I just got a 93 chrysler lebaron 3.0L v6 4 speed automatic this summer. All the fluids were replaced a few years ago and its due for an oil change pretty soon. It’s in great shape with 115K miles. Drove perfect all summer. Had some problems with leaks (convertible) but nothing else. Recently in the cold new england weather, it’s been doing funny things. Most can be blamed on the cold but I just wanted to make sure. Recently I was parked facing downhill. I went to start the car and it was about 35-40 degrees. It started fine. I put it in reverse lightly touched the gas to move it over a small snow mound. I released my foot from the gas and the engine stalled. I turned it off, put it in park, waited a while and tried starting it again. It wouldnt turn over. I could tell it wanted to because it felt like it was grabbing but it wouldnt fully start. I tried this a few more times over the next ten minutes. Finally I turned the key with the accelerator down a little. It struggled and then vroooom!! it started. I drove it around a bit to bring it up to temp. I parked, shut it off, waited and then started it again. It started perfectly fine. Whats the deal here? Should I be worried or just blame the cold?
It might be telling you that you need to do the routine maintenance. You can get a list from any repair manual. It’s the usual stuff: spark plugs and wires, various filters and fluids changed …all the little stuff that, if not done, can turn your car into a Park Mobile.
Sounds like it could be the IAC Idle Air Control. I Think Chrysler may have called it a ISC Idle Speed control of that vintage, but its the same thing. Search allpar on how to check codes by turning the Key on and off
Good luck
If you just had the problem once, you probably flooded the engine a little. It’s possible to do that on a fuel injected car, too, they’re not perfect. When the ambient temperature is cold and the engine is cold, it’s dumping in tons of fuel and letting in a little air to keep the idle high and steady, and to help it warm up. When you gave the gas a little stab, it dumped in even more fuel, and then you snapped the throttle shut and it flooded out. It’s not supposed to happen, it doesn’t happen often, but it can happen.
When you went to start the car after it had stalled (without pushing the throttle), it was still in cold start mode and was still dumping in fuel on top of what was already there, maintaining the flooded condition.
In a carbureted car, you would hold the throttle to the floor and crank the motor, that would open the choke plate and allow in enough air for the car to start. In your case, you opened the throttle body enough to start the car.
While I would agree with josh and it may have flooded, I would also agree with Hellokit in that your message reads like you have not keep up with the basic maintenance as listed in your owner’s manual. If that is true, get all that past due maintenance caught up first. Putting it off can cause a variety of problems and may cause expensive damage. It also makes troubleshooting difficult. Maintenance is a very good investment in the long run.
If changing plugs, cap & rotor, and ignition wires doesn’t help, some diagnosis is in order. Start by checking for diagnostic trouble codes as per the instructions here:
http://www.allpar.com/fix/80s-codes.html