QuestionI have a '92 Camry that my daughter was using with about 120K miles. About a year ago, my daughter was driving it and it suddenly lost all power and basically died. She was away in Wyoming at the time and she tried to get it fixed there and ended up leaving it parked for a year. I recently towed it home to Colorado where I have started to look into fixing it.
I bought a new battery and installed it and the car started right up and idled, although the idle seemed low. When you press the gas pedal, it does not rev, nor does it die. It sounds a little rougher, but that's all. It continues to idle, and that's all it will do. I checked the throttle and it is fine. I also checked the TPS and it seems ok (output changes with the throttle).
She told me she tried a new fuel filter and new spark plugs a year ago before giving up.
The Check engine light is not on. I tried reading diagnostic codes by shorting out the diag port pins and reading the check engine lite. Seems like there is nothing there.
Any idea what might be happening? I'm thinking fuel pump, but I wanted to see if someone else had seen this sort of problem before.
Thanks,
Jeff
AnswerIf you suspect a feul pump problem you should check the pressure using a gauge attached to the fuel rail, replacing the pump is a lot of work and I would want to be sure that's what it is before replacing it. A couple of more things to check: Airflow meter, make sure the connector is on and no pins are bent, remove the top of the air filter and check the airflow meter door inside, make sure it can be pushed open by hand and returns.
A clogged exhaust or restricted catalityc converter.
Jumped timing belt, check the engine timing with a strobe light, if the timing is way off suspect a timing belt issue.
