I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

The title kinda says it all. I start up the svx and it sounds great, and then I shift into gear and the engine dies and my dashboard lights up like a christmas tree. Anyone dealt with this before? Any ideas? I assume there is a sensor or something that has died...

Joel

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

Are the christmas lights lighting up right before it dies or right after? If it is right before, your alternator/battery may be bad. I am going to assume it does that right after dying which is normal. My guess is that your MAF sensor is bad. You may want to try unplugging and plugging it back in-in case its just not making proper contact.

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

How high does it idle before you put it in gear? If its idling too low or misfiring, the extra load of the transmission just might push it low enough to stall.

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

1. Check for codes
2. TPS setting
3. Idle air control valve
4. vacuum leak

-Bill

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

Does the car sit a long time between journeys? If so you may be getting major binding in the clutches/transmission just from extended inactivity. Warming up for a while will help solve this. Also sometimes moving froward then backward will help. Then just drive it daily for a few weeks.

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

Ok,

Thanks for the replies everyone. I was out of town, and then the Christmas season has kept me out of the garage for a while. So today I took a look at it, and here are some of the answers to your questions.

(1) The car does not sit a long time. I had, in fact, driven it a day or so before it first did this. But, I was up in the mountains, and it sat overnight, and the next morning it ran like CRAP (jerking, was just really bad) and I was terrified the tranny was going to explode and leave me stranded. After a while it seemed to run just fine. I have a theory on this that I will get to in a minute.

(2) I checked for transmission codes and all I get is the constant blinking once every quarter second or so.

(3) The throttle seems to respond perfectly, so I don't think it's a TPS issue. Had one of those on my truck, boy was that a royal pain to track down.

(4) Idle air control valve. The car idles at around 800rpm or so, which is awesome.

(5) Vacuum leak - Don't hear anything at this time.

(6) Tried to use the gas to keep it at higher rpm, still died.

(7) Christmas tree is after it dies. The MAF is not a bad idea, I might try this. I have a little more info that might make this more likely or rule it out, I want to hear from you guys but let me answer all the questions first.

So, today I started it up and it died as usual. Then I let it idle for about ten minutes and come up to regular operating temperature, and it runs fine. I backed it out of my garage and took it for a short drive. Stood on it and it runs great except that I need to tighten the transmission band just a bit.

So, the problem seems to be temperature related. In my mountain experience (just before all this started) it ran like crap until I had been running it for ten minutes or so. Today once I let it warm up completely it drives fine.

With this added info do you think I should try replacing the MAF, or is there a temperature sensor somewhere that needs to be replaced?

Joel

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

I think there are copies of the service manual posted somewhere but I don't know where. I have my own.

Can someone who knows give him a link? There is a section which describes testing the temp sensor. There are two of them. One for the gage and one that sends the signal to the ECU. You want to check the resistance through the one for the ECU to see if it's in spec for the given temp. Given your description checking it while cold aught to be good enough so you don't even need to pull it out to check it.

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

In all of this it is assumed that no fault lights are illuminated when the car is running as normal.

Exactly which fault lights illuminate with the engine is not running and is this constant or blinking? Do they illuminate at turn on, or only after the engine has been running? The lights should provide a clue, but exact detail is required.;)

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

The link to the service manual is in my signature below. Refer to "tests with codes" section for the coolant temp sensor test procedure.

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

Well,

According to the service manual the sensor is located behind the glove box. So on Saturday I took the glove box out (yes, I know this thread is old, I've been busy) which wasn't fun, and everything looked perfect. I thought perhaps a rodent had eaten some of the wires before I started, but nothing was even chewed on. I disconnected and reconnected everything and now the car runs perfect. Not 100% sure it is related to what I did or the warmer weather. I guess I'll find out in the fall...

Joel

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

I think you have been given a" bum steer". The temp sensor that you should check is on the water crossover pipe, under the inlet manifold, left hand side.

Harvey.

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

I think he mistook the manual, that one is for the HVAC yes?

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

Yes Chris, it is behind the glove box, just about 20" behind it:D

Harvey.

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

No I meant the one he tried to get to...... theres a temp sensor for our a/c behind the glove box right?

Re: I shift into gear and it just...dies. Any ideas?
 

There are two temp sensors inside the cooler box, evap temp sensor and refrigerant temp sensor, pray this is the last time you hear of one.


A/C code 14/15 plagues my life. Replaced both in my SVX in 04. Got a code 14 few months back (evap temp). Evaporator must come out to replace them.

FML

Also, I second checking the coolant temp sensor, if it is out the failsafe makes the car run very poorly when not warmed up, and can cause a very difficult start in cold weather. Usually when this goes bad the ECU sees it and will illuminate the MIL and turn the cooling fans on HI. But this is only when it is so bad it is open or short. The sensor is easily acessed right there on the crossover pipe and is inexpensive, If I ever thought there was a problem with mine I would just replace the darn thing, since those things used to drop like flies on the first gen legacy, and it looks to be the same sensor to me.