98 Vic doesnt want to idle cold

[87DeuceVic]

Ok so when I got outta security this morning at 7 I came to the Vic, she had been sittin all night and it was about 45 at some points. So when I turned the key it would just crank then catch and cough for a second then die. I tried again and tapped the gas and it fired but as soon as I let off it started to cough and die out again, so I gave it more throttle and let it sit at some higher RPM and within a few seconds I let off and it idled fine...kinda confused. I am thinking its something that controls the idle thats messing up, or maybe its not gettin enough gas at first. Anybody know what might be causing this??

[marquisman]

and you dont have a CEL on? your IAC might be on its way out and/or a air/coolant temp sensor.

[87DeuceVic]

and you dont have a CEL on? your IAC might be on its way out and/or a air/coolant temp sensor.

Nope no check engine light yet. I am thinking about just taking it to Ford and seeing what they can do...

[tim marks]

i would clean the IAC before i let ford touch it......

[87DeuceVic]

i would clean the IAC before i let ford touch it......

I dont have a clue what the IAC is lol. Well actually isnt it like Idle Air Control or something?? I also dont know how to clean it

[tim marks]

you are correct. its the idle air control valve. it is located on the plenum on top of the intake manifold. to clean it you need an 8mm socket and ratchet and pop the two bolts off. clean it up with some carb cleaner real good. more than likely the crud will be black running out of it. clean it up real good and bolt it back up....not hard at all.

[Rizzo]

[SVT98t]

try this first. If not, try the Crank Position Sensor near the AC compressor. Cleaning the IAC should get you going.
Good Luck!

Let us know how it goes!

-ryan s.

[87DeuceVic]

Well its been a while and the problem was doing ok. If it didnt wanna catch I just stayed on the gas for a few seconds and it would start to idle and I could let off. Well now its going to far, its been doing it more often and yesterday morning it wouldnt stay running at all. I stayed steady on the gas for about 4 minutes and it just didnt wanna idle by itself. Sooooo I drove it home with my foot controlling the idle, which was a blast. I was and am very frustrated because this is happening in the middle of a long work week for me (the factory I work at is shut down all week and I am doing security on graveyard untill sunday). So I got a ride to work tonight and tomorrow when I get home I am taking her to Ford to get it figured out. Its too cold to be screwing with it myself and I dont have the patience right now. They think they can get it in and out in one day so hopefully it will be all set tomorrow night.

I have been using 91 and 93 octane gas for a couple weeks now and its almost like that is what making it be dumb....idk but its seems to be just getting worse now so its making me wonder.

[rick99601]

replace/clean the iac.

[1990LTD]

iac!

http://www.explorer4x4.com/iac.htm

[87DeuceVic]

So I took it to Ford and told them the issue, and that I believe it to be the IAC that it needs to be cleaned. Of course they tried to sell me a new one ($170!!!!) so I said nope just try and clean it up first. Sooo a while later they called me back and told me that it is the IAC and it is "uncleanable". They say I need to replace it, so I went and picked it up but I am wondering if they are wrong...is it true that you cant clean it? They didnt charge me anything and my dad is going to pick up a new IAC tomorrow morning and we will probably just throw it in over the weekend, aint gonna bother draggin it back to Ford.

[1990LTD]

It is absolutely not true that you can't clean it. Spend 5 bucks on a couple of cans of carburetor cleaner. It's possible that they tried cleaning it but it didn't help and that's what they mean. Ask them if they tried.


This is what your IAC looks like





The inside of yours is probably black with carbon buildup from years of use. Disconnect your battery, take the IAC off, tape a plastic bag over the electrical connection on the end of the IAC.
Spray the carb cleaner in one of the two holes and let it run out the other - it will be as black as night. keep spraying and wait until it comes out the same color it went in. use a toothbrush or something for nooks and crannies if stuff isn't coming off with just the cleaner, but it should. Let it dry.

Clean up the spot that it connects to as well, the ports on that will be full of black stuff too.

[87DeuceVic]

It is absolutely not true that you can't clean it. Spend 5 bucks on a couple of cans of carburetor cleaner. It's possible that they tried cleaning it but it didn't help and that's what they mean. Ask them if they tried.

I think they may have attempted to clean it and maybe it was just too dirty or something....because when I picked the car up it was ice cold and thats when it usually wont idle, but it started just fine which made me wonder. Ford is closed till monday but I will try and clean the part up this weekend and see if it helps.

[87DeuceVic]

So my old man just went ahead and picked up a new IAC from Autozone (best price) and we threw it on today. Only took about 15 minutes, and so far so good...first time we turned it over it chugged awhile but its been sitting in very cold temperatures for a couple days now. I let off an tried it again and it fired right up. Took it to work with me and we shall see what happens. Even Ford said it is the IAC so it should be fixed.

Disconnect your battery

uhhh what happens if I forgot to disconnect it??? lol