94 5.0 idling too high and running rough

94GTMustang5.0

New Member
May 29, 2009
98
0
0
Help please! I have a 94 5.0 thats pretty much stock except for a few bolt ons. The situation is, before this problem the car would idle around 600 rpms and would be completely smooth. About a week ago, the car started running rough anywhere below 3k RPM and runs really rough when i start the car until it runs for about a minute. Not only that, but the cars idle will start out at around 750 RPMs and then jump to right below 1000, then back down to 750. It does this every time i stop at a light or put the car in neutral while driving.

Also when im driving the car, and i put it in 3rd gear or 4th gear around 1000RPMs, the car does not slow down and in some cases will actually speed up about 5mph. Its like an invisible foot is on the gas pedal. My friends dad said it was a vacuum leak, i replaced a few bad hoses but the rest seem fine. The PCV valve may need to be changed but my friends dad said the problems were not related.

PLEASE HELP =(
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Could be the IAC valve on the side of the throttle body. It lets extra air in the engine when the A/C is running. Over time, it gets buildup and can let air in when it's not supposed to. I would recommend unplugging the IAC valve and start up the car - see how it runs.
 
Agreed. A vac leak is still possible.

And if you're moving at all, the car will idle higher than normal to prevent stalling.
 
Okay guys now i really need your help :mad: i took off the IAC and cleaned it step-by-step with instructions from another thread on this site. after properly cleaning it following all instructions and reassembling it, the car now idles at just under 2000RPM and if i rev the engine the RPMS will climb, then they will hold themselves at the same RPM for about ten seconds, then slowly go back down to just under 2000RPM.


PLEASE HELP. Any suggestions are very much appreciated :(:(:(
 
Try resetting your idle with the following procedure. If your idle problem is NOT being caused by a bad part or vacuum leak then I have never seen this not fix the problem!

Begin with a cold vehicle. The idea here is to get the car to a firm cold idle with enough air bleed capacity left in the idle circuit for IAC adjustment.

The idle stop should be set first. Back out the idle stop screw, away from the bell crank arm, until about 1/2 turn past the point where it no longer makes contact (blade fully closed). Using a 0.010" feeler gauge, tighten until gauge just drags between screw and bell crank arm. Remove feeler gauge. Tighten screw exactly 1 1/2 turns. If the screw is very loose, put a drop of loc-tite or silicone on it, so it doesn't work out of adjustment.

Now remove the connector to the Idle Air Controller (IAC) just on the other side of the throttle body. Start the car and allow vehicle to warm for 2 minutes. Give a small "blip" to let it settle. If it is having a hard time staying running you may have to get an assistant until you can get to the front of the car. Now open or close the air bleed screw (CCW opens) next to the IAC until the car idles at 575 to 600 rpm. For guys with aftermarket cams and an EEC tuner, you might want to idle a bit more briskly, say 650 to 675.

Obviously, this rpm range is by what the car and driver wants...IE, no set idle speed, whatever works for YOU.

Turn off the car. Now count the number of turns clockwise to close on the idle air bleed screw. If it falls between 1/2 and 2, it's okay, now reverse it out the same number of turns. Log the number somewhere in case you need it for the future. Reconnect the IAC. You are done.

If the air bleed screw is above 2 turns, it's a good idea to tighten the idle stop screw another 1/2 turn, and then repeat the idle setting. If it is below 1/2 turn, then loosen the idle stop screw by 1/4 to 1/2 a turn, and repeat the idle setting. Be sure to put another drop of silicone RTV on the stop screw if it was disturbed. Reconnect the IAC.

Now remember we adjusted the set screw on the throttle body. That means that the voltage reading from the TPS sensor has changed. It should read between .96 and .99 volts. Anything outside of that range will cause all sorts of issues including misfires and rough idle.

you will have to back probe the TPS connector. With the connector attached to the TPS stick a paper clip into the rubber boot on the connector where the top and middle wires go into the connector. The rubber is very flexible the paper clip will slide in between the rubber and the wire.

Set your multimeter to volts. Turn ignition to ON. Then place your multimeter leads on the metal pins. If it comes up as a negative that is okay as long as you are -.96 to -.99. If you get this reading then great you are done and hopefully your issues are gone. If not proceed to step 9

This is where and extra pair of hands come in handy. Using a large screw driver you will need to loosen the bolts that hold the TPS. DO NOT USE A SCREWDRIVER THAT IS TOO SMALL BECAUSE YOU WILL STRIP THE BOLTS. They probably will be really tight so you have to really lean on the screwdriver and use some finesse.

Once the bolts are loose you will need to move the TPS up or down and continue to read the voltage. Once you get it to the desired setting you can retighten the bolts. What I do is I find .97 and then as carefully as possible I tighten the TPS down. what will happen is the voltage will change usually to .96 or .98 but that it okay. Once you are done with this manually open the throttle body a few times and close it then reread the voltage and make sure it is still within our desired range.

Depending upon how loose your set screw was you might want to cover it in RTV to hold your setting. At this point you have CORRECTLY reset you idle.