okay here we go. I was driving my sl2 and the car seemed starved, low rpms, the slightest press of the gas peddle made it want to die. It felt like i was out of gas. The car died in the middle of the road and wouldn't restart. It popped the 1404 engine code, which is the egr and 0171, lean cyl 1. I cleaned the egr real good and the egr code has not returned. I got it to limp home which was a mile away from where it died. I am going to replace the egr since it still has the problem since the cleaning but it hasn't popped the code again so i don't know if its that now. I'm not sure if the egr will cause the rest of this but the car has been deteriorating since.
Its almost always impossible to start, 1 out of 10 times successful. either it won't turn over, it does get going but at like 500 prms and shaking very hard or when I do get it started, it revs as high as 3500-4000 rpms, then slowly backs down to normal range after about 45 seconds. If I press the gas peddle very slightly it hesitates (wants to die) then picks up and will rev in park or neutral. If pressed anymore then slightly the car dies. In gear it hesitates and will go if the gas peddle is slightly pressed but around 30-35 mph it starts to heave and jerk. It won't go any faster. Again, anything more then slight gas will stall it.
when I do get it going it is popping a lean code for cylinder 1. often times if i push it, it will pop multiple cylinder misfires. It is not drivable in this condition. I have replaced the plugs, checked spark, gas flow, and fluids, everything is fine. I am assuming vacuum leak somewhere but I did the spray test around the hoses and found nothing. Would the egr cause all of this nonsense alone? I disconnected the egr and it popped the code for it failing so I know its somewhat working because I cleared the code and plugged it in, no code. I'm not sure if i'm missing something or if the egr alone could kill the car like this. Any thoughts would be great. I need this car for work, I have been getting up early and walking 10 miles to get there. its getting old.

 

Replace ECTS and connector (source from GM dealer only)

Did you spray really well around the intake manifold -- esp cyl 1? mix would be lean if extra air sneaking in.

After those two, if still acting up, pull the egr and run the engine briefly to clear carbon buildup from the passage leading to the egr. At the same time check for rpm range and whether it stalls in park, neutral, or reverse. Do all of this quickly as it is VERY LOUD and you don't want to **** off your neighbors or have the police show up.

I suspect it may be a combination of things but let's deal with them one at a time

 

I'll replace the ects again. did it once, but im realizing now the one i got is the crappy version. Ran fine for 7 months with that ects but I guess it could have gone again. I did spray well around the manifold. no issues. As for the egr, I have tried to run it a few times with the egr off and it has never started without it on; that might just be it not wanting to start, cause it sometimes just won't start. On another note. I did take off the throttle body to clean it, it was dirty, but not nearly as dirty as the intake manifold I'm thinking that may be a factor now. So I probably should just take that off and replace the manifold gasket anyhow...


do you really think the ects would cause all of those issues? Including the misfires and bad starts?

 

Pull all of your plugs and make sure they're not either gas fouled or carbon fouled. In addition to what derf suggested, I'd also recommend a good throttle body cleaning and some Techron fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank.

 

Please create your signature so we know year, model and mileage.....

ECTS, when it fails, almost always does the equivalent of telling the PCM that the coolant is always at about -40 degrees. The PCM then adjusts the air/fuel mix to be terribly rich----so rich that you may have a tough time starting it because the mix is too rich (the equivalent of too much choke). If it's rich enough it can foul the plugs, which I'm guessing is why Rube recommended checking them for gas fouling. Fouled plugs could lead to misfires...so could other things.

Again, my point was that I think it's a combination of things and we should approach this by changing only one thing at a time. If it fixes some of the behaviors, then we troubleshoot what's left.

A bad ects on an s car engine can cause so many different unwanted behaviors it's not funny.

Oh, and I've never seen it once throw a code.
____________________

Oh, you mentioned fuel flow was ok. Did you measure the pressure at the schraeder valve under the hood? If so, what was it? If you do have a fuel pressure gauge and haven't already done so, check the fuel pressure with the car off, key on, at idle, and while driving.

 

Great minds think alike, derf. Only yours is younger and works better than mine!

 

thanks for your suggestions, I will go thru the motions with the car when I get back to it on wednesday and check back with you all. I'm out of town currently