1990 camry 4 banger-engine missing

car starts fine (115,000 miles) runs fine cold. when heats it it stutters/misses when I start out from a stop. with a/c on it misses even worse.

is this electrical problem? or fuel type problem.

Reply to
swbtmis
Loading thread data ...

It sounds electrical -- but not positive. A weak spark will typically show up when the engine is under load which it is when you start from a stop, and note that the air conditioner is an extra load on the engine. Do you notice that when you are up to speed it tends to miss when you try to accelerate further, or when going up a hill ? Regarding it happening after warm-up: Marginal electrical components are notorious for failing when heated. Not on a Toyota, but on other cars I've had it happen with a coil and also an ignition module. ( The way I determined the ignition module: I'd heat the module and install it in the car and the car wouldn't run. I'd then take it out and put it in the refrigerator and then install it and the car would run. ) Defective spark plug wires will also cause missing under load but it's usually not related to temperature. Good Luck. Jim H.

Reply to
jimhigh66

yep. I just tested it driving up a hill. it started to miss pretty bad. thought I could conk out.

Reply to
swbtmis

Just now saw your reply. If you haven't fixed it yet: I'm pretty confident it's an electrical problem. How are your plugs ? If you have an ohmmeter you can measure your spark plug wires (you'll have to take the distributor cap off to get at those ends. If it's like an '89 there are three screws. Note: Use caution if a screw feels "frozen" -- use penetrating oil and if you can move it at all turn it one way and then the other (counter-clockwise, clockwise, counter...) without too much force and it will eventually turn out. You don't want to twist it off ! ) My relatively new spark plug wires measure about 1500 ohms for the longest wire. I'd be suspicious of anything over 4-5000 ohms. Beyond that I'd suspect the coil or ignitor ("ignition module"). Unfortunately these items are rather pricy and you may only be able to determine what is faulty by replacing it. You could try cooling the ignitor (mine is located on the battery tray -- probably has the number "153" on it -- and see if you get any improvement. good luck, Jim H.

Reply to
jimhigh66

thanks. I bought plugs and wired and rotor and gas filter etc etc. I am in the process of tuning it up. but I screwd up the air cleaner housing wriring. I just left a post about it.

Reply to
swbtmis

My ignition coil does that, Is it worse when humid or after a rain, then it is the coil. Park inside one night if it is better it is the coil

Reply to
m Ransley

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.