Idles up high

2004 CHEVROLET CAVALIER
179,888 MILES • 2.2L • 6 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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CORTNEY HOLLINGSWORTH
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
When I start my car nothing works inside like the lights or radio an the battery light comes on for like 3 to 5 minutes then it will idle up real high to like 3,000 rpm's or higher, then idle down real low then go to normal. Then the lights and radio will work. what can be my problem?
Jan 21, 2020 at 9:59 PM
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SCGRANTURISMO
  • AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
  • 4,897 POSTS
Hello,

This could be a few different things. It could be a problem with your vehicle's Idle Air Control[IAC] valve, it could be a vacuum leak, it could also be a bad ground from the Powertrain Control Module[PCM], or a bad PCM itself. Let's start by checking for vacuum leaks first. Here is a link to a guide below explaining how to find vacuum leaks:

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

Please go through this guide and get back to us with what you are able to find out. We can go from there if needed.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros
Jan 22, 2020 at 2:55 AM
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CORTNEY HOLLINGSWORTH
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I also forgot to say that I took off the air filter an air filter box an put a K & N air flow filter on my car. will that have something to do with my problems? Because I know the okay one I took off had a wire pulled into it and the one I put on did not.
Jan 22, 2020 at 4:29 AM
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SCGRANTURISMO
  • AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
  • 4,897 POSTS
Hello again,

Yes, this would. The wire that you pulled off is either going to be a Intake Air Temperature[IAT] sensor, or a Mass AirFlow[MAF] sensor, or a Manifold Absolute Pressure[MAP) wires, but more than likely IAT wires. The Power-train Control Module[PCM] needs this information to know the temperature and most importantly the volume of air entering your engine so it can add the proper amount of fuel accordingly. You also might have inadvertently caused an intake leak there as well. Try replacing the air filter with the exact filter that came out and plugging back in the electrical connector and report back with what happens.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros
Jan 24, 2020 at 12:58 AM