Recently, just for morning first start ups, the initial idle will go to 1,000 0r 1,200rpm, then drop to 400-500 and then stall. If I keep it at 1,000 + for 20-30 seconds with the gas pedal, then it usually holds normal idle and is fine. The OBD ll gets no codes and all monitors are complete.

A month ago, I replaced a bad injector #3 (code P0203) with a remanuf. one and replaced the spark plugs. I used new o-rings for all injectors into the fuel rail. The rubber rings that sealed the injectors into the head, were not sold separately, which seemed weird not to be able replace those.

Curious of what could cause this with no codes showing up.

 

I am confused at why this started a few weeks after my injector repair/ spark plug replacement. I had concerns about the old base seals of the injectors into the block sealing well. Could some intake leak develop that only manifests with a first time in the morning cold start?

 

An abnormally high idle speed often indicates a vacuum leak. It's conceivable that old, hard O-rings ming result in a vacuum leak until they warm up a little. Might be worth it to replaca them. Can't hurt.

 

dcotter,
Thanks for the reply. But my problem is the opposite. Too low idle right after the inial higher idle. Actually, I think the initial high idle is normal for at least the first minute(s) a car is started. At least that is what I am now noticing on our other car (as I am tuned into this now ).

And I wanted to replace these seals but I found no online source (RockAuto, etc.). Also, my local O'Reily's and Napa stores, showed this part as NOT sold separately! Sure, the remanufactured injector came with a fresh seal. But I did not choose to leave the car torn apart for 4 days AND invest another $34 x 5 for replacing the balance of the injectors for this concern.

(It's been a week, so I checked and still no codes.)

 

Well, it has been about six months since my initial 'stall at cold start up' issue first occurred. The problem actually went away. I cannot remember doing anything that fixed it, and I think I would have (excitedly) posted back here of a found cure. Well, the problem started to occur again (and again, no OBD II codes!). At morning start up, it starts, then quickly stalls. I can keep it running with the gas pedal. After I am going, it does not stall. Yesterday:
-did NOT stall at start up (noon, car fairly warm from sitting in sun)
- after driving 15 mins, parked for 3 hrs, then stalled at start up
- drove 5 mins, stopped for 10 mins, it started normally

It seems intermittent and I cannot even tie it to only at cold start. As When it is warm it 'sometimes' has problem too. But mostly, when warm, it starts and runs normally.

I'm at a diagnostic loss. Grasping for straws, is there any chance disconnecting the battery for 15 minutes might enable some electronic circuit to 'reboot' that might be causing this intermittent stall issue?
ANY thoughts of things to try or test, would be greatly appreciated.

side note: We just bought a new car and I was planning to sell my wife's '05 Hyuindai XG350. Now I am wondering if Maybe I should sell my loved 2000 Sebring! I don't like that so much...
(both have +/- 170k miles w/ timing belts replaced)

 

Might the EGR valve be the problem?

Car has 174k miles and the EGR has never been touched. I just got through re-cleaning the (already super clean) throttle body. Both IAC ports also looked as new. I pulled the IAC and it's probe had mild carbon, but not much at all (do IAC'c go bad commonly? If so, would it relate to my issue?).

After the above re cleaning, it still stalled. I warmed up engine, then restarted. Idle initially went to ≈1,000 for a second, then lowered down to about 500, stumbled a bit lower, then recovered to to normal ≈650 ish (surprise). But something is seemingly not letting in quite enough air upon cold (and some warm) starts. Also, after warmed up, I punched it several times in neutral. There was about a half second hesitation, then rpm's flew up as normal. With air inlet off, there was a very noticable sucking/bogging sound during the half second hesitation. It was the same with air intake reconnected, just much less audible. (EGR or TPS related?)

Is the EGR valve cleanable? I suspect not reliably, since the MAnual says to replace the EGR AND Transducer as a set as they are tuned. (probably) Gunked up EGR at 174k mi., I gotta believe it's 'tuned-ness' is past. RockAuto has an EGR w/ Transducer for $43.79

I do not know if the TPS relates to this issue, but it comes to mind since I replaces that on my Bronco for idle and poor performance issues. It's TPS was dead. The Sebring has no acceleration issues, just idle, so maybe TPS is not related.

Thanks for any info guys.
Background:
Back in March, 2013 I thoroughly cleaned the Throttle Body (+ new air filter, + new fuel filter) when I had the intake plenum and all removed to change a bad #3 fuel injector (+ plugs & wires while in there).

 

Again, for many months the first time start/ stall issue was gone. It has come back intermitantly again for about the past month. I guess I'll wait for it to go into remission again. ;o)

 

Seems to be related to cold weather. Maybe you need to move south.

 

Well Cold start is misleading. I live in N. Calif, in the valley. First Start is what I really mean. Temps in garage would be about 70 degrees F. ;o)