The Unknown... problem with my car

97SlickSerpent

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First of all, just wanted to say it's good to be back! :-D And now on to the issue at hand. I just got back from autozone after having them pull a code... P1443. My car's been running REALLY rich(very strong gas smell from exhaust) for awhile. Could this code be the culprit? Also, an employee suggested I use flammable brake cleaner to check for vacuum leaks. Did it. Nothing happened. So I guess no leaks. I was really hoping that would have been the case so I could've resolved the code :( Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Also, I'm not sure if this thread is in the right spot... if not I apologize.
 

97SlickSerpent

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Alright so I went out and replaced the valve and solenoid. Check engine went off. So now we play the waiting game. Now I do have another inquiry. Sometimes when I'm out driving, not all the time, at idle, the RPMs will drop and the car will close to stall out. Sometimes it does stall out. A little background info. The battery won't hold its charge if the car sits for a few days. I mean completely dead battery. I went out and bought a brand new battery and nothing's changed. I also stopped by a shop to get it checked out and it's not the alternator. Only other thing I can think of is that there's a short somewhere. Could that be causing the RPM problem while idling?
 

goat-ee

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Alright so I went out and replaced the valve and solenoid. Check engine went off. So now we play the waiting game. Now I do have another inquiry. Sometimes when I'm out driving, not all the time, at idle, the RPMs will drop and the car will close to stall out. Sometimes it does stall out. A little background info. The battery won't hold its charge if the car sits for a few days. I mean completely dead battery. I went out and bought a brand new battery and nothing's changed. I also stopped by a shop to get it checked out and it's not the alternator. Only other thing I can think of is that there's a short somewhere. Could that be causing the RPM problem while idling?

The easiest thing to try and one of the more likely culprits, is the stereo amps. Unplug them under the rear shelf when the car is going to set for a few days. If your battery drain problem goes away, plug in one at a time until you narrow down which amp is drawing power.

There are more technical ways to figure it out. But for almost zero effort, this will at least eliminate the stereo amps as a potential problem.
 

97SlickSerpent

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I will try this. Don't know if this is worth noting or if it factors into anything, but my rear speakers are out. As in no longer producing sound/bass.
 

97SlickSerpent

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I will try this. Don't know if this is worth noting or if it factors into anything, but my rear speakers are out. As in no longer producing sound/bass.

Will do. Anything else I can clean while I'm in there? Also I assume brake cleaner can be used for IAC?


... And I just realized I quoted myself.
 
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97SlickSerpent

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Alright so it's been 3-4 days since I unplugged the stereo amps. Went out and she started right up. Found the problem. Thank you goat-ee. You saved me a lot of headaches. I also cleaned the IAC. Drove her around for a bit and it felt like the idles were much better. RPMs didn't move around at all. A big thanks to everyone who contributed.:thumbsup:
 

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