[josephsc]

I second the suggestion of looking at the distributor rotor/cap -- I recently had a similar issue with an S2. It was a rough/start idle that eventually led to a no-start situation. It turned out to be a worn out distrubutor cap/rotor.

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[ds968]

Joe,



The distributor componets are also less than a year old.. so unless some moisture got in there and stays trapped, it's doubtful parts ( rotor, points, etc ) would wear out so quickly, wouldn't it ?



That being said though, not a bad idea to look into it just for the sake of covering as much ground as I can..





Man. I hope my mechanic does not read these posts, he just lost $ 200 worth of testing sensors, resistors, connections, wires, <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> gotta love the forums !!! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[ds968]

ok, here's the latest <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/unsure.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ( = cautious optimism )



Wiggled and pushed in the connections of all the sensors I could reach to make sure they're tight ( none felt loose in the least bit, however ) and at Dave's additional suggestion I disconnected and reconnected the plug on the throttle body "box". ( no visible moisture, contacts also looked clean ..)



Started the car, idling smooth, one minute goes by, two minutes go by, I'm waiting for the stumble / hesitation... nothing <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



I drive it around the block giving it very little gas ( slow acceleration is where where it had the most pronounced problems before ) and after a five minute trouble free trip I'm smiling ear to ear.. but keeping my fingers crossed <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/dry.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ,



I'll keep checking later today and tomorrow to see if this good news lasts <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/blink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Thanks all !!

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[S_Cal968]

"could it run for 2 days w/o a problem" sure electrical gremlins can act up anytime with moisture and a host of variables. It's nice that the connectors were designed with seals, but after 10-12 years of temperature cycling, I wouldn't have 100% confidence in them.

Obviously this is all speculation, the solution may be something else, however I have seen similar issues come up after washing when I worked as a mech-a-nic. We'd have customers come back a few times b/c the condition wouldn't always happen when we had it. If the customer asked us to clean the engine, we'd wrap the distributor and other sensitive components and never use high pressure H2O which could cause harm.

When I do any detailing I use a spray-on degreaser and wipe it off - no water is used. In fact in some areas it's illegal to rinse oil etc down the gutter. Back before electronic control we used spray-on gunk and high pressure water to rinse it off - can't do that anymore... Back then we didn't give a crap about the environment... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[ds968]

yeah, just to be on the safe side, I'll just dust and hand clean any dirty spots from now on.. it's not as if my engine is show worthy anyway - far from it in fact..



on the idle matter .. started it again this afternoon, ran it for a bit and.. so far so good. glad to see the joy associated with the earlier success was not a case of premature exhilaration <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[josephsc]

Good to hear the car's running smoothly now! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[S_Cal968]

"premature exhilaration" ah don't feel bad it happens... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



perhaps the gremlin jumped ship - let's hope so...

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