[saltlakedave]

Hi guys,

Question if I may. My warranty (bumper to bumper) is 250 miles from going bye bye.. Anyways. I took it in last week for a switch and trim piece repair (free).

Thing is, its also got this problem with the idle. Of course, Ford said it didnt really see it. Here is what happens.

Cars cold (no probs)

Cars heats up.. (idle is ok, but seems unsmoooth) .. Fan on radiator kicks on. Idle goes down to almost 0 then car seems to realize its dying and goes up to norm.. Then down, then up, then down, then up.. Sometimes this is severe, sometimes not so severe.

Now, with my limited knowledge on rotary cars, i'd say its either:

a) Bad air control valve or... (for load.. but, not like the fan pulls a load and a/c wont make it happen)

low voltage (wish these cars had voltage guage)
c) bad regulator on alternator?? (my rx-7 had an internal one that went bad as it got hot) - but, would dropping juice cause fluctuation like that? I wouldnt think.

another thing. Just today, when it was doing it, I turned the wheel and the dash battery light flashed for like a microsecond.

NOW... when ford had it, they said they could never find a voltage drain or anything. They said it was fine. No codes. BLAH BLAH

* Anyways, i want to get this fixed before the warranty is gone! What can I tell Ford to check? * Should I hang out there till it starts to do it to prove my point?

Thanks for any input

 

[saltlakedave]

ok.. also, do these cars have an Idle Air Control Solenoid or whatever it may be called?

Is it easy access so i can have em check that? I imagine it should be something simple

BLAH!

 

[Bob Gervais]

They do have an IAC, it's mounted on the upper intake and is easy to check. Because of the way you said the idle goes down when the fan comes on, I'd suspect something electrical related. To ease your mind, I'd suggest staying with the car at the dealer until it does this. They may be able to help you better if they know exactly what you're talking about.

 

[saltlakedave]

Yes.. this is true.

Sad thing is. Its that old story of it never happens in front of the mechanic.

I'm actually thinking now its got to be electrical. Ughh.. Taking it in tomorrow though. I'll let you guys know

 

[joe5.0]

I dont know if this will help but everytime I have had a funky idle it has been a dirty MAF sensor and/or dirty air filter.

 

[davesbedroom]

Originally posted by jtkz13@Feb 13 2004, 02:24 AM
I dont know if this will help but everytime I have had a funky idle it has been a dirty MAF sensor and/or dirty air filter.

How did you clean your MAF air flow sensor? What did you use?

 

[joe5.0]

I usually use rubbing alcohol on a q-tip and CARFULLY wipe the sensor off. You can also use electrical contact cleaner and thatway you just spray it. You have to take apart the intake tubing and undo the MAF & you'll see the thin wire that is the MAF sensor.