Once it warms up it does not idle

Tiny
J.AHLSWEDE53
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 MITSUBISHI GALANT
  • 3.0L
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 175,000 MILES
My car starts up and runs just fine when it's cold but once it warms up it wont idle. The rpm drops and it shuts off on me. I can start it right back up but I have to keep my foot lightly on the gas to keep it running. Can you please help me figure it out?
Wednesday, March 13th, 2019 AT 2:23 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,867 POSTS
Welcome to 2CarPros.

First, there are a few things that can cause an idle issue. However, my first suspect in this case is the idle air control solenoid (IAC). The IAC is mounted on the throttle body and is responsible for maintaining idle speed by allowing a metered amount of air to enter the engine when the throttle plate is closed. What often happens is there is a carbon build up on either the component or where it mounts on the throttle body. The result is, air is restricted and stalls the engine.

I attached two pictures that show location. See pictures 1 and 2.

First, with the engine off, put your finer or hand on the solenoid and have a helper turn the key from off to on (engine off). You should feel and hear a click., If you do, remove the component, and check for excessive dirt or carbon.

If there is no click or sound, replace the IAC.

Please make sure your helper does not start the engine when doing this. And, make sure you keep away from moving components.

Also, if this doesn't help, the next thing I would recommend checking for are engine vacuum leaks. Here is a link that shows how that is done:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-an-engine-vacuum-gauge

Let me know the results.

Joe
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Wednesday, March 13th, 2019 AT 8:26 PM

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