1998 Saturn SL1 accelerator

Tiny
JDENTON83
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 SATURN SL1
1998 Saturn SL1 4 cyl

My wifes car is basically stuck at about 55 mph. When in park it idles at about 2800rpm. If I put it in drive it goes down to about 2000rpm and goes about 55mph. I have checked the cable and linkage. It seems to be working properly. I cant hear any obvious vacuum leaks. I was wondering if there is a sensor of some sort that may have gone bad. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 AT 12:05 PM

9 Replies

Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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See if u have any codes and if u do let me know what they are.U should the way that is running. Take off ur intake tube make sure ur throttle plate is closing all the way.I would suspect a vaccuum leak or a stuck idle air control motor. Lets try this to see which one we have. With the intake tube off u will see a opening at the bottom off ur throttle body opening. Block that hole off not with ur finger incase the car back fires thru the throttle body get creative. See if the idle comes down alot if not its getting air somewhere else. Also inspect ur s shaped hose going from ur intake manifold to ur valve cover look for colasping or holes. Let me know what u find.
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Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 AT 1:08 PM
Tiny
JDENTON83
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I am not sure how to get codes. I am not seeing s shaped hose. When I cover that hole the car cuts off. Thanks.
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Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 AT 1:39 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/416332_1999_sl1_valve_cover_1.jpg



https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/416332_1999_sl1_iac_1.jpg


if u dont live in california u can get ur codes checked for free from any auto parts store like autozone.u cant find the s shaped hose maybe u have a sl2 and not a sl1 i posted a pic of the sl1 valve cover does urs look like that?if not u have a sl2.so the engine dies when u cover the hole?ok next step then i posted a pic of the throttle body and the idle air control valve its figure 7 i want u to tap on it while the car is idling really high dont hit it hard enough to knock it off of course.just a good tapping see if the idle comes down.and see about getting me some codes if u dont live in california at the auto parts store.let me know what u find.
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Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 AT 3:19 PM
Tiny
JDENTON83
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I tapped on that with no result but I can get it to idle down by partially covering the small hole by the butterfly. What do you think
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Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 AT 4:04 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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It sounds like the idle air control valve is causing the high rpms but we don't know if the motor is frozen up or if carbon is keeping it from closing the proper depth or if we have a wiring issue keeping it from getting power to the motor to move it in and out. If we saw if it had codes or not that would help also.I would try getting a good brand of carb spray and removing that valve and cleaning the plunger tip and that hole u cover to make the idle go down real good and see if that helps. Let me know what u find.
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Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 AT 5:15 PM
Tiny
JDENTON83
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I got the codes this morning. TPS - P0122. I ordered a throttle position sensor. Now I need a drawing to find out where that is. Thanks again.
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Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 AT 10:05 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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The pic I posted with the throttle body has the tps in it it's figure 6.U can try replace the tps but u could very well have a wire or terminal tightness or some other issue instead. But if u would like to try swaping it that's up too u. Let me know what u find.
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Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 AT 12:44 PM
Tiny
JDENTON83
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Changed out the TPS. That cleared the check engine light but still did not fix the problem. I cant find any kind of wire issue. I assume that the TPS is eliminated because the alarm cleared. Any more ideas would be appreciated.
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Friday, May 14th, 2010 AT 10:22 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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Have u tried taking off the idle air control motor like I suggested and cleaning the port and the tip of the motor yet. Let me know.
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Friday, May 14th, 2010 AT 10:51 AM

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