Ok, WTF just Happened???, At the risk of sounding stupid Options

[eggman40]

Disclaimer: I recently swap my own 3sgte motor with the acception of the wiring (DG Perf) so i have a pretty decent amount of knowledge when it comes to cars. now with that said.....


earlier i was in my drivers seat taking off the plastic pieces around the radio because i wanted to check the room for 3 guages. Therefore i took the plastic piece that holds the cig lighter off and to do that you need to disconect its wire from behind as well as another random plug next to it. I do a little measuring for about 15min. then put everything back. 1/2 hr later i get ready to leave and jump in the car again. I put it in first gear and try to take off.... the thing nearly died on me. I really had to gas it to keep it on and to get it moving about 4and half revs, and the thing bearly moved, like it was riding on 2 pistons or something. Naturally i pop the hood and look for any loose wires,sensors,vac hoses, etc, and everthing looked normal. tried it again and the same thing happed AGAIN... So i back track to what i did in the cabin, thinking maybe i knocked a ecu wire loose or something, and noticed i didnt plug the lighter back in or the random plug next to it. I put them back in and what do you know... the problem GOES AWAY! are you freakin kidding me? the lighter screws things up? or is that random plug an extremely critical piece that needs to be pluged in? someone please enlighten me as im always eager to learn.

thank you for reading this long story and thanks ahead of time for any responses

[Batman722]

the lighter has 2 plugs behind it, one for power and one for the light ring around it.

that's all I know

[Chanh55]

Egg... what is this random plug that you are talking about? Can you take some pics or something?? This baffles me....

Woot I got 4 squares now! Woot Woot.

[eggman40]

Egg... what is this random plug that you are talking about? Can you take some pics or something?? This baffles me....

Woot I got 4 squares now! Woot Woot.

give me 5 min

[Defgeph]

Pic would be perfect. The cig lighter wouldnt effect the engine in anyway.

[lagos]

there are 2 plugs for the cig lighter....one for the cig power, and one for the light around it. they have NOTHING to do with your motor or now your car drives. it sounds like your problem was caused by something else. check your ecu to see if it has any codes stored.

This post has been edited by lagos: May 18, 2006 - 11:57 PM

[eggman40]

hope this helps

[Chanh55]

Egg... like what everyone else is saying... the larger one gives power to the lighter and the small one is for the light ring.

[Batman722]

the lighter has 2 plugs behind it, one for power and one for the light ring around it.

just as everyone else said, they have nothing to do with the normal operation of the car.

you might of pulled or bumped some loose wires around that area behind them (interior plugs or ECU plugs), that is my guess

[lagos]

those have nothing to do with how your car runs.

[eggman40]

Man i know guys thats what i thought, even in my head i was thinking, I know this wont do Shhh but whatever... and suddenly the car ran right, just to give you an idea, i stopped in the middle of the street w/ the motor running hit the hazards and took the shift boot off and saw the plugs lying there, i plugged them in, looked around a little more than decided to drive back home about a block away. I put the car in gear and the dam thing rides like there was nothing wrong at all!!! that was just too weird. Im even tempeted to capture video of this

[lagos]

put it on vid, but check your cel codes 1st

[eggman40]

put it on vid, but check your cel codes 1st

even if there was no engine light thrown could i find the problem?

[ZacMan1987]

Could one of the plugs have landed on his ECU somehow and given him trouble? Or was just it a fluke?

[lagos]

put it on vid, but check your cel codes 1st

even if there was no engine light thrown could i find the problem?

yes, check it. not all codes trigger the cel light. if something happened, there is a good chance the ecu has a code stored because of it.

This post has been edited by lagos: May 19, 2006 - 2:00 AM

[WannabeGT4]

Sounds like you just put it in third gear by mistake then assumed it was something you did behind the dash and didn't even try putting it in first before you plugged those wires in.

Or... one of the plugs was caught in the shifter and not allowing you to get to first gear.

[bojangles_8686]

Sounds like you just put it in third gear by mistake then assumed it was something you did behind the dash and didn't even try putting it in first before you plugged those wires in.

Or... one of the plugs was caught in the shifter and not allowing you to get to first gear.

I bet that is what happened. I have done that before when taking the cigarette lighter piece off (I have an auto so I cant even start my car when its not in park)

[toyotacrazy]

Hey guys,
Have you disconnected the wires again and tried driving it to see if the problem comes back? This might be related to another loose ground for the ecm and now the harness is using the cigarette lighter ground as a ground source . Its a long shot. But I would try disconnecting it again and see if it was coincidental or related. Let me know what you find.

[K-ESD]

Hey guys,
Have you disconnected the wires again and tried driving it to see if the problem comes back? This might be related to another loose ground for the ecm and now the harness is using the cigarette lighter ground as a ground source . Its a long shot. But I would try disconnecting it again and see if it was coincidental or related. Let me know what you find.

agreed. wiring is extremely sensitive stuff. It's very possible that there's a wiring bug that causes that problem when the cig lighter is disconnected.... heh but i must admit it doesn't make any sense lol

also follow up the wires of the cig to see where it ends up, it maybe near something important