GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Does anyone know why when the car is in park or not moving but running, when you turn the wheel back and forth the rpms go up a little bit? Just kind of wondering why that happens.

just a guess, but it takes some amount of power from the engine to run the power steering pump, so when you turn the steering wheel, the engine has to rev a little bit faster to generate the extra power required. if that's the cause, then I'd also expect to see a rpm rise when you hit the high beams, or maybe crank the heater fan to high, turn on the AC, other things that will put a load on the engine.I find that I don't idle the car much and haven't noticed the rpm rise, but now I'm curious and will look for it tomorrow.

It's to compensate for the engine being under load so it doesn't stall. Turning the wheels when stationary puts a greater load on the power steering pump and other components than when you are moving. When the AC compressor kicks in the same thing happens, the rpms go up.edit- You beat me by a minute joatmon.

Quote, originally posted by Sunny »edit- You beat me by a minute joatmon. I got millster yesterday in http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=9026Maybe I'm finallly improving my typing speed. I still need to work on acucracy.

[Maybe I'm finallly improving my typing speed. I still need to work on acucracy.[/QUOTE]Yes thar is ahways ruum for improovement.

Speling has never ben a hi proirity here on GenVibe, content being more important than form, but fot those that car, it's easy to compose in the 'reply' box, then cut and paste it into an e-mail, use the speelchek, then paste it back in the box. There's probably easier ways, but this works for me. (when I remember to use it!)

Similar RPM fluctuations will happen when you turn on/off the fan, lights, brake pedal etc. Its normal.

Thanks for all the information on this. Was just kind of wondering why it happened.

I never noticed it until you mentioned it. I was playing with it today while waiting for a train to end. twisting the steering wheel made the rpms jump more than I thought they would.

Yeah thats how I found out about mine doing that. I was bored waiting for the train to cross and started to turn the wheel and it happened. It does suprise you on how much it actually jumps up.