Self explanatory, my Car won't idle, and if it does stay on, it jumps a couple times then turns off. what could be the problem? 86, GXL

 

can you drive it, or it wont go at all??? vak leak is the easyest cause! but you need to post more info , how it happend, if you were messing with anything?, turbo/na??

 

Yep. VAC leak is the most likely source but it could be the TPS or several other things. Theres several posts on testing for VAC leaks if you search for them.

 

as long as i keep the engine reved it will stay on....but if i'm sitting still then it will just turn off, unless, i'm reving the engine. its non turbo, btw

 

try adjusting the idle as per the fsm. It may just be adjusted to be too lean at idle.

 

my idle does the same thing. Would it be a bad idea to set the idle at 1,000 so it would stay steady?

 

unless you mess with the sealed variable resistor I dunno how it would be too lean...

it's clearly written in the FSM not to mess with that factory tampered resistor...

I'd check for vac leaks, TPS, injectors to begin

 

i'm saying it might have been messed with before, and i don't see what's so hard about resetting the resistor to the correct setting. Did it on my car and the 60 seconds it took was definitely worth getting a perfect idle.

 

My car does the exact same thing but mine is a turbo. I just replaced the TPS and set it but it didn't do anything. Infact, it almost seems a little worse

 

Humm, I hope I'm not missing the "edit post" button but I"m not seeing it anywhere. How long does it take an experienced person to check for a vacuum leak? And aren't there some vacuum hoses that you'd need to take the IC off to get to and if you do that, i don't know how you can have your car running...?