need help with weird starting problem

[brandonN]

i have a 1993 camry le and it starts up but wont stay running unless i keep my foot on the gas till its warm. it only does this in the winter but in the summer it starts fine and does not need some one to hold the gas for it. toyota said it was an air idler problem but im thinking its a cold start valve.
any help whould be apreciated thanks

[#2!]

There's a bunch of threads posted about cleaning IAC valve and throttle body. They often get gummed up and cause idling problems.

[brandonN]

thanks

[hill8570]

Like #2! said, good chance the IAC is gummed up to the point it isn't working right in cold weather. See DIY: Cleaning the Throttlebody (5S-FE - other engines similar) for a good writeup on the cleaning procedure.

Another possibility is that the Engine Coolant Temperature sensor (ECT) is reading too "warm". Is your Check Engine Light on? If that sensor fails completely, the CEL will be on, and the engine will default to "warmed up" operation -- not so good when the temperature is low. It's also possible for it to fail only partially, and you'd never see a CEL. The FSM at www.camrystuff.com , Generation 3, 5S-FE section, starting on page 356 shows the test procedure, although you'll need a cheap-o multimeter to do the test.

If you've never cleaned the IAC and throttle body, I'd recommend doing that first -- it's easy to do, and after ~17 years it's guaranteed to be really gunked up.

[brandonN]

thanks for the replie and no the engine light is not on i will check the iac first and see if that solves the problem if not ill do the test thanks for the help