EOC in a Saturn

[Christ]

The car doesn't run right, so instead of coasting in neutral (watching the RPMs jump to 2k+), I just kicked the key off, leaving the headlights on (on a 6 year old battery, no less.) and let 'er roll... I must have coasted for 2 or 3 miles on a fairly level road from 40MPH, through slight curves and uphill/downhill areas.

I got to the stop sign, started it, waited a sec for the idle to calm down to 1k, turned left, accelerated to ~40 MPH in 1st gear (doesn't like to shift correctly, yet.) then flipped into neutral, and shut the engine off again. Coasted another 1.5 miles, slightly downhill on average, and pulled into the driveway.

PS - the Saturn doesn't feel much different steering w/ the Power Steering pump not turning. Also, on the 2.2 Ecotec motor, the PS pump spins at 2x the speed of the engine... it's driven by the cam. That can't fare well for power consumption?

[SVOboy]

Just think, in 20 years the kids won't know what a saturn is anymore

Anyway, what's wrong with the car? This isn't your normal ride, am I correct?

[Frank Lee]

Kinda how my 70 mpg run went. Car full of E85 on a day that was too cold for that- ran awful steady state, but it smoothed out at WOT. So, extreme P&G it was, then. The 40 mph wind right up the tailpipe helped too.

[Christ]

Nah, this is the one I swapped the engine in.

A few things that I know about so far:

1. Right side ball joint to finish passing inspection - nearly $60 and 5 day wait time... dealer part
2. Code P1640 (quad driver output module 1) Basically, this means that either the ECT or Cruise module aren't working correctly. The other two things on this circuit are dummy lights that both work during POST.
3. Transmission isn't shifting correctly, waits till like 4kRPM to shift out of first even at very low throttle... assume this is related to the P1640 issue, so it's probably the cruise control module. Quick fix is to disconnect the CC's throttle actuator cable from the throttle cam, so it can't affect throttle anymore.

I might have to remove and clean/rebuild the throttle body, as well, I don't think the IAC solenoid is seating correctly in the bore, which explains erratic idle while coasting.

[Christ]

It also needs a tune up... I left the old plugs in the junkyard engine, although they did look pretty good.

On the plus side, you can't get your finger off the key before the engine is started, and it purrs quietly (when it's idling correctly). The car itself makes more noise than the engine does, so you can't hear the engine while cruising at all... that sucks for EOC and P&G though (which only applies to me, since wifey doesn't have the experience to even try it, nor would she), because it's hard to tell when the engine started (even though I know it only takes a tap on the key).

[2000mc]

Originally Posted by Christ

PS - the Saturn doesn't feel much different steering w/ the Power Steering pump not turning. Also, on the 2.2 Ecotec motor, the PS pump spins at 2x the speed of the engine... it's driven by the cam. That can't fare well for power consumption?

cams turn at 1/2 crank speed

[orange4boy]

Have you checked the TPS? The little I know about this stuff, That's what comes to my mind. Also high idle can be the battery recharging or a dead cell. Battery good?

This is the crow giving advice to the eagle.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by 2000mc

cams turn at 1/2 crank speed

I must be stupid tonight... thank you.

[BackroadBomber]

Hi, you wouldn't happen do have a subwoofer or any additional electrical devices in the car, would you? My one friend had a saturn with a subwoofer in it and the saturn transmission has some sort of electronic shift assist or something and my buddies car would never shift right and throw a cel (don't remember what code) if his system was on, even when it was on low power.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by orange4boy

Have you checked the TPS? The little I know about this stuff, That's what comes to my mind. Also high idle can be the battery recharging or a dead cell. Battery good?

This is the crow giving advice to the eagle.

It's cool, I can take advice from anyone, cuz you might think of something I didn't.

Unfortunately, it's not throwing any other codes than the 1640, so until I chase that down, I can't really bother diagnosing anything else, because it would be a matter of tossing parts (and money, of course) at it. I bought a new ECT for it because that's one of the major things that goes out all the time, so I've thrown $25 at it already. It didn't fix the problem, but it made it better. It idles (sitting still) normally now, but it doesn't like idling normally when started warm, or when in neutral moving.

Neutral moving is a simple thing - it always points to IAC. When you're moving in neutral, with AT vehicles, the IAC is opened slightly to deaden the shift shock of going back into gear by compensating with some engine speed/load. If the idle is excessive while moving, it's almost always the IAC motor/solenoid, either bad or not seating/sealed correctly. (Which is basically a vacuum leak that the PCM will compensate for.)

The warm start high-idle could be a TPS issue, and it could also be a IAC issue. Once warmed up, the PCM may not be returning the IAC to it's closed loop idle position immediately (slow IAC, slow signal, etc.) for some reason or another, or again, dirty TB stopping the IAC from moving to where it should be.

I think Monday, after I redneck fix the ball joint with some grease to get it inspected, I'll pull the TB off and clean it up, or replace it w/ the other one I have. Now that I've got oil worked through the engine thoroughly, I'll also change the oil and cartridge filter to the Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 that I bought for it. Changing the oil and cleaning the TB and plugs (a basic tuneup) should help out alot.

Those are some of the first things one should do before assuming that something needs to be replaced... second would be removing and cleaning/inspecting all the sensors' connections.