Questions and Answers
Stalling Sunfire
Q. Hello! As a woman, I have a genetic distrust of any mechanic! I was hoping to get an idea on the following problem. Basically, 9 out of 10 times, when I park the car and then turn the A/C off, the car also shuts off. The car has also not been starting the same. Sometimes it starts right up but other times I have to give it gas to get it to turn over - it's not consistent though. There are also times when I turn the car on and it seems like it wants to stall - turning on the A/C usually helps.
I've been told it could be a matter of resetting the idle. The battery was recently replaced and I thought this would solve the problem... nope!
Car is a 95 Pontiac Sunfire, automatic, 61,000 miles.
Any direction is appreciated! Thanks!! Colleen
A. Well Colleen, hopefully I can overcome your genes and show you that some mechanics can be trusted.
I believe the problem is with the idle speed adjustment. When the A/C is on, the computer raises the idle to compensate for the added load of the A/C compressor. When you turn the A/C off, it no longer compensates and if the base idle is too low, the engine will stall.
The two things to check for are the base idle speed adjustment or a vacuum leak that is throwing the idle speed off.
