Greetings, I am having a problem with my 95 1.6L that I can't seem to figure out. I have searched many forums and tried many things that resolved others' similar problem with no luck. Basically, the car runs absolutely fine while driving along or for short distances. Once the engine temp gauge reaches the middle, at red lights or in traffic, the engine begins idling very rough and almost stalls. Once you're moving again and the temp cools, all is well. Here is what has been done so far. The fuel pump was replaced a few months ago due to a no-start issue. While troubleshooting that problem I swapped a few things and kept the originals, along with some other maintenance items which I have tried in solving this problem including: Distributor, Ignition Coil, Cap & Rotor, Plugs, TPS, Coolant Temp Sensor, IAC Valve. While trying to figure this out it did once throw a code for the air intake temp sensor, but my brother, a ten-year Toyota tech said he has never seen one go bad on this engine and doesn't believe it would cause this condition. I'd hate to throw another $40 part at the problem and I can't seem to find a salvage or donor part in my area. The condition is the same with this sensor plug in, or not. Thoughts? Also the condition is the same with the O2 sensor unplugged. It may be due for replacement but not sure if that would cause such behavior?
One other thing that might be worth mentioning is that when the fuel pump was replaced about 3 months ago (I gave up trying to figure out the problem and took it to the dealer), the technician showed me something very strange. The pump went bad because the one of the five pins on the connector had actually shorted and melted the pin out of place. It would intermittently cause me a problem until it finally gave out entirely. What's more, he pointed out that someone, at some point, for some reason, had cut and spliced the two power pins of the harness and put spade connectors on. Exactly why someone would do that we're not sure. There must have been some other problem with the fuel pump in the past, or perhaps these two problems are somehow linked? I checked the harness again and nothing indicates that the pump problem is reoccurring, just thought this information may be important to disclose.
One last thing I find interesting is that when I purchased the car about a year ago in Florida it didn't seem to run as warm as it does now. It's not overheating but I remember noticing that even in the dead heat of summer the temp gauge wouldn't even reach the middle point. The car was a one owner with 87K when I bought it, 103k now. I have no idea of the maint. history. I just flushed the coolant and it was pretty nasty but that didn't help.
This is such a great car but this problem which seemed to develop suddenly about a month ago is driving me crazy! If anyone has had a similar problem or suggestions, that would be greatly appreciated. As with most of us these days, money is tight, so trying to resolve this as inexpensively as possible
Thanks in advance! -Alex
One other thing that might be worth mentioning is that when the fuel pump was replaced about 3 months ago (I gave up trying to figure out the problem and took it to the dealer), the technician showed me something very strange. The pump went bad because the one of the five pins on the connector had actually shorted and melted the pin out of place. It would intermittently cause me a problem until it finally gave out entirely. What's more, he pointed out that someone, at some point, for some reason, had cut and spliced the two power pins of the harness and put spade connectors on. Exactly why someone would do that we're not sure. There must have been some other problem with the fuel pump in the past, or perhaps these two problems are somehow linked? I checked the harness again and nothing indicates that the pump problem is reoccurring, just thought this information may be important to disclose.
One last thing I find interesting is that when I purchased the car about a year ago in Florida it didn't seem to run as warm as it does now. It's not overheating but I remember noticing that even in the dead heat of summer the temp gauge wouldn't even reach the middle point. The car was a one owner with 87K when I bought it, 103k now. I have no idea of the maint. history. I just flushed the coolant and it was pretty nasty but that didn't help.
This is such a great car but this problem which seemed to develop suddenly about a month ago is driving me crazy! If anyone has had a similar problem or suggestions, that would be greatly appreciated. As with most of us these days, money is tight, so trying to resolve this as inexpensively as possible
Thanks in advance! -Alex