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iTrader: (4)

from a long road trip..650 miles from Washington to the bay area where I live..i pulled into the driveway and the engine surged for about 1 minute or so..went from almost dying to just above normal idle...I also started hearing a whining sound that isn't going away..almost like a ps pump noise..or transmission whine,but I let the car cool down some as its 95 here today..went for a ride and the noise is not consistent with a transmission or ps pump...im wondering if my iac valve is acting up..the tps has been replaced a few years back. btw it stopped surging..will check later

Twista4004

Mine did that little more than a month ago. Happened just before it cut out in the middle of rush hour traffic on the way to work. PS pump leaked on alternator and alternator died. Replaced PS pump and alternator. Been working since. Dunno if that helped.

Twista4004

Car died the next day btw. I noticed the surge and stumble the night before. Upon start next day everything seemed ok but just a little......different. 15 minutes later I'm pushing a Lexus LS400 out of the middle lane of rush hour traffic by myself while my wife is pushing brakes on and off.

#nobuenoatall

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iTrader: (4)

thx for the reply..i don't have any leaks I check my car every time I drive it. funny how it only surged for a minute

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iTrader: (4)

u know I bought one of those things u check voltage while in the lighter plug..at idle my alternator doesn't put out the voltage it should..that could be the culprit I guess but I didn't think it would cause a surge in idle..my battery is at a full charge..12.6 which is ideal

j2b4o

When my alt went bad it would push 13v after sitting a while but soon after warm up it would be pushing like 11v. Don't know if that helps.

FYI rockauto has the OEM for like 100$~

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iTrader: (4)

well I work at napa and would get one from imc simply because its much easier to deal with a replacement..denso of course..the car still needs to be looked at

Twista4004

Mine didn't have any leaks either because the PS fluid had leaked out a month before that. I'm thinking the alternator was already tired from all the previous ailments and decided to die.

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iTrader: (4)

ok..ill have it checked out..i certainly hope ur right

LScowboyLS

I use my phone charger as a makeshift alternator volts gauge, when the alternator stops charging, the battery voltage starts to drop and the HTC light on my cigarette lighter phone charger goes out! (and the phone stops charging)

FYI - for 93-97 models especially, the most common causes of surging idle then almost dying, like it can't maintain the correct idle are failing ECU caps or else bad IACV coils or bearings (usually bearings) - you can always make your own IACV in a pinch for $2, takes about 10 minutes to fix!

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iTrader: (4)

it only surged once..im assuming due to low voltages..i confirmed last night my alt. has pooped out on me..idle it isn't doing anything..rev it up it goes to 13.7 with nothing on(lights,radio..etc). I have to drive it 25 miles in congested traffic to work...ugh,then it goes in the shop while im at work. I already ordered a rebuilt denso and will put it on our tester to make sure its operating properly before installation. thanks for the input Lscowboy

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iTrader: (4)

all fixed..alternator replaced,cant give my car enough credit..getting me home and waiting to pull into my drive way before it started acting up is huge with me,not to mention it was 90-100 degrees through Shasta to home

Legender

Glad you found the culprit and got it fixed with little inconvenience... could have been worse. Now you can hopefully enjoy more trouble free miles...