possible battery and/or ignition control module issues

whiterider00 · 10-24-2011, 01:25 AM

for the past week or so, ive noticed slight issues with my car that have suddenly gotten worse. 5days ago, starting my car completely cold (sitting 10hrs), it took about 3 cranks of the starter to start it. seemed like typical dieing battery symptoms. next morning, my wife went to start it, and wouldnt start. i had to jump it, but barely had to turn the key and it fired right up and had no issues for a couple days.

few days later, i had the car idling, but not up to operating temp, and the rpms started fluctuating from normal idle (750) down to under 500, then a couple times to maybe 1300. only lasted for 10 seconds, then no issues on the drive home from work or the next day. today, again a slightly harder than normal startup from cold, but this time i had issues when i started driving. the engine ran smoothly, but no matter how much i pushed on the gas, the rpms didnt go up. lasted for maybe 3-5 seconds, then it ran fine til the next time i drove, and it did pretty much the same thing.

at this point i stopped at autozone to get my battery checked. the date on it says it was manufactured in nov of 2003. and its been in the car for the 6 years ive owned it. i guess that alone should be enough of a reason to replace it. anyway the guy tests it and says its reading almost 0. i dunno if it was volts he was talking about, but he said i should probly replace it soon, and get my alternator checked too.

now i originally thought it was just the battery when it was just starting hard, and not responding to throttle, but on my way home tonight, it got much worse. this time it got bad enough to nearly stall (rpms under 300), and i think it backfired once. this lasted probly 20 seconds or more.

i researched on the forum, and it looks like it could be the ignition module. that seems likely, as the car has over 198k, and afaik it is original. the other thing i thought of, is when i did the cam swap and everything a cpl months ago, i swapped idi covers. i doubt it, but maybe i somehow screwed up the ground or something. im gonna pop off the cover in the morning, and make sure everything is secure.

i guess the question i have is, can a bad battery cause the weird idle and shitty running conditions ive been having, or is it more likely another component.im gonna replace the battery either way, just because its a miracle the one ive got is still functioning. thanks in advance for the help. sorry for the novel.

sleepyalero · 10-24-2011, 03:36 AM

hmm i think mine when i had pretty much the same issues it ran shitty, 6 year old battery i would replace it, and make sure you get a higher CCA (cold cranking amps) battery. mine was not good enough last winter. replaced it and it fixed my problem. IIRC my volts gauge showed that my battery was losing its charge because of the battery being old and being in cold weather. id replace the battery first then see what happens from there.

a.graham52 · 10-24-2011, 07:16 AM

agreed. fix whats wrong first. when you crank it over it could be enough voltage loss to clear out the ecm and then it will have to relearn idle and stuff agan. iv seen that happen on occasion.

whiterider00 · 10-24-2011, 12:25 PM

Replaced the battery, and so far so good. Im still gonna have the alt checked, just in case since thats original too.

sleepyalero · 10-24-2011, 12:28 PM

good to hear its workin better now.

zzyzzx · 10-24-2011, 02:15 PM

Get one:
http://www.amazon.com/Equus-3721-Bat.../dp/B000EVWDU0

They have them at some WalMart's too.

I keep it in the glove compartment. It's saved me one already! Also, on one other occasion it helps me correctly diagnose a bad voltmeter gauge in dash (not in Alero).

Papa Rad17 · 10-24-2011, 10:55 PM

You get an optima battery? I hear those are they way to go.

whiterider00 · 10-24-2011, 11:10 PM

Duralast gold. And i checked out everything, apparently i never swapped over the ground strap that grounds out the ign module to the block. Did that, made sure all connections were tight, and swapped battery this morning. No issues since, but i havnt driven all that much. Hope its fixed.

Papa Rad17 · 10-25-2011, 12:08 AM

Thats what I currently have. Has been a good battery so far. Hopefully that got your problem fixed though. With winter coming problems are never made easier...

whiterider00 · 10-25-2011, 01:04 AM

noooope. car started up fine, drove fine til i got onto my street (lucky i guess). then idle drops to below 500, and starts surging. so bad thast i shut the car off. waited a few seconds and started it again. started right up no issues. i have no idea where to start looking. hasnt thrown a cel yet. i almost wish it would so id have some clue what to look at. any suggestions?

Papa Rad17 · 10-25-2011, 01:27 AM

It sounds similar to what mine was doing when my alternator went out. If you start hearing a whine (exspicaily at high rpms, maybe with the stero on or somthing draw much extra power) then that's a good probability. Other then that I'd have to start guessing... Plugs? Fuel delivery?... I have no idea. When mine out I'd describe it as, the car started running like it was angry at me, stero wouldn't stay on, lights started dimming, running really rough, pulled over and turned it off for a minuet, it started right up. By the time I got home it started acting up again, changed the alt and dropped in a new battery (the old one was down to one cell left) and it's running fine.

whiterider00 · 10-25-2011, 02:20 AM

im gonna have to listen for the alternator whine. probly go get it tested at autozone too. i shouldnt be too surprised that things are starting to go. car has nearly 200k, and in the 60k+ miles ive owned it, ive only done a couple wheel hubs and other random small repairs.

zzyzzx · 10-25-2011, 09:03 AM

When my alternator went, my dash light came on, and then I plugged in my handy plug-in voltmeter to confirm.

whiterider00 · 10-25-2011, 11:17 PM

im starting to lean more towards a fuel issue now. i would think if it was an ign issue (alt, coil pack, ign control module), there would be a cel thrown when it acts up. there hasnt been at all. theres been a couple times where ive completely run out of gas (in other vehicles, not alero), and it feels just like that. im really hoping its not the fuel pump, that doesnt seem like a fun job. maybe ill run a bit of injector cleaner through and see if that helps anything. ive gotten gas at a couple different places in the past cpl weeks, so maybe its just bad gas. who the hell knows.

Papa Rad17 · 10-26-2011, 12:28 AM

I only go to my local Mach1 (marathon) for gas. The hucksand caseys stations in town have a bad reputation for watered down gas. Someone had a posted no to long ago about a bad fuel filter and was having problems from that or somthing... Don't remember exsactly. It wouldn't be anything connected to the cam swap and other work you did a while back would it?

whiterider00 · 10-26-2011, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa Rad17

It wouldn't be anything connected to the cam swap and other work you did a while back would it?

i effin hope not. that was well over a month ago, and these issues have only started maybe a week ago. my mechanically inclined friend said it could be any number of sensors (throttle position, camshaft position, crankshaft position).

the fuel filter was replaced somewhere around 4 years ago. i guess that could be an issue, but i would think it would be a somewhat constant thing. i kinda wish it would just throw a code so id at least have some idea where to look.

03glgold · 10-26-2011, 09:33 AM

My only guess if it is fuel related is that the fuel pump is overheating and then it starts to lock up

whiterider00 · 10-27-2011, 02:03 AM

well driving to and from work yesterday and today, there havent been any real issues. i really hope it was just some random gremlin that worked itself out.

zzyzzx · 10-27-2011, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiterider00

well driving to and from work yesterday and today, there havent been any real issues. i really hope it was just some random gremlin that worked itself out.

Exactly which type of Gremlin:

Papa Rad17 · 10-27-2011, 10:38 PM

^all of the above