So here's whats happening.
I had driven my LS (b18b1) the day before and it ran great.
The next morning I started it up to head into town and when I pulled out of the driveway and as I was accelerating there was no power and at about 2500 to 3k rpm the motor just dropped down to 1k rpm and there was no power at all. Then if I kept steady throttle it would go back up to about 3k and then down again for a few seconds and so on and so forth.

I can shift through all my gears if I stay below about 1800 rpm but if I go any higher then the power cuts.

Also if I really get on it in neutral it will rev up above 3k but at a steady throttle the power will die at about 3k (in neutral and in gear).

I removed one of the spark plugs to take a look and it was ghostly white...

Anyone have any ideas?

 

check your spark plugs. change spark plugs and wires. change the rotor in the dizzy.

 

White plugs= running lean. Your fuel pressure is likely low and not capable of supplying enough at high-rpm. So few people mention what their plugs look like and it makes diagnosis so much easier. Change the filter and check the other plugs. If all are the same and the filter didnt help, check the fuel pump and pressure regulator. You may need to get a fuel pressure gauge.

 

rick, I have a new rotor and the plugs and wires are fine but thanks for the input.

delsol, yeah that is a good idea.
I have been intending to install a pressure gauge after the fuel filter anyway...

I should also mention that the idle speed had been surging slightly for a few days previous to the incident. After warming up it would wander back and forth from about 800 to 1200 rpm which wasn't normal.

 

If the A/F ratio is off more than the ECU can compensate for, the idle can bounce as the computer tries in vain to get the ratio correct. This particular cause of idle bouncing can only happen if your ignition is capable of setting off a ratio that's too far off for the ECU to fix- which is a good sign for your ignition system.

 

now that you mention it, my A/F meter was reading leaner than normal I believe.
haha msd ftw

 

plugged injectors, low compression.......

 

If all the plugs look the same it's unlikely the injectors are to blame. If only one or two plugs are white, then it's probably those injectors causing the problem. A sudden compression failure in your case would only mean a blown head gasket or bent valve and you would hear it missing at all rpm's.

 

Okay so I checked all four plugs and they are all white.
I got my fuel pressure gauge and its reading about 35psi at idle.
I Checked the timing...

Any more ideas?

 

bump

 

Dang.
Sorry for your loss.
Of power that is.

 

Okay, I figured out what the problem was and I thought I would post it for anyone who might have a similar problem and who actually uses the search feature

After doing some research i found out that when the TPS (throttle position sensor) has gone bad the car goes into "limp mode" which is the lack of power and limited rpm range that I was experiencing.
Normally this will throw a CEL code 7 but not always (as mine did not).

To check the TPS, get a volt meter and check the voltage of the center (red) wire going to the sensor and it should read .5 volts normally and about 5.5 volts at wide open throttle (with the ignition on but the motor off).

So I decided to check it since this seemed to likely be my problem and I noticed that my center wire was broken about an inch away from the sensor!
I just wired it back up and she's been running great since.

I believe that the surging at idle that I mentioned earlier can also be attributed to a faulty or improperly adjusted TPS and I suppose mine was just the result of a poor connection before it finally lost connection completely.