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92 Camry stalling

I've been seeing a few postings about the Camry stalling after coming to a stop and while I'm having a similar problem I don't know if I'm having the all of the exact same symptoms. Mine sound more electrical in nature.

For a few weeks (I drive 1 - 2 times a week) I noticed that sometimes I would start the car and the alarm system would go off. Then yesterday after driving for about 2 hours on the highway (including a couple of stops at rest areas) I pulled off the highway and as I approached a stop light the car started to stall so I quickly put it in neutral and reved up the engine. I drove through the light and when I slowed down to turn a quarter mile away the car stalled out. I put it into neutral to try to start the car but it wouldn't turn. I tried to turn on the emergency flasher but it wouldn't come on. I coasted to a stop and put the car into park and I was able to start the car immediately. I think it stalled once more while sitting there as I turned on the lights, wipers, etc. Eventually, I drove a bit more and parked it while I went into the store. It started up fine afterwards and then I drove for another 2 hours on the highway with no problems.

The next morning it started up fine. I let it idle while I spent about 15 mins brushing off the snow. I got back in and as soon as I turned on the headlights it stalled out. I turned everything off and then tried to start but the car would not even turn over and it seems that there was no electrical at all. I let it sit for a few mins and then it started up just fine but seem to want to stall out at idle. I drove it down the block without the lights on and let it idle with no problems. I even turned the lights on with no problem. I parked the car and is now trying to decide where to bring the car.

Any suggestions??

Reply to
Ed L via CarKB.com
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Go see a mechanic

Reply to
m Ransley

Check your connections at the battery cables.

Several of the symptoms you describe are consistent with intermittent voltage supply from the battery: --

Alarm - sounds when battery power is removed, as if a potential thief were attempting to circumvent the system

Headlights go out - classic symptom of battery problems

and so on.

Try there first.

Just checking for corrosion one day, (no problem) I found the positive terminal which appeared fine, would move with hand pressure - make sure both ends of your battery cables are tight and clean.

Reply to
Daniel

The key to finding an electrical problem is to analyse the symptoms. When you said the car cut-out when you switched on the headlights, that is a cardinal sign the battery is not in circuit at the time. Alternators can operate the car's electrical current requirements while the load is constant,..but if you turn the headlights on, for a split second, the inrush current to the cold filaments is quite high. This causes the alternator to max-out in current then drop in voltage output and cause an engine shut-down.

I'd be checking your battery clamps are clean and tight and the other end of the cables are tight. Its possible the battery has an intermittant due a fractured internal cell-connection,..but this is not that usual.

As Dan said, the burgular alarm going off is another sign the battery has dropped out of the car's circuit for a slpit second.

Best o luck,...Jason

Reply to
Jason James

I checked the battery cables and found the pos terminal to be a bit loose. The neg was tight because I tighten it this past summer when I had intermittent problems starting the car. I couldn't really find the other end of the cables but as far as I could reach they seemed to be ok. I also checked the battery fluid and found that it was probably lower than ideal. So, I wedged a small piece of flat metal between the post and the terminal and tighten the terminal. I, also, added some pure water into the battery cells.

The car started up fine (it always started on one crank). I let it idle for

15-20 mins and then turned on the heater, radio, wiper, rear defroster, headlights (lo and hi) and brake lights. It didn't die. So far so good.

I also noticed that stupid little things seem to be working (e.g. the little warning bell that sounds immediately after startup, the one that warns you left the car keys in after shutting down the engine and opening the door). Maybe they were always working and I just didn't notice but I think they did stop recently.

I also reset the clock to see if it loses time. Yesterday when the problem first occurred I noticed that the clock was off. I reset it to the correct time during my drive but this AM when I encountered the problem again, the clock was off again.

I'm going to repeat this a couple of more times and then take it for a spin on Tues. It looks promising.

Thanks to everyone for your helpful advice (well, almost everyone).

Reply to
Ed L via CarKB.com

Regarding your stalling on approaching a stop light - have you cleaned your throttle body valve lately? If not, go to your Toyota dealership and get some throttle body valve cleaner - it's about $5 for a spray can. The throttle body valve should be on the end of your air intake hose - on the other end of the air filter. Clean the throttle body valve using a toothbrush and a rag, and clean both sides of the valve as best as you can.

Tried this on my '96 camry that was having stalling problems, and no problems so far. :P

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Good luck!

Reply to
onehappymadman

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