Cute girl has a '93 Camry she needs me to fix.. help!
Thread Starter
|
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 2
Cute girl has a '93 Camry she needs me to fix.. help!
Hello thur folks,
Without giving you my life story, a girl came into work a few a nights ago and needed help with her car. A friend who claimed to be a "mechanic" had changed her distributor and spark plugs and her car ceased to run completely. I took a look at it; it had spark at all four plugs (even though they were barely even finger tight), had fuel, air and from what I could tell the timing belt hadn't snapped. It felt like both the fuel pump relay and the ignition coil relay/fuse/whatever were loose and I pressed them both down into the junction box which made a temporary, but albeit significant difference.
I got it to run, but it was completely gutless (you could have chased me down on foot), especially in the low end. I had to shift the PRNDL manually and the transmission shifted high and hard as though there was a vacuum leak. But when I got to 3rd gear at about 2000 RPM it seemed to fare halfway decent.
There was a CEL for TPS, but it went off after one trip and never came back. I broke out the DVOM and checked the TPS. Spec @ idle is .8V - 1.2V and I only measured .6V. Spec @ WOT is 3.2V - 4.2V and I measured 3.8V. At WOT it's in spec, but well below at idle, which makes me think that's got a good deal with the lack of low-end torque. I also noticed as I poked and prodded the TPS the RPMs fluctuated. The MAP tested fine and I will be doing the MAF tomorrow.
I thought I could faintly hear a hiss in the engine bay, but a can of ether yielded no leaks. This girl needs her car and I wanna be the guy that gets the job done.
Please help!
Without giving you my life story, a girl came into work a few a nights ago and needed help with her car. A friend who claimed to be a "mechanic" had changed her distributor and spark plugs and her car ceased to run completely. I took a look at it; it had spark at all four plugs (even though they were barely even finger tight), had fuel, air and from what I could tell the timing belt hadn't snapped. It felt like both the fuel pump relay and the ignition coil relay/fuse/whatever were loose and I pressed them both down into the junction box which made a temporary, but albeit significant difference.
I got it to run, but it was completely gutless (you could have chased me down on foot), especially in the low end. I had to shift the PRNDL manually and the transmission shifted high and hard as though there was a vacuum leak. But when I got to 3rd gear at about 2000 RPM it seemed to fare halfway decent.
There was a CEL for TPS, but it went off after one trip and never came back. I broke out the DVOM and checked the TPS. Spec @ idle is .8V - 1.2V and I only measured .6V. Spec @ WOT is 3.2V - 4.2V and I measured 3.8V. At WOT it's in spec, but well below at idle, which makes me think that's got a good deal with the lack of low-end torque. I also noticed as I poked and prodded the TPS the RPMs fluctuated. The MAP tested fine and I will be doing the MAF tomorrow.
I thought I could faintly hear a hiss in the engine bay, but a can of ether yielded no leaks. This girl needs her car and I wanna be the guy that gets the job done.
Please help!
Last edited by Schaff570; Apr 11, 2013 at 06:41 PM.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 15,178
From: PTW
Find out how the engine/car ran before the 'mechanic" worked on it. Such as idle issues, hard to start, no power, etc.
If the distributor was changed make sure the timing is still OK.
Check for a HOT spark at the plugs. Hot as able to gap 1/2 inch of air. These years of cars/engine can suffer from a bad or cracked coil. The result is no power. Depending on the cars emission system the coil can be inside the distributor or remote.
Check TPS voltages with engine off and ign switch on. Note: Don't leave the ign switch on for more then 10 seconds or the manual states bad things may happen.
Use an ohm meter to check the TPS circuit as the code trips only if there is a short or open circuit in the TPS.
To trip the code the following must each be repeated at least 2 time consecutively.
VTA voltage equal or greater then 0.1V, less then or equal to 0.95 AND TPS IDL switch on.
At throttle closed the IDL switch is closed and there should be continuity between the IDL and E2 terminals.
Do you have service manual info?
With electrical harness removed when looking head on at the plug on the TPS and the throttle body is to your left, from top to bottom the terminals are labeled as VC, VTA, IDL and E2.
VC is one end of the potentiometer (pot) wiring powered by 5V when ign switch on.
VTA is the arm of the pot.
IDL is terminal of an on/off switch.
E2 is the other end of the pot wiring and other terminal of the on/off switch.
For VTA and E2 terminals
With throttle fully closed ohm reading 0.2-5.7K ohms.
Fully open 2.0-10K ohms.
IDL and E2
Closed less then 2.3K ohm
Open 1M ohm or higher.
Resistance between the VTA and E2 terminal should increase as the throttle is opened.
Since the code only trips if there is a short or open in the VTA circuit check for shorts or open circuits between VTA and E2, VC, ground. If someone was working on the car make sure the harness plug is fully connected plus no wiring damage.
Use a section of hose to attempt to run down the hiss you thought may be present. Never know if someone else worked on it. Check for a leaking power brake booster.
An unlighted propane torch might also work.
.
If the distributor was changed make sure the timing is still OK.
Check for a HOT spark at the plugs. Hot as able to gap 1/2 inch of air. These years of cars/engine can suffer from a bad or cracked coil. The result is no power. Depending on the cars emission system the coil can be inside the distributor or remote.
Check TPS voltages with engine off and ign switch on. Note: Don't leave the ign switch on for more then 10 seconds or the manual states bad things may happen.
Use an ohm meter to check the TPS circuit as the code trips only if there is a short or open circuit in the TPS.
To trip the code the following must each be repeated at least 2 time consecutively.
VTA voltage equal or greater then 0.1V, less then or equal to 0.95 AND TPS IDL switch on.
