Questions and Answers

Oldsmobile Cutlass Loping Idle Q. Hi Vince, I have a 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Wagon with 107,000 miles, a 3.0 liter V-6 2-bbl carburetor, A/C, cruise and automatic transmission. My problem is with the idle speed control solenoid on the carburetor. After initial warmup, the solenoid continues to move in and out for about 2-3 minutes after the electronic choke had kicked down.

This causes the engine to "lope" almost to the point of stalling. If I put the car in gear, the loping stops and idles fine. After 2-3 minutes, the car idles fine even in park. I've cleared a code 53 out of the ECM memory after getting an intermittent check engine light. Could the ECM be causing the Idle speed solenoid to act like this?

Love your website!
Ken
Buffalo, NY

A. There is a switch inside that idle controller that could be bad and cause it to "hunt" for idle speed. If you can get a manual for this car it may have a chart to diagnosis it.