Questions and Answers
Stalling Camry
Q. Hello, Thanks for providing a really great resource for internet users. I have searched through your archive for answers, but have not found anything that has solved my problem yet.
I drive an 1988 Toyota Camry LE 4 cylinder, 2 liter. It has an automatic transmission and 162,000 miles on it. This car is fuel injected with no ABS brakes. P/S, A/C, Cruise control are all included.
My Camry stalls when starting from a dead stop, but only intermittently. It appears to happen more often after the car has sat for an entire weekend. It drives fine until I come to a stop light and then try to accelerate again.
I have replaced the distributor cap, button, plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter and have run some Chevron Techron through the gas. The problem is getting worse. Any advice you can provide will be helpful.
Thanks,
TomA. There are a number of cause for this problem. What you have already replaced does narrow down the possibilities somewhat.
I would check for vacuum leaks in the air intake system. Make sure they are all connected and replace any lines that have cracks or are broken. I would check the spark and make sure it is good and hot. You can get a spark tester at an auto parts store or you can gap an old spark plug to 0.250" and use that as a tester. You may have a bad ignition coil or igniter.
Check the ignition timing and be sure it's set at 10° BTDC.
If all of this checks out, check the fuel pressure, it should be between 28 - 44 psi at idle with the vacuum line disconnected and plugged. It should rise as you increase the idle speed with the vacuum line connected, if not, you have a problem with the fuel pump or fuel pressure regulator.
If all these basic things are good, you will need to go into the computer and see if there are any stored codes. That will give you a starting place in checking the EFI system. Since there are a number of things such as the coolant temp sensor, air flow meter and throttle position sensor that can cause this problem, you'll have to check each one to see which is causing the problem.
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