I have a 89 camry with 130k miles. I bought it with 128k miles. I was about to drive it this weekend, and it started bogging down like crazy. As soon as I stop, the revs would drop really low and then it just cut off. If I try to accelerate, it hesitates like it is not going anywhere. I was driving to the gas station and it just stumbles forward and shut off everytime I try to accelerate.

What are the most likely possibilities to be the cause of this problem?

What can I do to correct this problem?

I want as many suggestions as possible.

Could it be the spark plug wires? My 94 Accord was doing that 2 months ago and it was the spark plug wires. What do you think?

Thanks for your replies

P.S. I know this is an accord fourm, but I think you accord guys are more mature than the other boards on the internet

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by profroopchan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Could it be the spark plug wires?</TD></TR></TABLE>Could be. How old are they? Can you see any arcing on cold-start in the dark??

Does the camry have something like our FITV & IACV?? That's the next place I'd look. Also vacuum leaks.

 

well, since I just bought it, I do not know how old they are. I see a dealer timing belt change at 55k miles. The dealer i bought the car from washed everything really really clean, so I cant tell how old they are. They are red, so I know they have been changed at some point.
So, you think this maybe the first place I need to check to change these and see if it solves the problem?

 

I would not stat changing parts until i did a good troubleshooting session with your car.

Now, is that camry FI or carbed?

fs

 

It is Fuel Injection. What should I trouble shoot?

 

I assume that you have a multimeter and know how to use it... If not, post your questions.

Ok, this is what i would do:

First, open the hood and look at all hoses, electrical connections, sensors, etc... Look very carefully for anything that is burnt, cut, cracked, shaffed, etc... If you find something, it is good to repair right away.

Check spark plug wires with ohmmeter or multimeter set on highest scale. Any wire above 30K ohms should be discarded.

Check your sparkplugs and replace them if they are worn, where the electrode is burnt or rounded off.

Check and replace the rotor and distributor cap if the electrodes are burnt and/or corroded.

Check fuel pressure and correct any problems.

Check all vacuum lines. With engine idling, you can spray wd-40 on the hose connections to see if idle moves up or down.

check the air ducting to your throttle body, all gaskets on the intake that may introduce false air into the intake.

Check map or maf sensor. With maf system, engine warmed and idling, gently tap on sensor, if the rpm's drop or the engine dies, replace the sensor.

The map sensor can be checked by hooking up a analog (needle) voltmeter between ground and the map sensor wire. Set the scale to no higher than 12 or 15 volts. If you can get a scale to a maximum of 6 volts the better. With the engine off, the reading will be around 4.5V, depending on your altitude above sea level, with the engine warmed up and idling the reading should be around 1.5-2.0V. Rev the motor up, if the needle pegs the scale one way or the other, replace the sensor. If wiggling the wires peg the needle, inspect and repair the wiring to MAP sensor.

Another item to check is the tps. A easy way to check it, either on or off the vehicle, is to test with a analog meter, by hooking one lead to either the "A" or "C" terminal, and hooking the other lead to the center or "B" terminal. Move the throttle and observe the action of the needle. It should be smooth. It is erratic, replace the sensor.

I hope i am not losing you here, but you really need to look at all the points above to identify the problem. I am not familiar with Toyota technology, but cars are cars.

fs

 

I have an anolog meter, but I do not have a digital multimeter. Can i still use this to check the spark plug wires?

I looked on the spark plugs, they look normal. they still look good. no signs of abnormal wear. Can I use the analog multimeter to test the resistance? How do I test the resistance? just connect both ends of the meter to both ends of the spark plug wires?

What should I do when checking the distributer? just open it and look for abnormal wear?

How do I check fuel pressure? and which vacum lines should I look for?

PS. I am happy I posted it on the Accord board. out of all the places on the net I posted it, this is the only one with replies.

 

Analog meter will be fine.

TO check resistance, set your meter to ohms. Put one prong at one end, another prong at the other and verify if it reads 0 or 1 or anything in between like i explained.

For the distributor, yes check for any abnormal wear, cracks, burns, anything.

fs

 

the toyota camry does have an internal air compressor which sometimes can be the root of such problems. In my mothers old 96 camry, believe it or not, that is the one and only non-routine to crap out and it did it early and showed the same symptoms your car does.
Does the outside temperature change the way the car runs at all?

 

I look on the spark plug wires. It is red in color. It is It is Sumitomo 2002 Z-16 X-E
Does that mean that it was made in 2002? if it was, then would it need changing again? well, if the 2002 does not represent the year, then I guess it would need changing

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Confuc1ous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">internal air compressor which sometimes can be the root of such problems. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Where can I find this Internal air compressor? and how do I go about fixing/changing it?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Confuc1ous &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Does the outside temperature change the way the car runs at all?</TD></TR></TABLE>
I just moved from South Carolina to Virginia, so, the tempreture is getting pretty low now. ~22F

This problem does not happen all the time. I just drove it around the parking lot awhile ago and it was fine.

 

the internal air compressor is located somewhere near the intake manifold i think, i cant be sure but thats something you have to find for yourself...

as far as me relating it to the temperature is because the internal air compressor can sometimes respond badly to the rising and falling temperatures.