Daedalus

(i'm sure a lot of stories start this way)

Anyway, my '89 GTU was in the shop for some gasket work and a fan clutch. Finally all my vac leaks were fixed. I had talked to the guys at the shop and they said it was running perfect. I get to the shop early this morning, pay my bill, start the car, let her warm up, and then drive about a half an hour to get my hair cut. Get out, start car, drive home. On the way home, the Check Engine light flickered a few times, but then immediately went off. It seemed to happen when I was letting off the throttle at around 4000 rpm, I'm not exactly sure. Anyway, I go home and wash the loose hair out of my head, change for work and hop back in. Start the car, and dead. Check engine light is on perminately and won't stay on unless I hold the throttle down.

I was already late for work already so I jump in my other car and go to work (where I am posting now).

Reciently I have:

All intake manifold gaskets replaced.
Brand new TPS.
New Water thermo temp sensor
Cleaned BAC
New plugs
New wires
Set timing
etc...

One thing I noticed when driving, was that she was idling at about 1k rpm (which i was much happier about because previously it was at 2k). I'd turn the AC on and the idle would dip a bit and then settle a bit lower, seemed fine to me.

I'm concerned because my car did this when my first TPS died. I really don't want to be dropping a million dollars on another one.

I know I should be scanning the codes, but I can't do that till I get home.

Without scanning the codes, what do you think it could be?

SureShot

You have done all the normal things.
On your S5 you can read the check code by just grounding the initial set connector and counting the blinks on the check light.
Click on the link to the manuals in my sig.
The info is in the "fuel & emission" section

Daedalus

I get home from work, pop the hood, and take out my ghetto ground wire. Do all that I'm supposed to do (i've done it before) and its not sending any codes. I call the shop i just got it from, and they were baffled just as I was. So I crank the engine over and she comes to life.

I drove it from northern VA to Baltimore last night. The CE light flickered a bit while I was on the highway and then disapeared. I never saw the CE light again after that and she started up everytime since.

I did notice that my oil pressure seemed low (i'm not sure what its supposed to be at). Traffic was bumper to bumper part of the way and the oil pressure read a tad (i mean slightly) under the 30 mark on the gauge. Thats when it seemed to go on. I'm not sure where the oil pressure is supposed to sit so I might just be crazy.

Other than that, that car ran the best its ever had. I even managed 135 miles on half a tank of lots of high reving, downshifting, and cold *** AC blasting. I guess that equates to about 270 on a full tank. Not too shabby.

Raymr

Congrats. My n/a managed 22mpg on a trip from DC to the NJ shore - 1/3 city and 2/3 hiway driving.

Careful with the calculation tho - I think the needle takes a while to fall to the halfway mark, then drops off more quickly after that.