HELP!!! Car acting weird!!
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,518
Likes: 3
From: Round Hill, VA
HELP!!! Car acting weird!!
I started my car up today and I heard a popping coming from it kinda like a backfire. I FREAKED!!!! 
I turned it off...let it sit for a while and turned it on again...this time no popping. Well I drove it around and noticed that when I stopped it seemed to idle rougher and kinda surge at times. I did not do any upgrades recently to it to start doing this. Then when I got out and tried to lock it using the controller it wouldn't work. WTF!!! Something is wrong of course and possible something big at this rate. I'm trying to diagnose it before some serious damage occurs. I'll be double checking to make sure everything is secure and attached under the hood. I'm kinda thinking maybe new spark plugs and wires might do the trick. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank You!!!! 
I turned it off...let it sit for a while and turned it on again...this time no popping. Well I drove it around and noticed that when I stopped it seemed to idle rougher and kinda surge at times. I did not do any upgrades recently to it to start doing this. Then when I got out and tried to lock it using the controller it wouldn't work. WTF!!! Something is wrong of course and possible something big at this rate. I'm trying to diagnose it before some serious damage occurs. I'll be double checking to make sure everything is secure and attached under the hood. I'm kinda thinking maybe new spark plugs and wires might do the trick. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank You!!!!
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 59
Likes: 0
From: Chesterfield mo
i had a 01 rama ir trans am that did this once. it could have been bad gas but i took it to have the battery checked and it needed to be changed. never had a problem with it after that. also when i would give hardly any gas of the line it would chug a little like it was out of gas. good luck with yours hope its the battery or something small like a wire .
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,518
Likes: 3
From: Round Hill, VA
well when it first started it was getting low on gas so I filled it up with Amoco gas and still does it. It seems to only do the popping on a cold start, but the rough ideling is all the time. The battery is a brand new Optima Yellow Top and I'm pretty sure it's not that. Hopefully it's not the CPU acting up.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,518
Likes: 3
From: Round Hill, VA
I just checked and everything is connected and nothing is loose or melted. The remotes worked after a few hours, but soon don't work again once I start the car again and it starts puttering again.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
The first thing that you need to do is check the codes that may be stored in the DIC. If you do not know how, try this link: http://www.stengel.net/diccodes.htm
If it is SECONDARY IGNITION (wires and plugs) you will not see any codes unless the CHECK ENGINE light is on! If it is on and you check the codes, PCM 0300 will be active and it means that you have an active misfire.
If you want to check your wires, twist the boots to loosen them up on the spark plug and pull them all off. DO NOT PULL THE WIRE! Pull on the boots. Then, get an ohm meter and read the wires end to end. If they are stock, a good wire will read 250 - 750 ohms, the out side jacket will be free of rips tears or burns and the boots should be soft and plyable. If your wires all add up to the above discription, they are more than likley GOOD!
Check for codes and post them for more help.
Bill Curlee
When you reinstall them, lube them up with dialectric grease and slip them back on.
If it is SECONDARY IGNITION (wires and plugs) you will not see any codes unless the CHECK ENGINE light is on! If it is on and you check the codes, PCM 0300 will be active and it means that you have an active misfire.
If you want to check your wires, twist the boots to loosen them up on the spark plug and pull them all off. DO NOT PULL THE WIRE! Pull on the boots. Then, get an ohm meter and read the wires end to end. If they are stock, a good wire will read 250 - 750 ohms, the out side jacket will be free of rips tears or burns and the boots should be soft and plyable. If your wires all add up to the above discription, they are more than likley GOOD!
Check for codes and post them for more help.
Bill Curlee
When you reinstall them, lube them up with dialectric grease and slip them back on.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,518
Likes: 3
From: Round Hill, VA
I have a strong feeling it's the plugs so I'll check them as soon as I get a chance to do so. But, it still doesn't solve the fact that my remotes loose programing then start working again later.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
I would say that your sparkplugs are more than likley fine at that mileage but changing wont hurt anything! Unless the insulator is cracked the plug should be fine. I had 60K on my 98 coupe and changed the plugs to see if the engine would run better. 
The plugs looked good and performance was exactly the same.
If you do change them, MAKE SURE that the engine is COLD. If you remove them from the aluminum cylinder head when the head is HOT you could damage the threads in the cylinder head.
I put a small ammount of anti seize on the plug threads prior to reinstalling them.
BC
The plugs looked good and performance was exactly the same. If you do change them, MAKE SURE that the engine is COLD. If you remove them from the aluminum cylinder head when the head is HOT you could damage the threads in the cylinder head.
I put a small ammount of anti seize on the plug threads prior to reinstalling them.BC
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,518
Likes: 3
From: Round Hill, VA
I had bought some new Taylor Spark Plug wires and are waiting for them to show up to go ahead and replace them and the plugs to be on the safe side. I was also thinking about having them dyno tune it to make sure everything is good.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Just to let you know,,,, under stock conditions, plugs and wires will NOT give you any more HP or performance unless the ones that you are replacing are bad. If you installes brand new GM AC Delco stock wires and plugs, dyno the engine and under the same conditions removed the STOCK plugs and wires and install aftermarket plugs and wires the dyno would more than likley read the same.
Please dont take that wrong. If you add aftermarket performance up-grades ie heads cam, blower ect, there are plugs that will work much better. IE if you are running a blower or turbo, you should NOT run a platunum plug!
Please dont take that wrong. If you add aftermarket performance up-grades ie heads cam, blower ect, there are plugs that will work much better. IE if you are running a blower or turbo, you should NOT run a platunum plug!
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,836
Likes: 244
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Open loop/closed loop problem? Check air pump connections and make sure no hoses are off or partially disconnected. How about O2 sensors? Especially the front ones. Get her up and check wiring is not broken/burned/damaged, etc.
Robert
Robert
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Robert,
He said that he did not have any codes. Wouldnt these problems set a code? Even an air intake problem would set a code if that was a problem. Sounds like a secondary ignition issue to me.
He said that he did not have any codes. Wouldnt these problems set a code? Even an air intake problem would set a code if that was a problem. Sounds like a secondary ignition issue to me.