03 GT Sporty w/ 140,000 - I noticed when i came home from work and i put my car in park and sat there for a while the car would Jerk. Every once in a while the car will jerk as if the engine is about to turn off or idle hard like a spark plug is bad or something. It happens for a quick second and then the engine sounds normal...then it will bog for a quick second (car jerking when it bogs) and it will go back to normal again. i did a tune up at like 125,000 miles (changed all belts, spark plugs/wires, water pump).
I recently changed my Alternator since the old one was going bad (My current battery has been with the old alternator for a year...not sure if this has anything to do with this issue, just wanted to let y'all know). Oil is good and i have a CAI from ebay. I had to ghetto rig my CAI from coming off by tying it down in place so it doesnt move around with some zip ties. One day the bitch came off while wifey was driving and the car just stalled and turned off, thats why i had to ghetto rig it. ANYWAYS, the jerking only happens when the car is in park. Hope all this info. helps.
Are you positive it only happens when the car is in park? Or does it do it when the car is at idle? That nearly shutting off has all the hallmarks of a vacuum leak - but I'll need more info.
Something tells me that CAI may be leaking somewhere. Just a hunch.
Im going to see if it happens while not in park. This morning when i turned on the car and let it warm up, it wasn't doing it. It only does it when the car has been driven at least maybe 20 minutes...I havent noticed it while im stopped at a stop light (while in drive), so when i get off today I will let you know. The CAI is one of the 20 dollars one you can buy on EBay, maybe even ghetto rigging it to stay in place still doesnt make it work 100%.
The thing is, before i ghetto rigged the CAI to stay in place so it wouldnt come off, the car would bog down while in drive,parked, whatever...and the day the car died on my wife the CAI came completely off, therefore shutting off the car. The problem now seems like it wants to do stall out only in park, I don't really notice it while in drive though.
Other symptoms that my car is experiencing that may help you is loss of performance. Its been acting like this for a while, but when I press on the gas the car will hesitate for a sec and then kick in. I feel like i have to press on the gas more so the car can pick up and go. Does a Vacuum leak cause lose of performance as well? I've never had a mechanic inspect my vehicle for a vacuum leak, so that may be the cause of both issues? (car wanting to shut off and loss of performance)
Last time I changed it was 90,000 miles i believe. Im going to do a brake,trans, and Transmission flush this coming up Monday. Also, tonight when i was driving and i was at a stop light, I noticed that my gauges where flickering. I paid close attention to my mile gauge and the center console clock and it seemed like it was flickering on/off real fast...like the car is losing power for a quick half a sec and comes back on. When I arrived home, parked, and turned off my car I tried unlocking/locking my doors with the car off and the rearview lights didnt flicker or anything.
I changed my alternator about 2/3 weeks ago, because i noticed at night when i press on the brakes my headlights would flicker on/off very noticeably, but the flickering I'm noticing now from my gauges happens quick...and the car even sometimes sounds different for a quick sec. when the flickering happens. I've went through about 3 batteries in about 2 years and my current battery has been with the old alternator for about a year....do you think I should change the battery for a new one to see if it fixes the idling/flickering issue?
So to sum it all up my car is experiencing:
loss of performance: I feel like i have to step on the gas more than usual to pick up speed...as the car hesitates to pick up. (Ive done a tune up at 120,000 miles - timing/utility belts/water pump and spark plugs/wires).
Flickering of the gauges that happens really quick: like the car is lossing/gaining power rapidly. (Changed my alternator about 2/3 weeks ago and it cured the headlight noticeable dimming, but there is still flickering of the gauges when the headlights are on.)
Wierd Idling: When in park the car idles normal...then sometimes it jerks like its about to turn off, but then it idles normal again...Car does not rev or anything...just the jerking that is bad enough to jerk the entire car. While the car is jerking, the engine sounds a little different too and then it sounds normal again. Car does not jerk while in drive.
I dont think the jerking is coming from the transmission. It shifts properly and all that. Can a Vacuum Leak cause all those issues? Also, can the ghetto rigged CAI (possibly coming loose again or a leak) cause those issues as well?
Sorry for the long post...I just wanted to give u as much info as i can. This shit is annoying!
With all of the charging problems you've had, did you check to make sure the battery terminals are clean and tight? If you think your battery's bad, I'm pretty sure Autozone will hook up their tester for free.
Can you put the original factory air intake back on, just to see if the problem goes away?
No, I dont have the factory Air filter anymore...I moved from TN to VA and had to get rid of it since i could only take what could fit in my car, lol. The battery terminals are clean and tight...ill go to autozone today and see if the batteries good, but I dont think the battery is causing the issue because when the car is off and I unlock/lock the doors..the lights dont dim...if the battery was going bad wouldnt they dim?
ya dude i also think its your battery, i had the same exact problem, lights flickering and rough idle and the car even died a few times, was worried that the alternator might be bad, but found out that the battery wouldnt hold its charge, luckily the battery was only a year old so it was still under warranty! Got it switched and ran the engine for like 30min and everything is perfect again :ndance:
so at the very least go get you battery tested, if you notice it has some difficulty starting up, its definitely the battery
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