here we go. ok look, this is kinda a whole @!#$-ton of symptomz. just bear with me.
- when holding steady speed, most of the time around 70-80, the car "surges," IOW it loses power very briefly, and immediately catches back up. BUT, it is repetitive. for at least a mile or two. you know, like the whole "jumpy" feeling.
- it is a manual transmission. when shifting (up or down, doesn't matter which) there is a HEAVY surge just as the clutch is pressed. this is actually a completely different action than above. it is not all the time, only when car just DECIDES to.
- even when i press buttons(i.e. window or lock), i can literally hear the motor slightly surge. now, the other day i was feelin kinda crazy and had both windows and the sunroof shut COMPLETELY. just trying to listen to the motor, i went ahead and, for lack of a better explaination, 'tried to close them further,' all three at the same time.... and my car almost died.
with that said, i have taken it to a shop. they have replaced fuel filter, replaced a bad coilpack, and given a tune up. still i have surges. c'mon guys. help.
--j.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, July 15, 2009 7:03 PM
*bump. really, this surge thing is drivin me nuts. even a minor suggestion would be nice. pleaze?
--j.
A: Find a differant shop. None of the things they did seem appropriate, and they obviously made no effort to find the underlying problem.
B: Here is a theory (maybe right, maybe wrong). But you can test it, and from there move on. From what you describe, it may be that your alternator isn't dead, but is getting there. As such, your ignition runs fine most of the time, but when there is high demand (I.E. high maintained engine RPM or current draw from accesories) it then parrasites off of your already weakened battery and craps out. Use a multimeter to see if you are getting 12 volts with the engine off, and 14-16 with the engine running (as measured at the battery terminals). Again, just one theory.
First problem might be your TPS sensor on the throttle body. If it's bad and losing signal or inconsistent signal, and then further amplified when opening and closing the butterfly when shifting. And then trying to catch itself.
Second problem might be your alternator. But stuff like windows and such do draw quite a bit of current, so it's not uncommon to feel the engine surge if you're idling. You can feel the draw in my car when first turning on the lights, closing the windows, even a small surge when I'm on remote start and lock/unlock the doors. Now, if it gets to the point where the engine stalls, then that's an issue. Then again, it may be a combination due to the bad TPS in the first place not doing it's job. So if I were you, check the TPS first, then go from there.
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
