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Car stalling after battery disconnect for body work - is it normal?

Got my 2000 Galant ES V6 (61k miles) back from the body shop yesterday where they fixed some damage to the rear bumper and left rear wheel area.

After driving just one mile, I slowed down for a turn and the car stalled...I started it again and it stalled. Started it yet again and managed to pull into a parking lot and parked it there as it died again. Called the body shop and they came over with a mechanic and a battery tester/charger. Ofcourse the car started (as I was able to do earlier) but stalled again immediately. The guy turned the air on and it seemed to run a bit longer but soon it stalled.

Took it in to the dealer immediately as the dealership was nearby and they said that when the battery is removed the computer resets itself, and the throttle positioner may not work properly after that due to carbon build-up on it. They fixed it for about $100 (mostly labor costs as it involved cleaning only, no new parts) and the car is working again.

Questions - is this normal behavior after disconnecting the battery? How often should the the throttle body be cleaned?

-Himanshu (to demangle my email address erase the three X's)

Reply to
H Gohel
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That depends a lot on how the car is driven. Also, some cars seem to get build-up faster than others. Easy to do yourself. Take off the air horn so you can look down the throttle body. Open the throttle manually so you can see both side of the throttle plates. If there is black crud, spray with carb cleaner and use an old toothbrush to scrub off. Spray again to wash down. repeat as needed. It doesn't have to be immaculate, just reasonably clean. DO NOT use a wire brush or any metal tool as it may scratch up the throttle body and interfere with the plates closing as required. If you buy the carburetor cleaner at a discount store, your total cost to do the job will be about $2 and take twenty minutes. My '93 Eldo seems to gum up quickly so I do it each Spring when I do the usual service. My 2000 Mirage throttle body is still very clean after 30K miles so I have left it alone. HTH YMMV DFB

Reply to
D F Bonnett

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