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ever had your car stall out of nowhere
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at a red light in traffic or worse on
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the highway you're not alone a stalling
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engine is your car's desperate cry for
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help and if you ignore it you could be
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headed straight for a breakdown or a
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massive repair bill but here's the good
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news most causes of stalling are
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preventable affordable to fix and hiding
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right under your nose in this video we
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will discuss the nine real reasons of
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car stalling and how to stop it before
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it leaves you stranded let's dive in
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reason number one dirty or failing idle
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air control valve ever noticed your
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engine randomly dying at a red light or
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stop sign that's often the idle air
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control valve crying for help the IAV
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manages how much air enters your engine
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when you're not touching the gas if it
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gets clogged with carbon it can't do its
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job and your engine stalls a dirty IAV
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means the engine can't breathe properly
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during idle especially when accessories
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like the AC or headlights are on the fix
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can be as simple as removing and
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cleaning the valve with throttle body
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cleaner if the valve is too bare
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replacement is the best option a healthy
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IA means smooth idles and no more
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embarrassing engine shutdowns in traffic
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reason number two faulty mass air flow
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sensor think of the MAF sensor as your
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car's lungs it senses how much air is
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entering the engine and helps determine
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how much fuel to inject but when the MAF
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sensor is dirty or faulty it sends false
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readings to the ECU this throws off the
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fuel injection timing and air fuel mix
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causing stalling rough idle jerky
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acceleration and terrible fuel economy
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the math is especially important during
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startup and acceleration because these
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are the two most important moments when
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your engine needs precise air fuel
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balance you can try cleaning it using
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MAF sensor cleaner just be gentle and
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never touch the inner wire if it doesn't
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improve replacing it is a must a clean
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MAF sensor ensures your engine breathes
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easy and keeps running strong reason
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number three vacuum leaks your engine's
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vacuum system is like its air traffic
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control if there's a leak everything
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gets chaotic vacuum leaks allow
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unmetered air to sneak into the engine
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throwing off the air fuel mixture the
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ECU gets confused and compensates
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incorrectly leading to stalling rough
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idle or even surging you might also hear
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a faint hissing noise under the hood the
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trouble is vacuum leaks can be hard to
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find because rubber hoses crack gaskets
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leak and fittings loosen over time but
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here's a trick spray carb cleaner around
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the intake while the engine runs if the
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idle changes you found the leak seal it
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up and enjoy smooth performance again
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reason number four carbon buildup in the
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throttle body now let's talk about a
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hidden troublemaker that causes stalling
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in so many cars carbon buildup inside
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the throttle body over time soot and
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carbon deposits build up inside
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preventing the throttle plate from
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opening and closing smoothly this
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disrupts the air fuel mixture and leads
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to unpredictable idling or stalling the
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engine might even surge or drop RPMs
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randomly when coming to a stop a quick
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fix is removing the air intake and
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cleaning the throttle plate thoroughly
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with a cleaner and a microfiber cloth
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once clean your engine responds quicker
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and idles smoother a dirty throttle body
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is one of the most overlooked reasons
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cars stall reason number five bad fuel
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pump or clogged fuel filter no fuel
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means no power it's that simple if your
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fuel pump is weak or your fuel filter is
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clogged your engine won't get the fuel
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it needs to stay running think of it
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like trying to run a race while
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breathing through a straw eventually
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you'll run out of steam that's what's
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happening inside your engine when fuel
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doesn't reach the engine at the right
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pressure it sputters jerks and finally
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gives up you may also hear the fuel pump
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whining or notice longer crank times a
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quick fix is fuel filter replacement if
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that doesn't work test your fuel pump
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and replace it if necessary reason
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number six worn spark plugs or failing
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ignition coils your engine needs three
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things to run: air fuel and spark if
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your spark plugs are fouled or your
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ignition coils are on the fritz that
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third element is missing which causes
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engine stalling bad plugs mean
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incomplete combustion misfires and poor
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acceleration bad ignition coils only
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make the problem worse by failing to
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deliver high voltage to the plugs to fix
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it inspect your spark plugs for damage
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or fouling and replace them if needed if
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you're still getting misfires or stalls
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the coils may need replacing too it's
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cheap insurance for a smooth running
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engine ignoring ignition issues can lead
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to bigger failures down the road reason
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number seven weak battery or failing
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alternator your engine needs electricity
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to keep running but without it
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everything from sensors to the fuel pump
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starts shutting down a weak battery or
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dying alternator can cause random
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stalling flickering lights and warning
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signals all over the dashboard it's not
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just a starting issue low voltage also
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affects fuel injection and ignition
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timing use a multimeter to check battery
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voltage which should be around 12.6V off
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and 13.8 to 14.4V while engine is
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running if the alternator isn't charging
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replace it before you're stranded a
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stable power supply is critical to
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keeping your engine alive especially at
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idle or during heavy electrical reason
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number eight faulty throttle position
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sensor the throttle position sensor
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tells your engine exactly how far you
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are pressing the gas pedal if it goes
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bad or gives erratic signals your engine
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will be totally confused it might idle
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rough surge unexpectedly or stall
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completely especially when you release
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the gas you could also notice delayed
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throttle response or difficulty
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accelerating some cars will trigger a
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check engine light but others may not
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diagnosing a bad TPS is easy with a
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scanner and replacing it takes just
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minutes if your engine feels like it's
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confused about what you're asking it to
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do this little sensor could be the
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reason number nine check for diagnostic
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trouble codes modern cars are smart they
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tell you what's wrong but you need to
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know how to listen if your check engine
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light is on plug in an OBD2 scanner to
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the OBD2 port of your car to read the
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codes codes like PO300 P0171
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or P 0101 can point you exactly where to
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look even if a light isn't on live data
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on the OBD2 scanner can reveal misfire
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counts sensor voltages and fuel trims
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this saves you from guessing and
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replacing parts blindly a $20 scanner
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can prevent $2,000 in repairs always
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scan before you fix your engine's secret
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that's all for this video so next time
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your car stalls out of nowhere don't
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panic get curious because the signs are
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there and your engine is trying to speak
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to you see you in the next
