Maybe you guys can shed some light on this...I am gonna get my car checked out over the next week or so anyway..but I am one of those people that just needs to know now. .

A few days ago,I noticed my car starting fluttering and slightly surging between 500 and 1000 rpms. It only happens after ive been driving, and then when I come to a complete stop. Usually it will settle into idle at about 1000 rpms..but now it drops down to like 500 or a little lower, and almost stalls,and then resumes idle back at 1000 rpms. Now its been VERY cold up here(NJ) over the past few days..so I kind of wrote it off as that because its never happened before.

Now today, I got an SES light..but I have no fluttering today(warmer maybe weather) ...but i dont think so anymore.

Isnt it the opti that starts fluttering around in the low RPMS when its about out? My car has 96K miles on it, and has never had it changed before..so I'd say its about due anyway. Do you get an SES light when its on its way out?

Other than that, it still runs like a champ, pulls hard, and no misses anywhere else.

Any help greatly appreciated

 

PS:

I know this question gets asked alot and I should search(which I did)..but what im really interested in is what can I rule out because my SES light came on? Does an opti set off an SES light, does a coil? Spark plug wires? O2 Sensors? IAC? I know i see alot of people have the low rpm stumble..but they never mention an SES light comes on.

 

You're probably not getting any help here for a couple of reasons. The first is, we know very little of your vehicle. We know you live in NJ and it has 96K on it. You should put particulars in a signature. Like year, tranny, mods if any. Also put the location under your name on the left. Like you mentioned, weather or other atmospheric conditions can have an impact on some problems. There are some of us that are tired of asking questions when the info should have been there in the first place.

Second, if the SES light is on, you have to scan it to see what the code is. You should reset it and see if it returns. Even if you have no SES light you still could have a code stored. But since we don't know if you are OBDI or II, we can't suggest where to go or not go to have it scanned. The code may or may not be related to the symptom you are having but it's the logical place to start.

If the vehicle has not had a thorough tune up in a while, then by all means do it and see what re-occurs. Plugs and wires if not the whole opti. Clean the TB, IAC and EGR and replacing the TPS wouldn't be a bad idea. Don't forget the fuel filter and perhaps a professional cleaning of the injectors is needed. Exhaust back pressure should be checked with that many miles on the car. Either someone does it with a gage or you try disconnecting the cat(s).

Patience is a virtue

Dave

 

Hmm, I didnt know tranny(m6) could make an SES go on(which is why i didnt list it) and that my menial mods (cai, and cutout) could be a contributing factor, hence I didnt list them. However, its always better to know too much than too little. FYI, my car is a 96, making it an ODBII car.

Pretty much the post was to ask if there is a statistically more likely possibility of a certain problem causing my symptoms or not. Patience is only a virtue unless the world stops tomorrow..or in my situation my car dies and I can't get to work (80 miles a day) .

Since the day I posted, the stuttering went away completley. The SES light is still on(don't know if its smart enough to turn itsself off if a problem goes away). The weather here in NJ has warmed up signifigantly...and i don't think its coincidental the problem went away also.

A good tune up is in order as you say, and I have a feeling that something might be dirty, or it just got stuck open or closed in the cold, and thats what caused the problem. Since I dont have the money to do a full tune-up(heard its expensive on lt1's to do wires/plugs, etc, I'll first have the TB, IAC and EGR checked out and cleaned up, as well as the fuel filter. Any idea what that basic list would cost at a shop approximately?(All shops are closed until next week so I cant get an estimate, and it would be ideal if I could budget myself accordingly this weekend on xmas). Hopefully I can get into some place next week or week after. So damn busy. .

Thanks for acknowledging my post and giving some advice regardless of my ignorance, and I'll be much more detailed in the future.