im from australia, i recently got a 1990 iroc z camaro 5.7lt, it was fine for awhile however now when it is dead cold it starts and straight away stalls, if i give it a bit of gas i can get it to idle, however it idles low and seems to surge. once at operating temp i have no problems, would it have anything to do with cold idle?? coolant temp sensor??

 

i have the same problem with my 89 irov 5.0 i havent beeen able to figure it out either and no one on the 4 sites i posted it on has any idea reall. my teacher did say to check the coolant temperature circuit to make sure its reading properly because it could cause the car to run richer on startup. yesterday i repaired my coolant ttemp sensor but i havent started it yet. ill let you know the results when i do.

 

i just started the car and it didnt fix it. so i tried unplugging the maf and as soon as i did that the idle picked up and its currently idling fine with the maf unplugged. its throwing a code though.

 

Clean and check the IAC sensor, that's the one on bottom of the TB. They tend to cabon-up, and can cause an erratic idle.

 

ok well ill try disconecting the maf and let you no. ill try cleaning the iac sensor to, it cant hurt thanks

 

check all your plug wires resistance with a ohm meter, and look for burns from laying across the exhaust, check the firing order, and check the plugs.

 

I really doubt that it's a plug wire issue since the problem goes away after the engine warms up.. It's definately the IAC. Pull that bad boy out and spray the hell out of it with some good carb and choke cleaner.

Problem should go away and the car should be running great.

 

it still can be a plug wire, wont hurt to check the easiest things first. It can go away becuase the high heat a hot engine creates helps combustion, and can make an arcing or burned plug wire problem subside alot. I know from experience lol. I had a plug wire burn through on one side cause it somehow got up against my header. It had a rough idle, but almost completely went away when it was hot.

EDIT, glad you found your problem.

 

Pulling the plug on the MAF causes an open loop (limp home mode) which makes it run richer, that's why it idles up. Your code will probably be a 34.

 

yes but the the problem is on cold startup only. And on cold startup the car is always in "limp mode". so unplugging the maf will make no difference IMO. That is why i believe a gunked up maf is the cause of my poor idle on cold startup ONLY. ya see when i unplug ed the MAF the idle became normal and when i plugged it back in 2 seconds later it became erratic again so until i have time to clean it i guess ill be running in "Limp Mode" at least this way i wont have to fight to keep the car going in the morning.
hope im not coming off as an *** here cause thats not my intention.

thanks pneumatic tire i am too.