Herky Jerky

[packrat427]

Well,I will start by saying the jerking/hiccup is back ? and we finally realized that it does it when my wife or a passenger is in the pass seat? Has not done it for some time until she went with me tonight, 65 mph ,5 th gear and it's like I keep turning the key off and back on fast, and then once it was like I shut it off and was just coasting ,I kept pushing on the pedal , it was like I turned the key off ,as I was slowing it finally came back on ,it has done that before but some time ago , and the check engine light came on twice and went right back off ,tonight is only the second time the check light has came on in 2 1/2 years? Does this car not like my wife or do I really have something weird going on here
90L 5sp.

[ericsmith32]

Check the O2 sensor or the spark plug wires. I had a problem on 91 it would just herk jerk and die. I replaced those two things and it hasn't did it since.

[packrat427]

All my ignition stuff is not that old Bosch plugs ,wires, cap,rotor , this is like it just shuts off going down the road , like it is losing total power to the ign. I just wonder if the headlight blinking when I hit the brakes or T/S ,or even the backup lights coming on make the blink too , but it does not do that all the time , It may not be related , but I am getting frustrated , I did not think I was going to make it home tonight.
Oh ya and the clicking noise that comes from the coil/module area ,I looked when I got home no spark jumping at the coil area in the dark.

[ericsmith32]

How's your battery cables - chassis and battery. If your lights are blinking you've got a short somewhere. Maybe your wife has weird mojo either that or the car just don't like her.

[packrat427]

Bad mojo ya , LOL, battery good ,cables good , alt charging right where it is supposed to be , all my grounds are tight ,the car always starts ,even when it is below zero, I already went thru all that stuff when it started last year

[Tim]

Malfunctioning ignition switch, perhaps?


Regards,

Tim

[packrat427]

Well , I just went and lubed it good ,the switch( no,no) :idea: , All seems well for the moment she wasn't in the car :wink: , but would that throw the check engine light on for a moment then go right off

[Tim]

Well , I just went and lubed it good ,the switch( no,no) :idea: , All seems well for the moment she wasn't in the car :wink: , but would that throw the check engine light on for a moment then go right off

Possibly. The WD-40 or whatever could've momentarily shorted out several contacts in the switch, sending a weird signal to the ECU, causing it to freak out and send up a Check Engine signal.


Regards,

Tim

[FB71]

did you lube the switch or the lock cylinder? The switch is well behind the lock cylinder, and lubing the lock will not affect the switch. Additionally, mineral oils like WD-40 won't adversly affect electrical contacts. In fact, its good for cleaning them. Do you have anything heavy on your keyring? I've seen heavy keyrings cause the lock cylinder to partially rotate out of position, causing almost exactly your symptoms. As the car jerks, the keyring swings back and forth, making and breaking contact in the switch. This usually happens right after the lock cylinder is lubed....

[packrat427]

I lubed only the lock cyl. first time last night ,nothing heavy ,1 key only and a ring, Today to work and back it did not act up at all ? I just filled up Tue. night I don't know, bad gas?,I just have this feeling it is working up to something bigger , The blinking lights ,the hiccup ,the feeling of turning off the ign. and coasting a block at highway speed ,Surely it will all come to a head soon

[Bizarre]

I'm no genius but could it be the computer shorting out :? ?
-Bizarre-

[packrat427]

It really has not happened for awhile now maybe 1 time , 1 little hiccup,Today I drove 120 miles no problem.
I gave up on it ,could not find it and for a while it only done it when my wife was in the car , she always laughed ,cause she knew it would do it when she was in it ?
I am going to give it a fresh tune before Ohiostiva ,just to make sure.

[FB71]

maybe it was an evil spirit in the distributor cap.....

[FestYboy]

you may want to inspect any/all wiring that runs under the passenger side carpeting and under the seat. there may be an intermittent short that is aggravated when there is weight put on the seat or in the foot well area.

[Kindred]

I had a similar problem, only the car would occasionally kill when I was driving uphill. Turns out the terminals on my battery were just corroded enough to cause an open condition once in a while when the car was sitting at a certain angle (going uphill). Give those terminals and connectors a good cleaning -- even if they look clean. Go buy yourself a steel wire brush or one of those battery terminal tools from autozone and scrub the hell out of em. Might fix your problem.