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2000 taurus idle problem

I have a 2000 Ford Taurus with the FFV engine. I have been having problems for a while when the car is at idle speed. At times it will idle low 400-600 rpms and knock off. At other times, I can crank it up, and it idles fine (600-800 rpm). I read another post suggesting the IAC valve may need to be replaced. I looked up how to locate/remove it in an aftermarket repair manual, and it suggested testing the voltage coming into the valve from the PCM. The manual stated that I should expect 10.5 - 12V with the ignition on. I measured about 2V. The manual does not go into other steps to perform if the voltage is low. Does this mean I have a bad PCM, or are there other steps I should take to rule out other problems?

Thanks, JJ

Reply to
JJ
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is connection corroded??

hurc ast

Reply to
gerald smith

No, the connection looks pretty clean.

Reply to
JJ

Perhaps too much resistence in the wire causing a voltage drop?

Is the EGR valve getting vacuum when the idle is low?

Any codes present?

Reply to
sleepdog

Could you please fill us in on some history about the car. The type of environment it's driven in i.e. dusty conditions, snowy, dry-hot, mostly stop and go, mostly highway. Also the amount of miles on the odometer. It helps knowing these things to better understand what could be wrong with the car.

Reply to
eastwardbound2003

i would dissreguard that test unless the engine is turning the pcm knows the car is not at idle and would not duty cycle the iac

hurc ast

Reply to
gerald smith

The car has 90,000 miles on it. I left out that it does have a new fuel pump and fuel filter and the injectors have been cleaned. The problem was occurring before the above work. The fuel pump died, and I was hoping that the above work would solve the idle problem as well. As for driving conditions, the majority of the miles are highway miles. I live in Raleigh,NC, so not a lot of dusty or snowy driving. The winters here are pretty mild and the summers are hot and humid. As for the question about the codes, I am not sure. I have not taken it in to the shop yet. I have spent $2700 (also had to have the transmission rebuilt in addition to the stuff above) on repairs for this car the last 3-4 weeks, so I was hoping to be able to fix this problem myself and sell the car before something else goes wrong on it. This car has been a real lemon. The first tranny was rebuilt at 46K and the second time at 88K. I have never had a car with this many problems!

Reply to
JJ

Hurc ast...good call to disregard the test. My father-in-law also has a 2000 Taurus and is visiting us this weekend. I took my voltmeter to his car and received te same readings (2V) at the IAC Valve. Apparently bad advice from my repair manual...

My next plan is to take his IAC Valve off and try it on my car to see if that clears up the problem. The part is $80 at Advanced Auto, so hopefully this test will tell me if I really need it before I go buy one.

Reply to
JJ

heres a tip from a ford tech

FORD=JUNK

i dont know why yankees buy fords

hurc ast

Reply to
gerald smith

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