frozen gas?
 

on friday, my protege started doing something quite strange. when i start it up, it'll either run for a second and then die, or run really rough and idle extremely low. however, if i give it some gas, it runs fine. then if i let off the gas it dies.

after i do this a few times, then all of a sudden it runs fine. also, i should say that it does this randomly. one time it'll start right up, and then the next time, do this.

so i was thinking, could it just be a little ice in my fuel line? it is like 10 degrees here in nj. if thats all it is, i'll get some antifreeze for it.

but is there anything else you guys think it could be??

p.s.- if theres a vaccum line off, or if your maf is disconnected, the car will do the same thing, run for a second, then die. but in this case it does it a few times, then runs fine.

help!! thanks in advance.

Well i dont think that your gas is frozen. You are prolly having an idle issue, could be a leak in the intake, or somthing similer. If it runs for a little, the gas shouldnt be frozen, as people in canada and the such drive their cars in much colder weather.

yeah, but i've had leaks in my intake before, and it continuously runs for a second, then dies. but now, it does that a few times, then starts and runs fine. i'm not saying you're wrong, it might not be frozen gas. but if it's a leak in the intake, why does it all of a sudden run normal? it's like something needs to warm up??

thanks for the reply.

Well, this is what i thinking. When, stuff gets hot, it usally expands. So you might have a leak when its cold but when it warms up, the leak could be "fixed" because somthing expanded and cured it. I dunno, this is just a thought I had, but who knows.

When our '92 LX was my wifes car several years ago, it would not start. Dealer said water (actually ice as it was very cold out) in gas and drained the tank.

The car came back with a drain plug in the middle of the gas tank. I do not know if the dealer added it or if it came from the factory that way.

You might want to run some HEET thru it just in case.

JQ

Two other possible causes: Engine Coolant Sensor and air intake hose.

Both of those happened to my 92. The air intake hose can be inspected for cracks simply by removing it, though it sounds like you have a nw custom one.

Do you get a check engine light when it is acting up? If so, pull the code and report back to us.



JQ

it could be the air intake pipe, but in this case, like i said, it runs after a few tries.

nope, no check engine light.

anyhoo, it hasn't done it since monday, so i'm gonna leave well enough alone for now. i'm stickin with my ice in the gas theory. if it acts up again, i'll be back. thanks for the help everyone.