weirdest problem i've encountered.

SRT-Wannabe · Post by **SRT-Wannabe** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:59 pm

Alrighty. I just got through putting in a new accelerator cable in this car. I don't have the old neon anymore. I have a 2001 dodge neon r/t now. Well get this guys, after i put the new cable in it, it revs by itself. It would make sputters and made the pedal really tough to push. After 2-3 annoying days of driving, it was slowly going back to normal, because it was idling unnaturally high. 1500 rpms +. Yesterday it was down to 1000 rpm idle but it was still too high cuz it usually idles at 600-800 rpms. I have a bad computer as well so I assumed that the computer was just having a hard time learning the new piece. Now here's where it gets fucked up. I'm going to the store to get some chips last night, I get in my car to go back to my friends house, turn the key, hear a click and that's it from the engine, all the power cuts and it's followed by a strange whining noise inside of the car. I disconnect the battery, wait a little, reconnect it, all the power's back on. Turn the key again, same outcome. I'm totally thrown off by this, I really have no idea wtf my car was doing, all I have is speculation. I go back to the engine bay and since I didn't have any tools but a screw driver, I go ahead to check the spark plug wires, pull them all, they have oil on them, and the cylinder thingys that incase the spark plugs all popped out except for one, which i think was cylinder 3. I take off my valve cover today to check for cracks, none, but I figured I would need a new gasket. So now I'm waiting for my cousin to come help me figure this out. If anyone may know if this is a general problem with r/ts I really need to know. I've never been caught off gaurd by a problem such as this, any suggestions or advice to assist me in fixing this would be greatly appreciated.

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 18, 2007 4:07 pm

So let me get this straight, you installed a new throttle cable, and the car revs on its own? Sounds like the cable is too tight. While this is happening, put your foot UNDER the throttle pedal and push UP (the opposite of accel). If the revs go down, the cable has too much tension on it. Try adjusting your idle screw (bottom left of throttle body). Loosen it (away from the tb) while the car is running, until the idle stabilizes. Once you resolve the revving problem, take some time to tune the idle to where you want it (750-850 rpm in closed loop is fine). If all of that doesnt work, make sure the new cable and housing doesnt have any damage (a crimp) and be sure it isnt too tightly secured to anything that might constrict it. It also helps to grease the tb and spring if the car is relatively old. Check the pedal for freeplay and if possible shim it or make any adjustments you can to get it to idle correctly. The old cable was probably stretched out pretty well compared to a new, unworn piece. It will take some time to break in, so prepare to readjust later on if necessary.

infil · Post by **infil** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:31 pm

cable is bound up somewhere.

SRT-Wannabe · Post by **SRT-Wannabe** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 2:55 am

OB wrote:So let me get this straight, you installed a new throttle cable, and the car revs on its own? Sounds like the cable is too tight. While this is happening, put your foot UNDER the throttle pedal and push UP (the opposite of accel). If the revs go down, the cable has too much tension on it. Try adjusting your idle screw (bottom left of throttle body). Loosen it (away from the tb) while the car is running, until the idle stabilizes. Once you resolve the revving problem, take some time to tune the idle to where you want it (750-850 rpm in closed loop is fine). If all of that doesnt work, make sure the new cable and housing doesnt have any damage (a crimp) and be sure it isnt too tightly secured to anything that might constrict it. It also helps to grease the tb and spring if the car is relatively old. Check the pedal for freeplay and if possible shim it or make any adjustments you can to get it to idle correctly. The old cable was probably stretched out pretty well compared to a new, unworn piece. It will take some time to break in, so prepare to readjust later on if necessary.

The throttle cable was already fine, i had just broken the cable in that day. It's just that it was still idling at 1k 4-5 hours before the car started acting all crazy.

kc2005ptgt · Post by **kc2005ptgt** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:36 pm

stupid question, but did you hook up all your vac hoses, and did you make sure your tps sensor is hooked up, etc? I unhooked my pcv to intake hose and my car idled like crud for a while... check all that stuff as well.

MoparNeonMan · Post by **MoparNeonMan** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:32 am

SRT-Wannabe wrote:

The throttle cable was already fine, i had just broken the cable in that day.

Ive NEVER heard of break in for an accelerator cable. Im gonna go w/ the idea of a loose vac line or pcv line

OB · Post by OB » Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:15 am

^Everything mechanical, including throttle cables, wear over time. A fresh cable would surely be a bit shorter (less stretched) than the OG one. Making adjustments to compensate for this might solve the issue. Of course checking for obvious things like vacuum hoses and unplugged sensors should be a no brainer before further diagnosis.