My festiva wont idle

[Joeyman]

having trouble with my festiva not wanting to idle. I gave it a tune up. New plugs wire's cap rotor. I installed a reman MAF aswell. Bought all the parts at orielly's auto parts.

Thing still will not want to idle I have to two foot it at the stop light. I can also hear the fuel pump relay clicking on and off inside the car as it rough idles. Check engine light turns on and off. I have no way of reading the code though. Makes no difference is the motor is dead cold or hot. I get the rough idle. Keeps wanting to die.

thoughts?

[Team Lightning]

Check for leaks in the intake pipe from the vaf to the throttle body. What was the issue that made you replace the vaf?
its actually a vaf not a maf.

[Joeyman]

Check for leaks in the intake pipe from the vaf to the throttle body. What was the issue that made you replace the vaf?
its actually a vaf not a maf.

well I tried to clean it at first and ended up tugging on the plug. I took the 2 screws out. I didn't know you were actually supposed to pop off the cover then silicon it back on. I think I messed it up. When I reinstalled my original VAF it ran very very bad. So I spent the 94 bucks and got the reman. Which put the car back to drivable with bad idle.

If I have a bad intake tube. Do they sell new ones?

[Dragonhealer]

Any significant vacuum leak will cause this, I can find no sourse for a new intake trunk or the plastic moulding. Tape is a viable short term fix, but a member could probably help you out with a good used one.
flammable spray brake cleaner can help find vacuum leaks in small doses, but be careful and have safety glasses and a fire extinguisher!

[firebush357]

My little brothers plastic intake tube had a decent size crack/hole on the underside of it and would idle roughly so I just sealed it off with JB Weld Putty. That stuff works great for a lot of quick repairs and it never dries up and doesn't make the mess like the liquids.

[Joeyman]

I inspected every part and pieces last night with a fine tooth comb. I did not find anything wrong. Made an appointment with local mechanic shop for tomorrow. I gave up and I need a running car. tired of two footing it at every stop light

[firebush357]

What is the Letter on the side of the VAF sticker? I'm pretty sure it is supposed to have a T

I think it could also be a bad Idle Air Control Valve

Or a vacuum leak somewhere.

Or a clogged up Fuel Filter possibly?

[Joeyman]

im not sure why? the VAF I bought looks identical to what I took off the car.

[firebush357]

Sorry I was editing that post...

There are many of them that look the same but they are made for other cars and if the codes don't match they won't work very well.

[w4rkry]

You should check what code the car is giving, that ended up making my repairs much easier. All you need is a small nail and a jumper cable.

[Joeyman]

You should check what code the car is giving, that ended up making my repairs much easier. All you need is a small nail and a jumper cable.

I do not know how to do this? is there a write up?

[Joeyman]

Sorry I was editing that post...

There are many of them that look the same but they are made for other cars and if the codes don't match they won't work very well.

I will look for it and report back

where is the idle air control valve?

[w4rkry]

There are, but a lot of the information is very spread out. I can give you the basics. First, have the car completely off.
Open hood.
Under the windshield wiper motor area, there should be a bunch of loose wires with plugs.
Pick the wire that has a single black connector on it.
Put a small nail in this connector so that you have something metal to clamp to.
Plug one end of a jumper cable to the nail
plug other end of jumper cable to your battery ground.
Get in car, turn key to on position (do not start it)
CEL should start blinking. There will be long flashes, then short flashes. Then a long pause. Then it will repeat.
Long flashes = First Digit, short flashes = second digit. For example, 2 long and 5 short = code 25.
I have a picture of what each code means saved somewhere, I will post it on my lunch break.
I can also add images of the connector if you can't find it.
Make sure you disconnect the jumper cable before starting the car again.

[w4rkry]

Thanks to TorqueEffect for these!

01 = Ignition Diagnostic Monitor
02 = Camshaft Position Sensor
03 = Cylinder identification Sensor
06 = Vehicle Speed Sensor (I am not sure about this one, it doesn't say 94' and later but I don't think Festies have these.)
08 = Airflow Sensor
09 = Coolant Temperature Sensor
10 = Intake Air Temperature Sensor
12 = Throttle Position Sensor
14 = Barometric pressure sensor (Integrated into the ECU, If this is bad, you have to replace the ECU)
15 = o2 Sensor (Just a sensor malfunction)
16 = EGR Valve position Sensor
17 = o2 Sensor (Tripped by overly lean or rich combustion, so anything from intake leaks, to bad injectors, to misfires, or to fuel pressure)
25 = Fuel Pressure regulator control solenoid
26 = Solenoid valve (purge control)
34 = IAC Valve

[firebush357]

I'm not completely sure that our B3's have an IAC If it did it would be part of the Throttle Body...It may be that brass looking disc thing,(Im Not a Mechanic if you can tell) I'm just throwing out some troubleshooting.

I do know there is a Throttle Position Sensor on the side of the throttle body but I would assume that it wouldn't run very well under any conditions if that was malfunctioning.