Need help on Unstable idling

[Innocent]

Iam August Argueza from Philippines I have a Corolla with a 2E carburated engine 12 valves, 1300cc and manual transmission.

My problem is with my idling, I can't seem to make it stable at 800 rpm the engine specs says it should be at 800 rpm. When I turn my headlights on my rpm would drop to 700 or 600 thats why i adjusted my idling at 1000 rpm.

Installed in my engine are a set of splitfire platinum plugs and splitfire hightension wires, everything else are stock. I installed the splitfires coz I thought I was lacking electricity. guess I was wrong it did'nt solve the problem, though I gained additional power and fuel mileage because of them....

Can any body tell me what to do or whats wrong with my engine

Thanks

[Deep]

It could be a lot of things man, I'd do the simple things like check vacuum lines and your fuel pressure.

[Flashmn]

Could be the plugs and wires. Splitfires can cause problems you know, especially using platinum plugs in a car not designed for them. I think the first step would be to go down to the toyota dealership and getting OEM wires and Denso copper plugs.

[Innocent]

I was aware of that, but problem surfaced just about two weeks ago. I installed the splitfires last March. Is it still possible that the splitfires caused this???

[Flashmn]

Well to a degree it could be possible. Theres a chance that maybe your splitfires werent igniting the fuel mixture properly and then little by little they got caked up with carbon and when the plugs foul up, ignition problems can arise.

[Innocent]

Well yeah, but if the plugs were fouled up then I would'nt get performance gains right? I mean acceleration is great, Im getting extra fuel mileage and emmisions are normal ( i think ). I really dont think its the splitfires but i'll try the OEM's for a while and see if it goes away.

But any of you guys have any suggestions pls, pls tell me

Oh yeah, hey deep, I checked the vacums connected to the carb, like you said, everything seems to be fine, no loose hoses and no cracks too. But how do I check the fuel preasure?

[Hemi3TC]

If your idle is 800 rpm before you turn the lights on. Then
you must be one of those guys running lights on your car to light up the whole city. Extra load to run the lights will always cause the idle RPM to drop.

You need a Honda gnerator to run your lights. The alternator on your car is too small.

If not, maybe your battery is dead or close to it.

Hemi3TC

Originally posted by Innocent
Iam August Argueza from Philippines I have a Corolla with a 2E carburated engine 12 valves, 1300cc and manual transmission.

My problem is with my idling, I can't seem to make it stable at 800 rpm the engine specs says it should be at 800 rpm. When I turn my headlights on my rpm would drop to 700 or 600 thats why i adjusted my idling at 1000 rpm.

Installed in my engine are a set of splitfire platinum plugs and splitfire hightension wires, everything else are stock. I installed the splitfires coz I thought I was lacking electricity. guess I was wrong it did'nt solve the problem, though I gained additional power and fuel mileage because of them....

Can any body tell me what to do or whats wrong with my engine

Thanks

[celica/camry]

theres sum kinda test where u run a fuel line into a 12 oz coke can...and it should fill it in 15 to 20 seconds....i think someone correct me if im wrong....but i forgot which line it is

[Innocent]

Originally posted by Hemi3TC
If your idle is 800 rpm before you turn the lights on. Then
you must be one of those guys running lights on your car to light up the whole city. Extra load to run the lights will always cause the idle RPM to drop.

You need a Honda gnerator to run your lights. The alternator on your car is too small.

If not, maybe your battery is dead or close to it.

Hemi3TC

Hemi do you have any particular model in mind, or would any honda generator do the job?

[Flashmn]

Hehe, I think he meant one of those that power your house...

You could swap in a bigger alternator, but that will increase the loading on your car. Hmm may I ask what bulbs you got and if you got any "extra" lights. You might want to swap out those extra lights if you got any, and put some phillips/osram bulbs (available from almost all gasstations). Another thing is, do you have a sound system in your car? if you do that might also add loading to your system, which is more than your alternator can produce.
I doubt this is a fuel/ignition problem, because it varies if the lights are on or off... its your power system, alternator and battery most likely or too small wiring for the power consuming equipment.

[Innocent]

Originally posted by Flashmn
Hmm may I ask what bulbs you got and if you got any "extra" lights.

GE 110/120

Originally posted by Flashmn
I doubt this is a fuel/ignition problem, because it varies if the lights are on or off... its your power system, alternator and battery most likely or too small wiring for the power consuming equipment.

My amps say its loading just fine. BUT i'am beginning to think it's my power system I just don't know which is which. I'll try attaching a relay in my headlights system somebody told me it would lessen the load on the alternator and it will also add some brightness into my lights.

[Flashmn]

GE 110/120

Whoa there, and you're powering this with your OEM wires? :P I'd try 90/100W or 55/60W and see how that goes. 110/120 really needs quite amount of current, so that might be one of your causes.

I'll try attaching a relay in my headlights system somebody told me it would lessen the load on the alternator and it will also add some brightness into my lights.

Well I'd switch back to 55/60W bulbs in that case, my pal has extra relays, he has to shut of his aircon, becuase the car wont idle due to lack of power from the alternator when the lights are on, and thats GL corolla.