At throttle closed the IDL switch is closed and there should be continuity between the IDL and E2 terminals.
Do you have service manual info?
With electrical harness removed when looking head on at the plug on the TPS and the throttle body is to your left, from top to bottom the terminals are labeled as VC, VTA, IDL and E2.
VC is one end of the potentiometer (pot) wiring powered by 5V when ign switch on.
VTA is the arm of the pot.
IDL is terminal of an on/off switch.
E2 is the other end of the pot wiring and other terminal of the on/off switch.
For VTA and E2 terminals
With throttle fully closed ohm reading 0.2-5.7K ohms.
Fully open 2.0-10K ohms.
IDL and E2
Closed less then 2.3K ohm
Open 1M ohm or higher.
Resistance between the VTA and E2 terminal should increase as the throttle is opened.
Since the code only trips if there is a short or open in the VTA circuit check for shorts or open circuits between VTA and E2, VC, ground. If someone was working on the car make sure the harness plug is fully connected plus no wiring damage.
Use a section of hose to attempt to run down the hiss you thought may be present. Never know if someone else worked on it. Check for a leaking power brake booster.
An unlighted propane torch might also work.
.
Thread Starter
|
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 2
Find out how the engine/car ran before the 'mechanic" worked on it. Such as idle issues, hard to start, no power, etc.
If the distributor was changed make sure the timing is still OK.
Check for a HOT spark at the plugs. Hot as able to gap 1/2 inch of air. These years of cars/engine can suffer from a bad or cracked coil. The result is no power. Depending on the cars emission system the coil can be inside the distributor or remote.
Check TPS voltages with engine off and ign switch on. Note: Don't leave the ign switch on for more then 10 seconds or the manual states bad things may happen.
Use an ohm meter to check the TPS circuit as the code trips only if there is a short or open circuit in the TPS.
To trip the code the following must each be repeated at least 2 time consecutively.
VTA voltage equal or greater then 0.1V, less then or equal to 0.95 AND TPS IDL switch on.
At throttle closed the IDL switch is closed and there should be continuity between the IDL and E2 terminals.
Do you have service manual info?
With electrical harness removed when looking head on at the plug on the TPS and the throttle body is to your left, from top to bottom the terminals are labeled as VC, VTA, IDL and E2.
VC is one end of the potentiometer (pot) wiring powered by 5V when ign switch on.
VTA is the arm of the pot.
IDL is terminal of an on/off switch.
E2 is the other end of the pot wiring and other terminal of the on/off switch.
For VTA and E2 terminals
With throttle fully closed ohm reading 0.2-5.7K ohms.
Fully open 2.0-10K ohms.
IDL and E2
Closed less then 2.3K ohm
Open 1M ohm or higher.
Resistance between the VTA and E2 terminal should increase as the throttle is opened.
Since the code only trips if there is a short or open in the VTA circuit check for shorts or open circuits between VTA and E2, VC, ground. If someone was working on the car make sure the harness plug is fully connected plus no wiring damage.
Use a section of hose to attempt to run down the hiss you thought may be present. Never know if someone else worked on it. Check for a leaking power brake booster.
An unlighted propane torch might also work.
.
If the distributor was changed make sure the timing is still OK.
Check for a HOT spark at the plugs. Hot as able to gap 1/2 inch of air. These years of cars/engine can suffer from a bad or cracked coil. The result is no power. Depending on the cars emission system the coil can be inside the distributor or remote.
Check TPS voltages with engine off and ign switch on. Note: Don't leave the ign switch on for more then 10 seconds or the manual states bad things may happen.
Use an ohm meter to check the TPS circuit as the code trips only if there is a short or open circuit in the TPS.
To trip the code the following must each be repeated at least 2 time consecutively.
VTA voltage equal or greater then 0.1V, less then or equal to 0.95 AND TPS IDL switch on.
At throttle closed the IDL switch is closed and there should be continuity between the IDL and E2 terminals.
Do you have service manual info?
With electrical harness removed when looking head on at the plug on the TPS and the throttle body is to your left, from top to bottom the terminals are labeled as VC, VTA, IDL and E2.
VC is one end of the potentiometer (pot) wiring powered by 5V when ign switch on.
VTA is the arm of the pot.
IDL is terminal of an on/off switch.
E2 is the other end of the pot wiring and other terminal of the on/off switch.
For VTA and E2 terminals
With throttle fully closed ohm reading 0.2-5.7K ohms.
Fully open 2.0-10K ohms.
IDL and E2
Closed less then 2.3K ohm
Open 1M ohm or higher.
Resistance between the VTA and E2 terminal should increase as the throttle is opened.
Since the code only trips if there is a short or open in the VTA circuit check for shorts or open circuits between VTA and E2, VC, ground. If someone was working on the car make sure the harness plug is fully connected plus no wiring damage.
Use a section of hose to attempt to run down the hiss you thought may be present. Never know if someone else worked on it. Check for a leaking power brake booster.
An unlighted propane torch might also work.
.
Niiiiiiiiice! I'm gonna have to print all that out and take it to the garage with me. As far as the service manual goes, no, she lost that a long time ago. I'll give it a try and let you know what happens.
Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 38
1993 4 Cylinder Electronic Control Module Diagrams.
Old topic but for others:
Here is some helpful diagrams for you. I also have a 1993 Camry.
Attached Identified ECM Terminal points
ECM Voltages at the wiring Connectors
Here is some helpful diagrams for you. I also have a 1993 Camry.
Attached Identified ECM Terminal points
ECM Voltages at the wiring Connectors
Last edited by umdaman; May 16, 2013 at 02:01 PM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
nmchugh6
Audio/Visual Electronics
2
Oct 4, 2011 09:02 PM
