So I have a 2001 Trooper, and it has had issues with the check engine light. Upon starting it up on after a night or so of being turned off, the RPMs will drop low, as though it is going to die. Then when I push on the gas pedal, the car at first seems to hesitate, like it can't get into gear, then the RPMs jump to about 2500, then lower back down to 1500-2000 and drive normally. After this, the check engine light will flash ONLY when the gas pedal is being used. And to top it off, the trooper will almost always do this when it is wet outside, and on occassion when it is nice outside. Turning the engine off for a minute and restarting the car will make this go away. I only post now cause it has occurred three days in a row, and the weather has been nice (60-degrees+, no rain)

My boyfriend believes it is a misfire, but because it is random in occurrence, it is hard for him to get a OBD-II scanner from school right when it happens (he goes to Universal Technical Institute)

My mom, being not as car-savvy, says it's an air seal issue in the gas tank, and that turning off the car, taking off the gas cap, and putting it back on will fix this. I don't believe it, because it invovles turning off the car and turning it back on after a bit, and I already know this fixes the problem temporarily.

Any suggestions? The trans was replaced a year and a half ago because of stalling issues, and the engine light was doing the same thing before that...

PLEASE HELP!!! I'm taking this car to and from school in the fall...

 

u say the light only comes on when u accelerate? and it goes away when u slow down? i had the same problem with my 94 trooper. i found that the air register had a crack in it. making the engine not get enough air thru the intake. and when it slowed down, the enigne didnt need that much air.. making the light go back off. check ur air register for any cracks. might be the problem.

 

You need to put a code scanner on it to find out what is really going on. Anything else is guesswork unless you can actually spot something. You can pick up an inexpensive "Actron" Code Scanner from auto parts stores for about $60. The inexpensive ones will just display the code, but you can google the code or email it to me and I will look it up in the factory manual for you.

Good luck!