Engine stalls when reversing/turning wheel completely

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skittishsynapses
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Do you own a Cabriolet?: Yes

Engine stalls when reversing/turning wheel completely

Post by skittishsynapses »

Okay, so this is a strange problem that has recently come up in the last couple months, becoming more and more frequent. When I start my car sometimes, and reverse (usually without pressing on the gas or it being a bit light), my car stalls. Then I found an odd quirk while going to my bank...when I turned the steering wheel all the way (spiral parking structure) and pulled into a spot, the engine would die. This past weekend, I was pulling into the street, again with little or no pressure on the gas pedal, and the engine cut out on me. More often than not, this happens within the first couple minutes of the car being turned on.

My car's mpg has also been a bit wonky, and I know I'm under what I used to get with my cabby when I first got her. I changed out her cold start valve a few months ago, but the mpg was already screwy when and I was beginning to see the odd reversing problems.

I speculated it was the fuel pump because I was hearing a buzzing noise, until I realized the fuel pump was in a black plastic box and the thing making that noise was next to it (looks like a fuel filter, but I honestly don't know). But when I held the 'filter' while running, the sound disappeared, so it's probably just loose.

I've been speculating just based on the bently and the only things I can come up with are that 'filter' needs replacing, I need to replace the transfer pump (or at least the screen on it) or the fuel pump, or there's a clog in the line somewhere. But those are just my half guesses.

Would anyone care to take a crack at the gremlin chiseling at my cabby? Much thanks!
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Briano1234
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Re: Engine stalls when reversing/turning wheel completely

Post by Briano1234 »

Knowing the Year would help us help you.
Briano

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skittishsynapses
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Re: Engine stalls when reversing/turning wheel completely

Post by skittishsynapses »

Its an '87 cabby. Let's see, in the last year or two, I've replaced the front fuel filter, distributor cap and rotor, spark plugs, ignition wire set, 02 sensor, air filter. Only particular things I can think are relevant.

I had originally thought my stalling issues were the cold start valve, hence why I mentioned that in my first post. Apologies for the haphazard nature of that post. I was about to take off from work.
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gull
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Re: Engine stalls when reversing/turning wheel completely

Post by gull »

Check your base idle speed with the idle boost solenoid (and the A/C boost solenoid, if equipped) unplugged. It's possible it's too low, leaving the system with too little range to prop the idle speed up when there's extra load on the engine.
VW fan who fell to the Honda side of the force
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skittishsynapses
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Re: Engine stalls when reversing/turning wheel completely

Post by skittishsynapses »

Hum. Thanks for that Gull! Do I just disconnect both the plugs going into it? I also can't find where the AC boost valve is. Whereabouts is it and what does it look like?

What am I looking for once those are unplugged?
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gull
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Re: Engine stalls when reversing/turning wheel completely

Post by gull »

There will be one or two idle boost solenoid valves on the passenger side strut tower. One if your car doesn't have A/C, two if it does. These guys here:
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With the engine fully warmed up and the electrical plugs to the valve(s) disconnected, or the hose leading to them pinched off, your idle speed should match what's on the emission sticker under the hood, or in the service manual. I don't have either handy at the moment, but I think it's something like 900 rpm, +/- 50. (Maybe someone can chime in with the real spec for an '87.) This is adjusted with a screw on the back of the throttle body. The dash tach isn't really accurate enough for this -- you should really use a tach/dwell meter -- but if it's all you have, aim for just being able to see the lower edge of the 1000 mark above the top edge of the needle. A little high is usually better than a little low, on these cars.

Note that if your idle is rough or unsteady you should probably go looking for vacuum leaks before you start adjusting the base idle, especially if this problem cropped up right after you had some work done on the car. I had a stalling problem with mine that turned out to be a vacuum hose that had gotten knocked off during a recent clutch job.
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