When Starting the Car

[jpeck2]

the past 2 days when I start the car it either stalls or goes to stall... is this the battery or what?

 

[SHOZ123]

No, if it were the battery it would not start.

Does it rev up higher after starting, say to 1200 rpm or so?

 

[jpeck2]

No, if it were the battery it would not start.

Does it rev up higher after starting, say to 1200 rpm or so?

it did that once yeah... other then that it just seems like it would if you were running out of gas where it just stalls out softly so to speak

p.s.- the car still ends up starting, but i have to press the gas to keep it from stalling

 

[SHOZ123]

Maybe the IAC is stuck shut. Try whacking it with a screwdriver.

 

[jpeck2]

I'm pretty uneducated when it comes to cars mechanically, which sucks cause I always have to pay tons to get my cars fixed ... what is the IAC and where is it located? ::thankyou::

 

[SHOZ123]

The IAC is on top of the Throttle Body. It is a round cylinder shaped thing with an electrical plug on it.

This is what regulates air to the engine when idling.

 

[jpeck2]

so I tried this... still doing it... I noticed that as it stalls the battery and oil light come on? oil is full and clean, cams are welded in this vehicle... any clues? i had my fiance start it up and as she did i manually lifted the throttle and it ended up being fine running after that... but then turned it back off, and after starting back up again it yet again stalled... so it appears its only at starting the engine... if i throttle it up for a little bit it seems like it may be ok...

ps.- could it be anything shown at this link???
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_would_a_car_stall_when_idling_at_a_stop_light

 

[medgraphsho]

maybe its a fuel issue.... change fuel filter, check for leaks at the FPR(fuel pressure regulator) and fuel rails

 

[SHOZ123]

The oil and alternator lights coming on when it dies is normal. This is because the alternator quits turning and the oil pressure drops because the engine stops turning.

If it runs when the throttle is cracked then the IAC is either bad or dirty or stuck shut.

 

[jpeck2]

The oil and alternator lights coming on when it dies is normal. This is because the alternator quits turning and the oil pressure drops because the engine stops turning.

If it runs when the throttle is cracked then the IAC is either bad or dirty or stuck shut.

any chance you could post a pic of this particular part on the car so I can be sure I banged on the right part with a screw driver? lol... also, would this be something I could fix myself if its stuck shut, IE. does the part open up or something to where I could clean the inside or anything?

the IAC, thats the Idle air control valve?? i searched google and alot of people are saying they had similar issues and thats what it was is that it had to be changed... how much is this part and how much should I expect to be charged by someone to put it in? or better yet, is it easy enough to change myself?

 

[jpeck2]

update: I had my fiance start the car up again, i pull up on the clutch thing again and i let it rev... after i let it go, it sounds like air escaping somewhere... possibly out of one of the manifolds or something... it almost sounds like when you go to put air into a tire and some escapes first... any ideas? i need to have this fixed TODAY ::thankyou::

 

[KickerBeast]

You can try to clean the Idle Air Control (IAC) valve, but you are probably just better off replacing it unless you want to limp by for now. If you want to try to clean out the IAC go for it. It should look really close to this http://cgi.ebay.com/FORD-EF-EL-XH-6...0|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50 and sits on top of the throttle body. If that didn't work then just go to ebay and lookup ford idle air control and you will get some pics. Take it off very carefully so you don't tear the gasket and clean the inside out with brake clean and some kind of brush. If the problem doesn't go away then you will have to replace it. This would be your first step in diagnosing the problem. I used to be a ford tech and i have seen hundreds of these go out. If you need to drive the car for now, crack the throttle and start it. Let it warm up until it will idle on it's own. Normally when these go out the will work fine once they are warmed up. My uncle has been doing that for 2 years on his Lincoln cuz he hasn't felt like putting the part on yet.

 

[KickerBeast]

The air you are hearing is probably just cuz you are sitting a foot away from the intake.

 

[jpeck2]

update: brought it into a shop to see about getting the IAC changed out... ended up being that the boots/clamps around the intake was loose so their was gaps in between the intakes... they opened the clamps, pushed the intakes together and reclamped it... it solved the problem... thanks folks!! ::thankyou::

 

[KickerBeast]

ok, that is impressive considering they the entire intake is bolted in place. Even with those loose and the bolts out it is not an easy task to get them apart. Did the car backfire on startup? I have seen Fords backfire and blow the plastic intakes apart. Usually is it when you crank the car before the crank makes one revolution. The PCM doesn't yet know where cylinder 1 is and it just starts randomly sparking. I know they had a reprogram for it about 4 years ago, but it wasn't for SHOs, only the 4V 3.0 Taurus

 

[zorlack]

Had the same problem. Have a spare coil so i change coil on number 8 cylinder .Runnning good now . I dont know why but number 8 cylinder correspond with computer