I am about to give up need help

sunbird 92 3.1

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I have a 1991 pontiac sunbird 3.1 im havi g a serious problem with the idle n I do t no whats going on with my car ive put a new iac valve new o2 sensor new spark plugs new wires new coils the car will start sputtering when its sitting still and the oil pressure will go all the way down and the battery gauge will go all the way down now it has a new battery and altenator and ive also put new heads in her as well as all new gaskets I dont no what is wrong and I donot want to junk her I love this car
 
is the service engine light on? have you checked for codes? have you checked for vacuum leaks from cracked hoses or the intake to head area?
 
the check engine light and check gauges light come on just for a second before it shuts off i replaced all the vacuum lines when i replaced the heads i just dropped the car off at the shop cause im tired of guessing what it is
 
My guess is real bad 12 volt short.......................:confused:

Doug in P.R.:cool:
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the other day i had a place look at it and they just did a free elestrical test just to look over stuff and they thought the wire was bad for the altenator to the battery so i just ran my own wire and still no change when the battery is charged up all the way shes fine but its not the battery cause i took a new one out of my other car and put it in still killing the battery i hope this other place calls me they pulled it in the shop at about 12 and i havent heard anything back yet so hopefully they call me tomorro the car is just a mystery everybody tells me to junk it but its killing me thinking of junking it ive put alot of time in this car just to give up now
 
its snowing here right now but as soon as i can check them i will thanks and i got it back from the shop they said it would take hours to track down the problem for it not charging the battery so i pulled it home last night imma look over all the wires myself
 
Do you have a voltmeter and can you check the output at the alternator and at the battery?
 
my buddy has one and we checked he said altenator is bad even thou it was new so i took it back and got another one i put it in charged up the battery and drove it around the battery gauge started to go up and then went right back down ill have to drive her a lil more tomorrow maybe the gauge just went bad idk.i also checked the codes and the code that came up was 23
 
How do you know the battery is good, did you have it load tested? the code is explained on this link

http://www.gnttype.org/maint/malf.html
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In the air inlet tube .. ( after the air filter - before the throttle body)

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/re...epairGuideContent.jsp?pageId=0900c1528003bb34


code 23

CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION :

The IAT sensor uses a thermistor to control the signal voltage at the ECM. The ECM applies a voltage (about 5 volts) on CKT 472 to the sensor. When the air is cold the sensor (thermistor) resistance is high, therefore the ECM terminal "GF16" voltage will be high. If the air is warm the sensor resistance is low, therefore the ECM terminal "GF16" voltage will be low.

NOTE: Because of all the possible color code combinations used on electrical wiring diagrams, always refer to SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMS/ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC DIAGRAMS/ECM CONNECTOR IDENTIFICATION for correct color code identification of circuit.

TEST DESCRIPTION : Numbers below refer to circled numbers on the diagnostic chart.

Code 23 will set if:

A signal voltage indicates a manifold air temperature below -35~C (31~F) for 10 seconds.
Time since engine start is 4 minutes or longer.
No VSS.

A Code 23 will set due to an open sensor, wire, or connection. This test will determine if the wiring and ECM are OK.
This will determine if the signal CKT 472 or the 5 volts return CKT 452 is open.

DIAGNOSTIC AIDS :

A "Scan" tool displays temperature of the air entering the engine, which should be close to ambient air temperature when engine is cold, and rise as underhood temperature increases.
A faulty connection, or an open in CKT 472 or CKT 469 can result in a Code 23.
Codes 23 and 34 stored at the same time, could be the result of an open CKT 469. The "Temperature to Resistance Values" scale in the chart above may be used to test the IAT sensor at various temperature levels to evaluate the possibility of a "slewed" (mis-scaled) sensor. A "slewed" sensor could result in poor driveability complaints.


I had a bad ammeter guage once in my lifetime in my 70 Charger , almost burned the car to the ground.

Doug in P.R.:cool:
 
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I no the battery was good cause I grabbed it out of my daily driver car which that battery was purchased recently
 
well the new altenator did the trick im guessing i havent driven it long enough to where i feel its working 100% but while im driving it will go down and then when i park its all the way down then when i start the car a second after shutting it off the volts will b where they should be so i think the gauge is screwed up now but the car starts when i go out and start it the lights dont seem to dim or anything anymore still having problems with the idle when it is sitting still but i havent replaced the iat sensor yet so we will see soon enough
 
and i also need a whole new exhaust cause mine has many leaks which is not helping anything either
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Well i drove her to work and home and she was fine the idle problem is getting better as i drive her im going to still get the iat sensor thanks for the help everybody ill let you know if anything changes
 
It will take a day or so for the idle to settle since you disconnected the battery ( probally the computer is in limp mode and the IAC valve has to relearn ) Still have to disconnect the battery again to clear the 23 code once you change the IAT so you might have go through it all again..........

Glad another Sunbird is back on the road...............:)

Doug in P.R.:cool:
 
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Well shes sitting again for just a little while I was taking off the old exhaust cause I was gonna put a new one on and I must of pearsed the brake line cause when I moved the car I had no more breaks ill check it out once It stops snowing
 
Well I got the brake line gonna put it on as soon as some sun comes out anybody no of a good place for a new exhaust?
 
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