RE: Who will be first?

["Fadeev, Alex" <Alex.Fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Problem 1:
> Throttle is jumpy, if I accelerate with my foot 70% to the floor
> the car will run at 70%, then suddenly drop to about 40%, then 
> to back to 70%, then to 20% then to 60% then to 30%, all while I
> have the accelerator at 70%.

Robert,
	Accelerator pedal opens the throttle that increases the air flow.
Judging from your description your are getting highly variable air intake
(or fuel delivery ;-). I would start by checking that your throttle body is
a). opening and not sticking; b). throttle position sensor is measuring the
throttle opening correctly. If it doesn't, DME would be getting wild
throttle position readings and would cut/open fuel delivery accordingly. 
	Also make sure that your ICV (idle control valve) is working. If it
is flaky, it could be delivering random amounts of air that bypasses the
throttle body. I had ICV slowly go bad on my car but it set off DME error
code, albeit a misleading one. 

> Problem 2:
>     Car will randomly die.  This is no sputtering, stalling death,
> it just dies!  It is not affected by speed, throttle, or engine 
> revs, as it will die at any point (including idle).  The tach will
> drop like a rock, you could be at 5000rpms, and if you blink at
> the wrong time, you'll miss it falling to 0.   It's just -JOLT- 
> (depending on your previous throttle, if you're just coasting it
> wont jolt) and then you're looking at you panel with the tach at
> Zero. Sometimes it takes a few seconds for all the warning lights
> to come on (just as it would if you stalled the engine), but it
> will usually start right back up, with two exceptions.

	Another very likely possibility is the DME itself. Mine died on me a
few years back with similar warnings: random cut outs at any speed under
varying conditions. It would eventually restart, but one day it didn't. That
time it was in the middle of the night, with my wife in the car, in a very
unpleasant part of town while it was raining. When DME readies to go south
it will do so intermittently. It will never test dead (even with Bentley
voltmeter tests) until it is too late. 
	If the ICV and throttle body position sensor check out, seriously
suspect the DME. Some mechanics have spare ones sitting on the shelves to
swap in. Find one who has your DME (look up the last 3 digits on the silver
box - it is above the glove compartment). Swap it in and see if the problem
goes away. A spare DME is $200-$300 from Roundel advertising junk yards.
	I suspect it's the DME.

good luck,
alex

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