Sorry I'm posting this in the basement, but i need a quick response...

I have a 2000 LS which means its OBDII-b. I know the ECM has some ignition retard features that regular OBDI doesnt have...anyway, my car is aging, just hitting 100,000 miles and recently, after spirited blasts (not even redline shifts or anything, just 50 percent throttle, 6k rpm) like at the next stop light or first stop sign, my idle will be stumbling pretty bad, like its on 3 cylinders.

Usually, i just rev it a bit, or just drive away, and by the next light or stop sign, the idle would be normal again (this verifies it as something non-mechanical, like a blown piston/rings/etc), but tonight was the first time it caused the CEL to flash. it flashed like 3 times quickly, but the light turned green and I drove away, and at the next stop, the idle was kind of high, like at 1100 rpm, but then dropped down to 750, like normal.

I understand this is VERY likely an ignition related problem, but i just want to know what you guys know aobut this, if you've heard about it before. i'm just trying to cut down on diagnosis time. I'd rather pinpoint it than search through multiple possibilities. thanks in advance!

 

Have you tried resetting your ECU? A few times when I would start my car it would idle how you explained, very rought and sounding like it was on 3 cylinders. The CEL would come on, and I'd check the code as a misfire. I reset the ECU, and everything was fine after that.

 

well in response to the symptoms, i bought a new cap, rotor and fuel filter. my old rotor was in pretty rough shape, but the cap wasnt that bad. the fuel filter looked pretty bad also, but in the process of changing it, i disconnected the battery, which reset the ECU. I havent seen the symptoms since. thanks for the response dubster

 

how are your sparkplugs?

 

pretty new, about 3k miles on them. ngk coppers.

 

do they look normal?

 

yeah, uniform whitish "burn" look.

i'm pretty sure it was my cap/rotor. the old rotor looked like it was burned as the white "cloth" part was burned brown, and the metal part looked corroded brown.

 

well...seems like ur car is running fine for now, so hopefully that fixed it

 

well theres one thing wrong with my car thats kinda making me sad...my GS400 HID's throw out a funky pattern with big dark spot where it matters most...15-20 feet right in front of the car, but other than that, it looks like i have a mean set of foglights and super sideways headlights. i havent had too much time to play with the adjustments, since i have to adjust them and such at night.

 

well go an get fixin son!