Hey everyone. New Guy here.... Need help....

I'm at about my wits end with this problem, here'* the run down........

Car cranks fine, drives normal. Run it out about 15 miles and no problems. Eat dinner and drive it back the same way. 1 mile from home, after sitting at a stop light for about a minute, hit the gas to go and the car starts surging. Hold it about half throttle and it will jump to 2000 RPMS and then drop to almost stall then back up. All the way home. Even playing with the throttle didn't help this situation. But if I let the car rest for 5-10 minutes it will be fine for another few miles. And of course if it does stall, it fires back up like it'* no problem. Also..., while it'* having it'* surging fit, you put the car in neutral and give it gas, it will some times respond normally or more often then not it will surge in neutral as well.

So....Here is what I have done to try and fix the problem....

1: Replaced the TPS
2: Replaced the battery (it was bad...had it tested.)
3: Replaced all vacuum hoses
4: Checked all fuses
5: Removed negitive battery terminal wire and cleaned all connecting points to include the ones on the engine block ect.
6: Cleaned out throttle body
7: Replaced spark plugs and wires, then checked the firing order.

So...My thought process is leading me to believe that it'* still a sensor problem. BUT...I really don't want to go and start spending $120 on a MAF ect unless I can test it first.

Thanks for all the help guys.

Greg
2001 Camaro Z28 5.7L A4 -she'* faster than you think
1993 Pontiac Bonneville SE 3.8L Engine VIN-L -she'* the Black Car of Death

Oh...I should also mention that no lights have been thrown on the dash. I am still searching for a place local that can read ODBE I error codes to see if one is maybe buried in the computer by chance.

Get some MAF cleaner and clean the MAF. It can't hurt, but there are limited things here that can be done before the big one!

Check your EGR tube for cracks or leaks.

Also...check this thread out.

It also sounds like you might have a transmission issue, such as a torque converter that'* gone South. I don't believe that a standard reader will see it though.

You don't need to find a place to retrieve stored codes. Do the paperclip trick and you can get the codes in your driveway.

I have pulled the MAF and cleaned it. It looks good. The small wires are not broken. I also checked that I'm getting 12 volts at the MAF sensor connector. So unless the unit itself is bad everything visually appears o.k.

I'm fairly confident that it'* not a transmission issue just because it has done the same thing in neutral and that would eliminate the torque converter.




O.K. so refresh me...how do I do the "paper-clip" trick. I know you bend the clip in a "U" shape and then place it into the ODB reader port but on whice two pins again?

A and B pins.


Key in off position, insert paperclip into pins A and B. Have notepad ready. Turn key to ON, NOT RUNNING. It will flash once, short pause, flash twice. That is code 12 indicating the system is ok. Long pause then another set of flashes. Each code is seperated by a long pause. Each code will have a short pause between each number.

Best to run the test again after you get your first set of codes to make sure you got them right. Let us know if you have anything besides 12.

Thank you! I won't be able to run that test until after work but I will be hitting that this afternoon. Hopefully that will give me a lead on what the problem could be. I don't mind spending the time and money fixing it, but I don't want to replace working parts. LOL

Got Codes....


Code 21
and
Code 22

Any ideas?


Thanks so much again everyone.

this is what comes up for it

21 tps sensor out of range
22 tps sensor signal voltage low

Hmmmm...but I just replaced the sensor..... Is there a wrong way to put a sensor in?