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Trust My Mechanic

Your Free Car Repair Advice and Auto Repair Help

RPM Jumps Up and Down

Austin Davis, December 20, 2010September 30, 2014

Hello!
The problem that I am having with my car is the RPM gauge jumps up and down while driving around town and on the highway. Once that starts, my car runs crazy. Its like my car “misses” while trying to pick up speed. Its never cut off on me but it acts like it. Sometimes I hear noises coming from under the hood, like the valves rattling when my car starts driving crazy. I was wondering if you could give me something to go by or what you think is the problem. By the way, I have changes spark plugs, wires, cap and button….basically a tune-up.

Thanks for your time and hopefully you can help me out :)

Lasheena

Hey there,

Seems you have already done most of the basic stuff, plug wires etc. I would next check the distributor and you will need to see a mechanic unless you can do it yourself. Those vehicles had some internal distributor issues and you might have missed a recall or a service bulletin. The tachometer gets its signal from inside the distributor. You can buy a rebuilt distributor pretty cheap at the auto parts store…..if you just want to take a guess.

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