high mileage. I also noticed that the iac did not have an oring on It when I pulled it out. Could this be a problem? Edited April 12, 2019 by Spazzaroth (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 (edited) If memory serves me a gasket is needed for the IAC, but it's not an o ring [fiber washer?]. Also what is over looked is cleaning inside the cavity where the IAC goes. I picked up a Reatta last fall that is also a high mileage car. It had a lot of the symptoms you described. The previous owner had just bought a new IAC to install and all I did was clean the original IAC and the IAC housing. Ran great after that. Edited April 12, 2019 by DAVES89 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 8 hours ago, Spazzaroth said: The odd thing is that most of these problems all really started when I replaced the alternator and battery. Remove the belt that drives the alternator and see if the engine runs better. There is a slight possibility that you got a bad alternator that could be causing the problems electrically and maybe even the mechanical sounds we are hearing in the video. Just because it is new doesn't mean it is good. If you hold your foot on the gas and the engine runs fine as long as you hold the RPM above 1200 the idling problem is most likely to be the IAC.... possibly a vacuum leak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 (edited) Woke up this morning and it ran like this. https://photos.app.goo.gl/hSCZQyKSeYhQubbJ9. Once it warmed up it started dieing again. Going to go get a new IAC and see if that does anything. Also going to sterilize the inside of the iac chamber. Edited April 12, 2019 by Spazzaroth (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 I use a tooth brush and carb cleaner for the IAC and IAC chamber/. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Don't turn the part (pintle) that goes in the hole in an attempt to adjust it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 (edited) Well this is exciting. So I put the new coil pack back on and the new i c m. So now it's got a new MAF new IAC and a new ICM. Now the idle won't drop below 2000... And if I put the car into gear it dies immediately. Also now if the rpm dips below 1500 at all the car dies. Edited April 12, 2019 by Spazzaroth (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 (edited) I was able to drive it around the block with the old ICM but it would misfire under load. So I guess by trying to fix a perceived problem of the car dieing when it was warm now it won't drive at all. Edited April 12, 2019 by Spazzaroth (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 The video clip sounded better although there are a couple of little sound glitches that may just be the recording? I would disconnect the battery for a few minutes and reconnect to start the ECM over from scratch. There have been multiple parts changed, some of which the ECM needs to relearn their new readings/responses. Give it a chance to adjust and get some readings of timing, MAF, IAC and TPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 Well I disconnected the battery. Gonna go on a trip for the weekend. I'll hand it off to a mechanic friend if mine next week and see if he can do anything with it. Looks like I'll be carpooling to work for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Sorry we couldn't figure it out. Let us know what the mechanic finds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted May 5, 2019 Author Share Posted May 5, 2019 Just update y'all. I had my mechanic look at it, he said I got a bad ICM out of the box. So I replaced it with a new one and it changed nothing. See y'all in another week or two I'll let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikemikey Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 You might check for a cracked PVC hose. If that hose has never been changed with that many miles, it probably is bad anyway. It won't hurt to change out the hose and PVC valve if it had not been changed in a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted May 18, 2019 Author Share Posted May 18, 2019 Another update, since I have new camshaft sensors the only other option is to replace the ECM which I'm going to do tomorrow. Does anybody have any advice for the replacement? Do I need to worry about the prom at all? I have no idea what that is but I see it mentioned a couple times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted May 19, 2019 Share Posted May 19, 2019 On 5/17/2019 at 8:04 PM, Spazzaroth said: Another update, since I have new camshaft sensors the only other option is to replace the ECM which I'm going to do tomorrow. Does anybody have any advice for the replacement? Do I need to worry about the prom at all? I have no idea what that is but I see it mentioned a couple times. I saw and commented on another post on this subject, but the PROM must be transferred from the original ECM to any replacement. The Prom is blue and approx. 3/4" x 4.5" long, located under the removable cover on top of the ECM. Without a Prom, it won't run and the wrong one may do unpredictable things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 I don't see a mention of the crankshaft position sensor being replaced. Has it been replaced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now