camry starts then dies in mountains

[1994camryle]

i took my 94 camry up to mount baldy, ca 7,000 ft my car starts then shuts off.


so i had to start it then rev it and throw it in reverse to get it to stay going.



i made it down the mountain, and parked in claremont. and then turned it off went into a store for 5 minutes and came back out and started it and it started just fine.




so could it be the altitude, not enough air or something?



please help.

[hill8570]

Four-banger or six-banger? Either way, they should self-adjust for the higher altitude based on the readings from the MAP sensor (for the 5S-FE) or the MAF (for the 1MZ-FE). Any check engine lights or known issues with the oxygen sensors that might throw off the fuel-air calculations?

Was she blowing black smoke up on the mountain (over-rich mixture)?

[1994camryle]

4 cyl i had the o2 sensor replaced about a year ago. no smoke, nothin wrong with it

[TCam01]

so let me get this straight the only way you got off the mountain was by going in reverse the whole way because if that's the case that would be a funny site to see. if you had to give it gas for it to stay running its your idle air control valve and your throttle body filled with gunk.

[AlmightyCamry777]

I've been to Baldy, it's quite nice for California landscape, but its especially nicer without car problems i am sure! - we know that driving at altitude makes the mixture LEAN, and we also know that on fuel injected cars the computer is supposed to compensate for that. so maybe the computer compensated as much as it could (richening the mixture) and then couldn't do any more to make the engine run right.

You didn't throw a code or you'd have mentioned the CEL being on, so maybe Tcam is right, try cleaning the throttle body and iac. The IAC is temperature sensitive, only, it is not sensitive to altitude so far as i know - but if it is dirty and sticky maybe the little vanes arent opening up all the way; and driving at altitude merely made the mixture just too rich!

[1994camryle]

Originally Posted by TCam01

so let me get this straight the only way you got off the mountain was by going in reverse the whole way because if that's the case that would be a funny site to see. if you had to give it gas for it to stay running its your idle air control valve and your throttle body filled with gunk.

i backed out of the parking space and then threw it in drive down the mountain

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by AlmightyCamry777

...we know that driving at altitude makes the mixture LEAN

Nitpicking, but, uncompensated, the mixture swings to the RICH side (less oxygen mass in a given volume of air). Decades back, I drove a carb'ed Corolla across Wyoming -- that sucker was blowing black smoke something fierce going over a couple of the passes. As you say, 'tho, the computer is supposed to sense the reduced mass flow, and back off the fuel charge accordingly. Power goes to hell, but it should stay running.

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by 1994camryle

4 cyl i had the o2 sensor replaced about a year ago. no smoke, nothin wrong with it

OK. What was the air temp? Had the car been sitting long enough (many hours) to get anywhere near air temp?

[73sport]

Originally Posted by hill8570

Nitpicking, but, uncompensated, the mixture swings to the RICH side (less oxygen mass in a given volume of air). Decades back, I drove a carb'ed Corolla across Wyoming -- that sucker was blowing black smoke something fierce going over a couple of the passes. As you say, 'tho, the computer is supposed to sense the reduced mass flow, and back off the fuel charge accordingly. Power goes to hell, but it should stay running.

^+1

Take a look at this:
V6's and cold fall air=A winning combination

Which has a post by yours trully. . . .

<PASTE>
We are having fun now..... Out of all that and no ones mentions altitude….

Altitude, barometric pressure, air density, and humidity all play a role in engine performance.

Low altitude like Sea level, has the highest pressure (roughly 14.6 PSI), add a storm front, (increase in barometric pressure), and some rain and you have a winning combination more HP. Remember the right combination of Oxygen and Water when burned, will produce steam which if done right can add to performance.

Here are some numbers you may have seen before and hopefully it will all make sense…

1 Atmosphere = 29.92126 inches of mercury
1 Atmosphere = 760 millimeters of mercury
1 Atmosphere = 14.69595 PSI

At sea level and up to 250 feet above seal level you can find 29.9 inches of mercury. This is good for engine performance! As you can see here, the pressure and density drop as you go up, hence you loose performance as the alt increases.... There is a good deal to be said here, I sugest you do some research if you found any of this intersting at all...

Altitude -Pressure-Temp.-Density
(feet) -- (in. Hg) --(F°) --(%)
Sealevel -- 29.92 -- 59.0 -- 100
2,000 ----- 27.82 -- 51.9 -- 94.3
4,000 ----- 25.84 -- 44.7 -- 88.8
6,000 ----- 23.98 -- 37.6 -- 83.6
8,000 ----- 22.22 -- 30.5 -- 78.6
10,000 ----20.57 -- 23.3 -- 73.8
12,000 ----19.02 -- 16.2 -- 69.3

<end paste>
So, perhaps a little off topic to the post but it seems you have other issues.

Was it a fluke or can it be repeated?