Ran outta gas, now low idling
 

This morning I ran out of gas, luckily just made it to a gas station. While in a rush I gassed up and switched the key on while the car was already on, apparently forgot to switch it off and now I'm low idling. I checked out if it was my gauge by putting another cluster in but same result.

My friend suggested it was dirt in the gas lines and to pour in one of those octane boosters, did so, didnt help that much although there was a very slight improvement.

Could this be a coincidence? Electrical related problem? Yesterday I was readjusting my subwoofer and amp and the line from the battery hit the metal piece under the rear seat (ground) and I couldnt catch it quickly enough until it stopped making sparks. I am crossing my fingers that didnt cause other damages.

Any help is appreciated.

Its very possible that the ECM tried adjusting for poor fuel amount when you ran it out of gas...reset the ECU by undoing the neg. batt. cable for at least 10 mins and start it again. It will idle low after this, but give it a few mins and it should slowly creep back up to normal. Good luck

Thanks for the reply. I've been testing that method for a couple of days now, it seems to idle normally, after doing the reset, while I'm in gear and say stop at a light. I put gear on N still idling normal... Back to D starts low idling. I figure something got messed up along the chain of events.

Every time something is fixed, its like........

http://i41.tinypic.com/xbn53k.gif

How old is your fuel pump

I think as old as the car. I was contemplating bypassing its ecu this morning but didnt have time. You think its the pump?

Edit: I just did the 12v mod for the fuel pump and I hear something from the back like a constant static like a plane. Performance is better, still low idling at around 1k RPM while on D and around 2k while on N.

Help? Would it have anything to do with the K&N filter? but again I drove 500 miles after installing it and it was fine until I ran outta gas.

I was letting my car run and warm up the other day and had it run out while I was inside and came out to find that she ran dry! :sad: Did you switch the car on run a few times to get the fuel pump to fill the lines and pressurize before trying to start the motor? I was always told to do this and haven't had any problems. She is still running smooth. Have you had any luck getting it to run good again?

That day I was running late for class, luckily there was a gas station close by and died about 0.5 miles away from it. Started again and it did start just enough to get to the station. Filled up and rev'd a few times before I put in gear. Since then its low idling although I started it probably 30 times after that. Full tank but still low idling. I tried removing ground for 10 mins and the 12v mod with no result (although the 12v mod made a huge difference in performance). Undone the 12v mod still the same. I have no idea what to make of it. No engine light on or anything of that nature. I'm just quite baffled with all this.

1k rpms is not a low idle. 2k in neutral is very high.

Oh sorry sorry very stupid mistake. I meant 100's not k's. Also I didnt take in account that each small tick = 200RPM. Not sure what I was thinking.

On N im running 300-400 RPM (around 2nd tick) and on D Im running 200 RPM (around the 1st tick).

Update: Last night I decided to mess around n go hard on the pedal, red lined it a couple of times. After that at almost every light signal I stop for while on D the car dies. I didnt even know it died until the light turned green and car wouldnt go. It just gets quiet and dies. Is this related?

You should test your ISC valve, your TPS, and your speed sensor. Check to make sure that your TPS is calibrated properly, and check to see if the ECU is throwing codes.

Does unplugging your MAF do anything?

any updates with the idle problem?

there is a good chance you just lost 1 of your 2 coilpacks, it happens all the time on the 400.
An ecu reset should have cleared out the ecu, and if its still running funny it is probably a different problem.