i just bought a '92 sidekick jx 4x4 8v that i am kind of regretting but i like the vehicle so im gonna keep it. the vehicle runs great while driving but when i come to a stop it dies and is hard to get started again. this doesnt happen everytime. but more than not. i am constantly diagnosing while driving and watching for any strange behavior and i have noticed a few things....
......there is apparantly a short somewhere in the temperature guage wiring because when i hit a bump the guage drops off, next bump it rises back up to proper reading.
......the check engine light never comes on. not even when i turn on the key before starting.
......the previous owner was apparantly someone who didnt care much about troubleshooting because all of the instrument panel lights dont work. including the lights on the heater control panel and the shifter. this person has wired a light bulb into the parking light harness and mounted it in such a fashion that it shines on the instrument cluster in order to see while driving at night. it serves the purpose but who does such a thing?
......i am taking it back to the dealer tomorrow so he can do some diagnostics but i am sure he wont find anything...doesnt seem to bright.
could anyone give me some ideas on where i should start with this thing?
i would really like to bring this vehicle back to life.
Arent PO's a hoot?
other than easy stuff like tuneup.
get the CEL lamp working , it will be burned out cause PO drove it
100k miles with it on. only takes 700 hours to burn one out or less.
then , make sure it comes on at KEY on, no start.
this lets you know the ECU has some brains left.
the pull the codes from ECU , 12 = normal. this again confirms Brains are alive.
The 8v is much more reliable (1 injector) and is runs almost perfect with a vacuum like , unlike 16v , cousins.
The lamps come out each, remove obvious speedo head screws.
4 on bezel , 4 on speedo , in plain site.
slide speed toward you , gently, I can swap them with out removing the speedo cable, but it is easier if you do .
they just twist out. common lamp in the business, it is.
ID replace every single one. ( they are too old to be any good)
heat gage, check connection on that single term. sender on the water outlet front top of engine. it will be bad , loose?
i could be at speedo or the gage.
now your die out.
can be caused by many things.
loss of spark.
loss of fuel .
or the TPS idle switch is bad (can be tested with ohm meter easy)
if this switch opens at idle the engine will simply STOP.
crazy huh? it was a stupid idea but new cars dont have it.
or car is so rich, it is fouling the plugs and killing engine.
you would smeel the last one. RICH = Burned gas smell.
it is rare for a 8v to stall by lean condition, would need to have Fuel pump loss. But it is possible.
thanx for all of the advice. i will check all options.
one thing on the dash lights....it seems odd that all are blown...is there not a fuse for the entire instrument panel lights? there is no owners manual in the truck so i have no fuse locator. will be buying a haynes manual tomorrow.
nah you dont need it.
the fuse locator is on the fuse cover , left knee.
under hood they are the mains, youd know it if mains pop.
the PO drove and they all went out. or a wire broke to the main dash. or the dimmer knob circuit is bad ,killing all 12 to dash lamps. but that doesnt kill idiot lamps.
on my kick all power comes to idiot lamps from pin b5 on dash cluster plug. it is labled IGNITION power.
must be or they all go out.
so you have 2 paths, one for illumination.
other for idiot lamps. (all but highbeam and blinks, diff on these)
I have seen many a car with them all bad.
I pull one, its bad, I pull another , its bad too.
math:
92 , 100k miles.= 2000 hours, 2 times the life of most bulbs
I had 3 bad. (and all illumination lamps were bad)
I always run my dimmers at 80% so the lamps last for ever.
I can pull a lamp in under 5 minutes flat. easiest car in the world to do. 8 screws. or is it 6 , forget.
ok i pulled the heater control lamp yesterday since i was in there installing a new radio. that bulb was good. im going to rip the dash apart today and get in there with a meter because i also found out yesterday by hitting the dashboard lightly i can make my temp guage work.
also, took car garage to have idle stall diagnosed but they couldnt find anything since it didnt happen for them. hasnt happened for me in a couple days so i will have to wait until it does it again or hope it doesnt.
im sure whatever it is it set a code but with no CEL i dont know. also on my list for today along with a tune-up and maybe even a thermostat...i noticed when the guage does function it gets very hot(almost in red zone) before thermostat opens. sticking?
again thanx for the help and ill keep you posted on the outcome of todays venture
i pulled the dash apart and found all bulbs to be good. so i started testing the wiring and found the brightness switch was bad. so i put a jumper in the harness to get them working until i can find a new switch.
also, there was no bulb at all for the CEL or the BRAKE warning light so i have to go to a junkyard and get a couple sockets since its the small twist-in ones and auto parts only carries the larger ones.
while i had the dash out i pulled all connections and reconnected and now the temp guage works fine.
i am still having the idle problem but not near as often, maybe once or twice in 3 days or so. i am hoping it is just because the car sat for a while and its working itself out now that its running everyday.
if we ever get some descent weather i plan on doing a tune-up. no garage and its to cold right now.
i have been told by a few people that it smells like its running rich which might explain exteremely poor gas mileage.
Too bad they lost the twisty sockets for the lamps.
they are common lamps. but those sockets.
rich on this car, may mean the ECU is throwing DTC codes like mad.
or ecu needs new Capacitors inside. (easy fix)
these units all fail. the ecu's .
they get weaker and weaker then leak. then ECU goes random.
pull lid and look for black smoke damage on inside of lid,
then those 2 caps , the 2 most big caps black plastic over aluminum perfect cylinder can. Get new ones, as these are bad or are about to go there.
ecu is behind left speaker.
ok im updating sorry it took so long to get back. the idle problem seems to be taking care of itself. it happens less frequently as time passes. i found the light sockets at a junkyard and grabbed a few extra just in case. also found a nice set of seats that would match my exterior color well. they are asking $75 for all 3 so im considering getting them soon and letting them sit and dry out for a few months so they will be ready to install come spring/summer. just a thought since my seats are stained and dirty. had a field day at the junkyard and plan on going again soon.
couple questions..
is there a light in the shift mechanism to light up the gear selection panel? (PRND2L)
where is the jack located? i found the handle floating around in the back and put it in its proper place under the driver seat. but havent noticed a place for a jack which i thought might be in the engine compartment. this might be a crazy question but i spent 45 minutes trying to locate the hood release and ended up calling the dealer. so maybe im just overlooking the jack as well.
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'92 sidekick wont idle
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