I have been having some starting/idle issues with my car ever since I got it and Ive finally gotten tired of it. When I go to start my car, sometimes it studders and stalls. It will take me a few tries to get it started, but it will always start. Also, when my car is running, it will idle hunt between 800 and 1200 rpms. The only time the idle is consistant is when the car is warm, in drive and Im stopped. I think I can feel a miss at idle sometimes but Im not sure. I replaced the plugs after I got the car. The only code I am getting is the purge solenoid but the light only comes on intermittantly. I figured that out, the charcoal canister is bad and sometimes the purge solenoid will get clogged with bits of charcoal. I dont think that is related to my problem tho. I figured its a fuel problem because it smells like gas when I start it sometimes. The fuel pressure regulator doesnt leak gas into the vacuum line like they do when the diaphram is bad. I thought MAF so I unplugged it at idle to see if the car would die. I get no change, not even a hicuup, only a tripped CEL. Shouldnt my car studder or stall when I unplug the MAF? Is my MAF bad? Any input would be appreciated.

 

Bump. Any help would be appreciated.

 

generally if a maf is unhooked it will jsut use values from the tables it has calculated...my car doesnt skip a beat with it unplugged. ill ask a tech at work 2moro

 

i know when i was tinkerin with my intake i fergot to plug it back in and i got the code of system power reduced...... and it didnt idle well at all

 

Thanks for the replies guys.