HELP: Engine problem

[Mizouse]

I started my car this afternoon to leave for school and the check engine light came on. It seemed odd at first however because the car was running just fine. I reved the engine a little and when I did the car almost died then the rpms shot up. They came back down but were 'bouncing'. They were coming down but then would bounce back up a little. This happened all the way down to idle. It continued to bounce at idle from about 600 rpm to 1100 rpm. Each time I reved the engine it did the same thing, nearly die, then shoot up and bounce back down. I could hold the engine at high rpms just fine. My dad suggested that I have some moisture somewhere that might be causing this. We live on a gravel road that was covered with snow all winter and now is melting and making the roads covered in water so I thought it was a definite possibility. So he suggested that I drive it to class and see how it does. On the way to class the problem seemed to work itself out, once the car warmed up the rpms didn't 'bounce' as much and near the end of the trip almost not at all. There still seemed to be a slight hesitation in the throttle, but hardly noticible. So I went in to class, came out 3 hours later and almost the same problem. Not as sever as when I first started the car this afternoon, but still the 'bouncing' and the throttle almost dying and then coming up. On the way home, it seemed to get better to the point that it was hardly noticable at all. The 'service engine soon' light stays on all the time no matter how well the engine is acting. Any suggestions on this? Is is just moisture in the system? Will that burn itself off? Or am I looking at something bigger here. The fuel injectors are nearly new, the spark plug wires are old, not sure if that would make a difference or not, just trying to be thourough.

[Slade901]

Have your car scan for code at autozone or similar place for FREE.

 

Make sure you have enough oil in the crankcase and good oil pressure.

 

Another possibility is failing TPS.

[joey b]

dreaded intake manifold gaskets. Don't know if the 3100 is guilty of leaking under the lower intake or above, but I'm 90% sure that's what it is.