Weird issue tonight - engine sputtered

[reddog69]

hey guys, my car did something weird that was out of the blue today. I was coming back from school when i had just stopped at a red light. the car sometimes vibrates to a point where its anoying and i throw the car into N to make it stop.
well tonight i threw the car into N while at the light and all of a sudden the engine started sputtering and the idle dropped to around 300-400rpm's.. in addition, i also noticed all of the lighting in the dash dimmed a little bit when it dropped.. this only lasted for a few seconds and then went right back up to its normal idle and stopped sputtering.. as well as the lighting going back to its normal brightness..
after that, i drove for about 30 mins on the highway doing around 80mph to get home and it seems fine.. it hasnt done it since.. i even tried playing with it when i parked in my drive way but switching it back and forth from D to N but now it seems fine..

after reading some other threads about engine sputtering i have a basic idea of the components that may tie into this.. but just wanted more suggestions/comments/experiences

also, another variance to this equation, i just replaced my air filter last weekend from the stock filter to a Green performance filter. i thought maybe it'd be the filter, but why would it do that just from the filter? its brand new

additional info: i have a remote starter on my car.. about a week ago i noticed it started eratically, it took an extra second or two to turn over..

seems like something is *starting* to go bad, and i rather fix it now than it be more costly down the road

some other information: 92 camry 5SFE with 156k miles auto
ambient temperature out is around 46F and its been raining all day

[ancdmd]

Check the plugs and plug wires, if they are anything but stock then you can have sputtering problems. Also check your alternator and battery connections, maybe clean the battery terminals, you could be getting an intermittent battery connection. Usually these problems are caused by the most basic things.

[toysarefun]

Your cooling fans may have kicked on at that moment.., bad connectors, maybe a fan that is drawing to many amps which taxed your alternator. Wet electronics will and can draw way to much electricity or ground out temporarily to. Use anti-seize lube on your battery connectors, etc. The stuff works great on all big connectors like wheel studs to.

[reddog69]

i believe this issue maybe weather related.. both times it was raining
i probably have a short somewhere that water is getting to

[Mike Gerber]

If this happens when it is rainy/damp out, then your problem is most likely ignition related. Wet weather can exacerbate an ignition problem. As someone previously suggested, change your spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor. If this still doesn't solve your problem, then get a manual and a digital volt ohmeter (DVM) and check out your ignition coil. It's pretty common for them to develope a hairline crack which shorts out the coil to the metal inside the distributor in wet weather. A professional tech once told me he puts a bead of silicone around where the distributor cap meets the distributor itself as a stopgap measure until the coil can be replaced.

Mike

[reddog69]

Here's a update, its been about 3-4 months since the last time this has happened. I have not done anything at all to fix the problem, the problem temporarily went away by itself. Although since the only precipitation we've received since the last time this happened has been snow and not rain. Well its been raining for the majority of the day and the problem is back after being dormant for the past few months. Tonight its really bad i cant even get the car to run now. It turns over, idles at 300-400rpm's, sputters, then goes off after a second or two..

Looks like ill be troubleshooting the problem starting with the ignition.

[Your Uncle Moe]

Sounds to me like your batter is starting to die. And it could be weather related because the cold is affecting your battery.

[reddog69]

welp.. i just got back from dropping my car off at the mechanics, they're going to do a tune up, replace the wires, cap, etc. clean the TB, new fuel filter, pcv, etc. everything except for the spark plugs because they're fairly new for around $285

i guess we'll see what happens

[95camguy]

Originally Posted by reddog69

welp.. i just got back from dropping my car off at the mechanics, they're going to do a tune up, replace the wires, cap, etc. clean the TB, new fuel filter, pcv, etc. everything except for the spark plugs because they're fairly new for around $285

i guess we'll see what happens

$285 ouch. do it yourself. there isnt one thing listed above that isnt pretty simple. buy a haynes manual, or similar, and put $260 in your pocket. plus you will have the satisfaction of knowing it was done right.

[reddog69]

for one i dont have the tools to do it and two its too late cuz i dropped the car off 2+ hours ago

[reddog69]

UPDATE: heh so i got a call from the mechanic and he told me to come over. he wouldnt tell me the status of the job, just that he needed to talk to me and that i should go over there ASAP. Anyways, i go over there and one of the techs took the car for a test drive after the tune up job was completed, he drove it around the block and when he got to the last turn it started sputtering again but he gave it gas to get back to the garage before it stalled..

Anyways, he hooks the car up to the computer, with the engine OFF and the key turned to the Accessory position, the computer is reading RPM's randomly jumping around from 6000rpms to 900 > 5000 > 1300 > 2300 etc. Water temp jumping around 115F>336F>242F etc. as well as it was reading the fuel injectors open. Obviously this is impossible since the car is off... When you start the car, the computer reads bad communication and doesnt get any info from the car..


Now, here comes the million dollar question. Is it an electrical problem? Ex. theres a short somewhere or electrical wires getting wet? or is it possible that the computer is/has gone bad? has anyone else seen this problem before? the mechanics are completely puzzled and any help i can give them ASAP would probably help my wallet.

thanks

P.S. The tune up that was done included: new air filter, cap, rotor, wires, fuel filter, cleaned the TB and PCV valve. The spark plugs were replaced a year ago by the dealer, platinum NGK's i believe

[reddog69]

Yet another UPDATE!:
okay so, i wanted a second opinion. Plus something told me to take it somewhere else to have another diagnostic computer used on the car. So i went to Meineke, i've been there quite a few times and have gotten to know the owner a bit.

Anyways, they connected the diagnostic computer to the camry and woolah, no problems, they even got an error code for the coolant sensor(ECT) So im assuming the local mechanic place i went to had a bad computer. Anyways, i was going to replace the ECT sensor myself because its just a matter of draining the coolant and replacing the sensor. But i was unable to find a auto parts store that carried the one i need. anyways, just for shits and giggles i downloaded the online repair manual for the gen 3 camry from the sticky in the camry forum. After quite a bit of research through the forums and the manual, some of the people that also had sputtering/stalling problems said it was the EGR system on their cars. So i tried the EGR trick to see if the sputtering/stalling stopped. I read that the EGR vacuum hoses are not required to run the car soo this would be temporary.

I disconnected one of the EGR hoses from the EGR modulator which is the small circular part you see on top of this pic:

Theres 2 tubes that come from the modulator and go into the throttle body as you can see here(Labeled as #2):


After disconnecting the EGR hose closest to the back of the car, the car started and was running all by itself with NO sputtering or stalling! I even drove it around with it both on and off through several test runs just to make sure. Everytime it was connected it sputtered/stalled. Unfortunately thats only half the problem. Now i gotta get a mechanic to troubleshoot the EGR system to see what exactly is wrong with it.

Going to try and get the EGR system looked at tomorrow morning, ill keep you guys posted.

[Stealth]

Well, I think I'm going to have to do the same thing as you. You pulled the hose to the back left of the EGR modulator right?

[reddog69]

Well if you look at the top diagram and you're standing in front of the car facing the engine, its the right back hose that i pulled out from the modulator.

Also, some thought, it may not be the EGR system itself. The EGR's system takes some of the exhaust and spits it back into the intake system. So im *assuming* logically, that if the engine is running rich or the engine isnt burning the fuel right, the exhaust going back into the intake could very well be choking the engine, making it sputter & stall. So the EGR valve could be dirty in addition to something else wrong with the car.

I just dropped off the car at meineke, they're taking a look at it now

[reddog69]

Update: Had the EGR valve replaced over the weekend, had it replaced for $275 including tax. The valve part ALONE is $195. So far, no more stalling. But we'll see what happens when it rains