2004 Camry LE low idle and stall problem.

[tfitzgerald]

Hi guys,

last week I was changing the oil on my wife's 2004 Camry (130 000 kms). I noticed quite a LOT of corrosion around the positive and negative battery terminals.. so I decided to clean them.

I removed the negative without any problems but I could not get the positive off. I decided to use a hammer to move the connector back and forth. I was surprised with how much force I had to use to break the connector free.

Once I replaced the oil I tried to start the car but it would not start. I check the voltage and I was down to 10 volts. Obviously I had damaged the battery in getting the postive terminal off. A quick ride to the auto parts store and I had a new battery.

I installed the battery and took the car out for a spin. The car drives normally but it will NOT idle after it has been warmed up. If I come to a stop sign, the car will idle low and stall.

If anyone has any ideas on what the problem could be I would really be interested in hearing them. I have already verified that the battery is at full charge and the battery is being charged when the engine is running. No 'Check Engine' light has come on.

Thanks guys!

[jimmy-j]

test your alternator

while the car is running, remove the negative battery terminal and if the car dies, your alternator is shot.

[MrSo0h0o]

this is normal. when you disconnect the battery, the car "re-learns" your driving habits and also it's idle position. just drive it for a while and it will be back to normal.

[jimmy-j]

the so-called "re-learning" you describe is all done fairly quickly when the car has reached operating temperature. it shouldn't take driving around anywhere to learn anything.

really, a car doesn't remember any driving habits of any sort. it remembers the air/fuel formula from intake, temperatures and o2 sensors.. any many other components. just stating the obvious ones.

[TRD VVTi]

Originally Posted by jimmy-j

the so-called "re-learning" you describe is all done fairly quickly when the car has reached operating temperature. it shouldn't take driving around anywhere to learn anything.

really, a car doesn't remember any driving habits of any sort. it remembers the air/fuel formula from intake, temperatures and o2 sensors.. any many other components. just stating the obvious ones.

You are completely incorrect in your statement. Do some research for OBD II. All OBD II cars learn driving habits.

To get the OP's car to idle properly he will need to let the car idle in gear. Driving it around will not allow the ECU to see what's happening at idle under load.

When I replaced my battery it only took a minute or so at a redlight for the car to return to proper idle.

[CamrySExxx]

yeah i was going to say its re learning but i guess a bunch of people have beat me to this =\ anyways weird thing is i never had that problem yet!!! ive disconeccted the battery many times for 10-30 mins. Once i even took the battery out to clean it and when i put it back there was no re learning process :p lucky me i guess

[jimmy-j]

as far as i've ever seen, the only time a car will learn and record driving habits is when there is an alternate device. i've never seen, in my entire life, an obd2 obd2a obd2b record or learn driving habits without a separate device.

[TRD VVTi]

Originally Posted by jimmy-j

as far as i've ever seen, the only time a car will learn and record driving habits is when there is an alternate device. i've never seen, in my entire life, an obd2 obd2a obd2b record or learn driving habits without a separate device.

If you've never seen it, you've never been involved in recent auto repair/service.

It's common knowledge in the industry. Apparently you're not in the industry, but dispatch advice as if you were...

[jimmy-j]

Originally Posted by TRD VVTi

If you've never seen it, you've never been involved in recent auto repair/service.

It's common knowledge in the industry. Apparently you're not in the industry, but dispatch advice as if you were...

no i'm not in the "industry" nor did i ever state that i was now did i? now i will state that i've repaired many cars in my days ranging from body work to motor swaps and i was heavily involved in honda tuning and performance.

i have a firm understanding of operations and how it works and as i've said before, i've never seen or heard of a car "learning" driving habits but rather formulas for emissions and such.

i don't know if i'm misunderstanding the "re-learning" part of it but this is what i see

[tfitzgerald]

Thanks for the help guys.. I have driven the car for about 10-15 miles... it still wont idle.. I will try the above advice of putting the car in gear and letting it idle when I get home... my question is.. if the car will not idle, how can I put it in gear and let it idle? Will i have to put the foot on the gas? My alternator is functioning properly as I am getting 13.5 + volts when running.

Thanks again for all ur help it is greatly appreciated. I am trying to avoid my 9:00 AM dealer appointment tomorrow AND I am dealing with the wife's "You broke it" talk as well.. LOL

[tfitzgerald]

Well.. that fixed it... went out and started the car. PUt it in drive and held the brake for a few minutes. All stalling has stopped... oh and the 'You broke it' has stopped as well! Thanks to everyone who helped!!

[Luna2]

Originally Posted by tfitzgerald

Well.. that fixed it... went out and started the car. PUt it in drive and held the brake for a few minutes. All stalling has stopped... oh and the 'You broke it' has stopped as well! Thanks to everyone who helped!!

Great...... Two problems fixed with one solution!!!!!!

[GC81]

I am having the same problem (disconnected the battery and let it sit for about an hour, but didn’t hit it with a hammer, haha) and already followed every suggestion on this page. Anyone else have any ideas? Just some additional info....

When I start the car it hovers around 1300 RPM, then decrements to around 800 RPM. The longer it sits, the slower it decreases in RPM until eventually it gets to 600 RPM. If I rev the engine to 2000 RPM and then release the gas, it will drop all the way down to 200 RPM and then idle around there. This is where I stop. Something I think might be valuable to add (maybe/probably not) is that when I turn on the air conditioner (before revving, and idling around 1300 RPM when engaging) the motor will slow down to just under 1K and then slowly climb back up before it starts decrementing again. What's strange, is when you disengage the A/C it QUICKLY drops RPM. I guess I assumed it would increase again since the load was removed, but I am sure one of you guys will have a good explanation for this. Please help, I don't know what else to try. Only thing I have read about is the Idle Control Motor, but it doesn’t seem to be applicable to the 2004 Camry, only on older models. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[liquidi3ladz]

Did you try cleaning out your throttle body?

[GC81]

Yes, I did....and doesn't it seem odd that it would do it after disconnecting the battery? Or just coincedence? It ran perfectly before that point. Glad I have my Tacoma as a backup. Haha.