Let me try to explain this to the best of my ability haha.

So I have a '88 GXL FC manual and every once in awhile when I start up the car, it tries to die unless I put my foot on the throttle a little, to keep the rpm's up until it will idle safely on it's own.

Whenever it does this, my voltage gauge tends to raise and drop a bit until it idles by itself. I need to pay attention the next time it happens to see if any of the other gauges "flex".

The car starts and run smoothly whenever this doesn't happen, but every one blue moon, this happens.

So my question is, what is potentially causing this?

Is this something that I should be concerned heavily about or is it something I can easily fix?

 

Random vacuum leak?

 

Random enough that it only occurs every once in awhile?

 

Sounds like its near flooding to me.

Is this when the engine is hot or cold or both?

If when its cold, did you disable cold start assist?

 

It has happened in two instances.

1. After I have drove it just a little bit, go in a store or something, come out and it does it.

2. "Rarely" when I first crank it for the day.

And no, I haven't disabled it.

 

Depending on air temp, sure. Hoses contract and swell in different Temps. Just a suggestions, you asked for ideas. My next thought was thermo wax issue? How's your TPS? Throttle cable loose? Endless random answers for a sporadic problem

 

sounds like flooding, could be low compression, could be a lot of things.