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Anyone elses idle stick in subzero temps?

PunkST

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#1
Thanks to this lovely cold we are having, my car has decided its best to stay idling at 1500 rpm until i go to drive it. No amount of blipping the throttle once its warmed will drop the idle. Only putting load on the engine.

Any thoughts? Car does it both on and off the cobb canned tunes. And only when temps get below zero
 


TyphoonFiST

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#2
Thanks to this lovely cold we are having, my car has decided its best to stay idling at 1500 rpm until i go to drive it. No amount of blipping the throttle once its warmed will drop the idle. Only putting load on the engine.

Any thoughts? Car does it both on and off the cobb canned tunes. And only when temps get below zero
Mine does this also as I am your neighbor* do you plug yours in at night to keep the engine coolant warm? If you have a [emoji366] try that....I have plug ins here @ Transit so I thought id try it to see if it would help it start easier. I'll keep you posted!

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OP
PunkST

PunkST

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Thread Starter #3
It was an illinois ordered car and brought up here as a dealer trade. No block heater šŸ™ it starts every time ( thank goodness for that. Agm battery)
 


TyphoonFiST

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#4
I roll an AGM also* Just thought id see if the block heater would help in lowering the idle and it warming up faster.[burnout] Which I think it will*
 


OP
PunkST

PunkST

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Thread Starter #5
It might.
But it may still high idle till i put load on it. Which is rather odd that its outdoor temp specific. I let it warm for 10 minutes outside work. It was still at 1500 rpm even though it had 160 degrees of engine temp.
 


Sam4

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#6
Thanks to this lovely cold we are having, my car has decided its best to stay idling at 1500 rpm until i go to drive it. No amount of blipping the throttle once its warmed will drop the idle. Only putting load on the engine.

Any thoughts? Car does it both on and off the cobb canned tunes. And only when temps get below zero
THANK GOD, I would have no idea - it's only getting down into the 20s here.......
 


TyphoonFiST

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THANK GOD, I would have no idea - it's only getting down into the 20s here.......
It doesn't get cold like this there? It isn't cold until its at least -25 or -30. Then you can vaporize a pot of boiling water when you throw it up into the air outside!


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kivnul

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#8
I don't think I have ever let it warm up idling by itself long enough to know if mine does this. I get in, start it up, let it run about 5 seconds and start driving, regardless of how cold it is. I just take it very very easy until it has warmed up. Only time I take longer is if I need to clear snow/windshields but even then it is only a minute.
 


CSM

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#9
I think its pretty normal for these cars to idle higher than 800rpm when its cold out. Mine has done it ever since I bought it and in my WI and OH days.

I always let mine warm up 5-10 min at idle in this deep cold freeze
 


OP
PunkST

PunkST

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Thread Starter #10
Csm. Its the fact that 10 minutes later its still churning at 1500 even though the engine is warm and should have idled down a while ago.
 


CSM

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#11
Csm. Its the fact that 10 minutes later its still churning at 1500 even though the engine is warm and should have idled down a while ago.
Mine has always done that, even before going big turbo and custom tune. I think the engine idle speed increases as ambient temps decrease
 


OP
PunkST

PunkST

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Thread Starter #12
But a car should idle down once it reaches certain engine temps, right? Because its not doing so till i put load on the engine backing out of my driveway. Then and only then will it idle at a regular speed.
 


OP
PunkST

PunkST

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Thread Starter #14
Good question. Today its a balmy 19 degrees. Car acted normal. Idled down after about 3 minutes.
 


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#15
Iā€™ve noticed this too I live in Michigan it was about 7 degrees last Wednesday and my car sat at 1500 rpm while completely warmed up these past couple of days itā€™s been over 10 degrees when I start it up and it idles down normally after about 10 min Iā€™m thinking itā€™s not just a coolant sensor telling the car when itā€™s full warmed up. Hope this helps I wouldnā€™t be worried though
 


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#16
Most cars go to high idle at low temps, but will settle down to regular idle if you blip the throttle. I avoid idling to warm up the car- just fire it up, let it run while I scrape the windows and then drive low key until it gets up to temp. Even idling at the higher idle speed you see is the slowest way to bring it up to operating temp, which has negative impacts on engine life, emissions, and can be a security issue if you don't lock the car. There are fairly strong opinions to be had on this, but it was what was suggested in an old Saab manual and seems logical, so I'm gonna go with it until I see better info.
 


OP
PunkST

PunkST

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Thread Starter #17
^ if i blip it, it just went right back to 1500 rpm.
I cant stand a cold car, ( cold is physically painful for me) and i feel putting load on a cold engine isnt a good thing.

Idk. Its at least good to see other cars doing it as well, so maybe its in the cold start tuning tables.
 




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