Battery Problems (car stalls at lights)

[RyanCameron]

Hi, my battery was stuffed (would not hold charge) i kept needing a jump start.... i got a new battery, now she starts fine but wont idle properly... (stalls as i pull up to the lights) when i start her again she holds 400 revs for a second and then suddenly jumps up to 900 will stay running until i take off and pull up at the next set of lights.

last time this happened my terminals were just not tight enough... but i have tighteded them as much as i can!!!! (although its an aqward thing to tighten)the battery i brought is physically the right size but its recomended for V8 Commodores... i mean that wouldnt be a problem would it? better to have to much power than not enough?

And the weird thing is it doesnt do it every single time, only about 50% ....... but until i replaced the battery it didnt do it at all....

any suggestions?

[KING EGO]

Hate to be so brief but there is a easy fix for this problem.. its got something to do with a sensor or two since you disconected the power...

I dont know how to fix it but some will post the answer soon..

Nothing major...

[Rusty]

sounds like what would happen when your ECU reset its self but that should right its self up after 30 mins or so of driving. Didnt dislodge your MAS sensor when changing the battery or something?

[RyanCameron]

Well it did seem to get better as i drove, i only have driven about 15 mins since then... and it was deffinatley doing it less as i got home...

[KING EGO]

Just give it till next year...

If pain presists, please see your mechanic...

[M4DDOG]

Yeh just sounds like the ecu has reset itself and is still relearning everything. You'll find the car will drive better and better the more you drive it. I just recently reset my ecu and the exact same thing happened.

[turbo_charade]

Just give it till next year...

If pain presists, please see your mechanic...

Do you have a multi meter? if you do check;
battery + and -
the big lead on the alternator from the battery and the chassis..
these two readings should be with 1V of each other. also make sure the big cable attached to the alternator is tight. rap the spanner in lecky tape before u go to tighten it up if ur a little clumbsy.

now do the same test as before but with the car on, then with the lights on. when the car is on there should be no change in voltage when u turn the lights on and off


check that the sensors are plugged in and also if you have compressed air, blow out the distributor.

have you pulled the fault codes from the ECU?

[RyanCameron]

Do you have a multi meter? if you do check;
battery + and -
the big lead on the alternator from the battery and the chassis..
these two readings should be with 1V of each other. also make sure the big cable attached to the alternator is tight. rap the spanner in lecky tape before u go to tighten it up if ur a little clumbsy.

now do the same test as before but with the car on, then with the lights on. when the car is on there should be no change in voltage when u turn the lights on and off


check that the sensors are plugged in and also if you have compressed air, blow out the distributor.

have you pulled the fault codes from the ECU?

Um.... i dont know what a fault code is or what an MAS sensor is, or what a distributor is.... i do however know what a multi meter is ill keep driving and if it doesnt improve get my flatmate to do the multi meter thing and he might now what that other gibberish you said means too

[Admiral]

A similar thing was happening to my TP Magna at one stage, and it turned out that one of the belts was loose, and the alternator wasn't being powered correctly.

[FamilyWagon]

That sound normal RyanCameron.

It isn't uncommon for that to happen when you disconnect the battery. It resets all the settings including the idle speed. As the others have said, just drive it and it will set itself eventually. The longest it has taken in mine is a few days to get back to perfect.