Hesitation under load up to 3,000 RPM on 3.2L

[ausgezeichnet]

A few months ago after washing my car, it ran very rough on the way home for a few miles. The next day it ran fine but I noticed a hesitation under load up to about 3,000 RPM, I replaced the dist cap and rotor but I still have the hesitation problem. Once it gets above 3,000 RPM it runs great. Any ideas on what may be causing this?

[Wil Ferch]

Based on my experience with other ( non-Porsche) cars... all it takes is one bad ignition wire to one of the cylinders. Higher RPM will tend to mask.....

Your hint was after washing. Check also for water-tightness all-around the ignition system.

[ausgezeichnet]

Thanks Will. What is the best way to check for a bad wire? Should I check the resistance or look for arching?

[Hugh R]

Go out at night start car and open decklid and look for arcing.

Also you can take an old plug, pull the wires one at a time and see if plug fires when grounded. I'd start and stop the engine between tests.

[stlrj]

The best test is what you already did: you gave it some water. Only this time try spraying some lightly with a spray bottle while it's at idle and that should tell you where your problem is right away.

[wolf76]

Hello. I had a similar problem on my 84. It took me a while to fix the problem but I did the following and it worked. I replaced the cylinder head temp sensor, the O2 sensor and adjusted the wiper arm on the AFM. I'm not sure which one did the trick but the end result was no more hesitation. I have quite a few posts on my problem so feel free to search and see if my symptoms are the same as what you're experiencing. I hope that helps.

Chris