Hey!
Last week I had no particular issue here. Some things weren't hooked up... but engine ran great, idles in drive @ stop lights @500rpm. A/C didn't make a difference.
Early this week I had a lot of belt squeal. Yes, from wet weather, but worse than that could explain. Investigating, I found both belts loose. Well, they were brand new; probably stretched. So I retensioned both belts. I may have over done it; I didn't think so.
Two days ago I finished hooking up my electric fan wholly and completely, but didn't set the thermostat yet, so by and large I don't think it ever kicked on. My short highway commute guaranteed that I never got to a temperature that it would, and I had it set too high.
So today, I'm actually stuck in traffic, temperature is climbing, and I decide to turn on the a/c, because I know with the trigger wire it will also turn on the fan. Car shudders, rpms dip to 300, rev desperately to 600 something for a moment before the engine stalls right out.
Oh dear.
When I got home this evening, I did some experimenting. Since the car was good and warm, and I had daylight for once, getting home before 9pm, I decided to set the thermostat finally.
Turned it down, and down, and then the fan kicked on @ whatever temperature the car was at. At that moment, car starts to stall out, barely recovers. Uh-oh.
I'm having dinner with some friends tonight, so I drove there (here) 30 minutes ago. Waiting at the exit from the beltway, the car's temperature again climbs up enough to trigger the fan. Car stalls out this time. And again. Shit. Hold the brake pedal, hold the gas pedal to keep it at 1000 rpm, manage to keep it running to get off the exit and turn into my friend's driveway.
OK, so obviously the fan does not draw off the engine, but, it does draw off the alternator, and when an extra 30 amps are called for the alternator's regulator will increase the load by engaging more coils.
I've got two possibilities.
Could overly tight belt tension, which I only retightened 2-3 days ago, add enough load that, when fairly weak at idle, the engine can end up just dying when any further load is added (like the alternator putting out more amperage, or the a/c)?
Or is a 500rpm idle really too low, and --I confess I have NOT done this, though someone wrote up how to last week for me in another post-- I really need to replace the IAC and/or calibrate it so that my idle speed is more like 700rpm maybe?
Let me know, and soon! This is not an ignorable driveability issue, stalling out every single time my car gets hot enough to trigger the fan while idling...
Last week I had no particular issue here. Some things weren't hooked up... but engine ran great, idles in drive @ stop lights @500rpm. A/C didn't make a difference.
Early this week I had a lot of belt squeal. Yes, from wet weather, but worse than that could explain. Investigating, I found both belts loose. Well, they were brand new; probably stretched. So I retensioned both belts. I may have over done it; I didn't think so.
Two days ago I finished hooking up my electric fan wholly and completely, but didn't set the thermostat yet, so by and large I don't think it ever kicked on. My short highway commute guaranteed that I never got to a temperature that it would, and I had it set too high.
So today, I'm actually stuck in traffic, temperature is climbing, and I decide to turn on the a/c, because I know with the trigger wire it will also turn on the fan. Car shudders, rpms dip to 300, rev desperately to 600 something for a moment before the engine stalls right out.
Oh dear.
When I got home this evening, I did some experimenting. Since the car was good and warm, and I had daylight for once, getting home before 9pm, I decided to set the thermostat finally.
Turned it down, and down, and then the fan kicked on @ whatever temperature the car was at. At that moment, car starts to stall out, barely recovers. Uh-oh.
I'm having dinner with some friends tonight, so I drove there (here) 30 minutes ago. Waiting at the exit from the beltway, the car's temperature again climbs up enough to trigger the fan. Car stalls out this time. And again. Shit. Hold the brake pedal, hold the gas pedal to keep it at 1000 rpm, manage to keep it running to get off the exit and turn into my friend's driveway.
OK, so obviously the fan does not draw off the engine, but, it does draw off the alternator, and when an extra 30 amps are called for the alternator's regulator will increase the load by engaging more coils.
I've got two possibilities.
Could overly tight belt tension, which I only retightened 2-3 days ago, add enough load that, when fairly weak at idle, the engine can end up just dying when any further load is added (like the alternator putting out more amperage, or the a/c)?
Or is a 500rpm idle really too low, and --I confess I have NOT done this, though someone wrote up how to last week for me in another post-- I really need to replace the IAC and/or calibrate it so that my idle speed is more like 700rpm maybe?
Let me know, and soon! This is not an ignorable driveability issue, stalling out every single time my car gets hot enough to trigger the fan while idling...
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