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Another weird idle / stalling thread...

L

Lord Stanley

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Here is how my car ('95 Zetec MTX) used to act before I started encountering problems... When ever you would but the car in neutral, whether while cruising down the road or coming to a stop, the idle would drop to arouns 1250RPM... It would stay there until a couple seconds after the car stoped and then it would drop to 800RPM, idle speed...


Well, a couple weeks ago something started acting up... From my other thread you know that my VSS shorts out whenever it is raining... Well, the second time that happened to me (out of three times) it would just not stop the wacky readings... It was driving me mad, so I let the car idle allowing the fan to come on like four times... This was finally enough heat to dry up the short in the VSS... During that time though, the car "choked" maybe once a minute... The choke was sudden, and when it happend the RPMS dropped to about 500 and then bounced back up... This is the only time I have experienced a screwed up idle...


Now the problem comes in the area that my first paragraph is about... Whenever I put the car in neutral and let off the gas the RPMS will drop straight down to idle speed, 800RPMS, and stay there... Sometimes though they will go down to 700, even rarer (a couple of times) down to 500, and even rarer (only one time) stall the car... If the RPMS do drop below idle speed while I am stopping the car in neutral, they bouce back up to 800RPMS as soon as the car has stopped...


The one time it stalled was today, hence this post... I was nearing the end of a highway off-ramp in second gear, when I popped it into neutral to complete my stop, the RPMS went straight to zero, just like I had turned the key to "off"...


Hopefully this is enough info to solve this... I have thoughts about what it could be, but I would like an answer from the experts based on my circumstances... Driving around at "0MPH" would not have screwed anything up (PCM wise), or could it have? :help:
 
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I know my car is an ATX, but one of my O2 sensor was acting up and gave me similar problems, and I was NOT always getting a CEL! Sometimes it would come on, but the majority of the time it was off. You might want to check and see if you have any pending codes. Otherwise AliasJerk is right and you could definitely have a vacuum leak of some sort.
 
zorrex said:
I know my car is an ATX, but one of my O2 sensor was acting up and gave me similar problems, and I was NOT always getting a CEL! Sometimes it would come on, but the majority of the time it was off. You might want to check and see if you have any pending codes. Otherwise AliasJerk is right and you could definitely have a vacuum leak of some sort.
Click to expand...

Can Autozone read OBDI codes since I have a '95?
 
"Well, a couple weeks ago something started acting up... From my other thread you know that my VSS shorts out whenever it is raining... Well, the second time that happened to me (out of three times) it would just not stop the wacky readings... It was driving me mad, so I let the car idle allowing the fan to come on like four times... This was finally enough heat to dry up the short in the VSS... During that time though, the car "choked" maybe once a minute... The choke was sudden, and when it happend the RPMS dropped to about 500 and then bounced back up... This is the only time I have experienced a screwed up idle..."

It may have something to do with this and if it is and issue with your car it can cause all sorts of weird issues. I would encourage you to check out the Owner Notification on this as it is not a small problem.

As for the vacuum issue you can find it by spraying some WD40 on the connections. If there is a leak the engine will speed up. Just watch where you spray.

AF
 
Aussie Ford said:
It may have something to do with this and if it is and issue with your car it can cause all sorts of weird issues. I would encourage you to check out the Owner Notification on this as it is not a small problem.
Click to expand...

Already have, more than once...

My VSS is most likely screwed up due to me changing the rear roll restrictor... The tranny/engine moved down a little when I took it out, and since the wiring is tight it must have pulled something... I never had a problem in the rain before then...


Aussie Ford said:
As for the vacuum issue you can find it by spraying some WD40 on the connections. If there is a leak the engine will speed up. Just watch where you spray.
Click to expand...

Do you have a diagram of all the vacum lines? The one on Autozone.com seemed like it did not show half of the stuff... And I thought you used starting fluid to check?
 
I believe there is one in the Ztech maintenance thread. If not I'll see if I can post one. I have a problem posting screens from the CD..... Have you gotten a Ford CD yet? IF not touch base with Todras they are well worth the few bucks he asks for one. My o'l mechanic buddy has always used WD40 it is not a dangerious as starting fluid. Just mark it down as another use for it. I think that one is actually #1,412 on the list...... LOL

Glad to hear you've checked out that notification and it is even better if your one of the fortunate ones w/o the problem. My 95 had it but since it was a stripped GL the replacement cost was very little.

Try these see if one matches yours:
95 Z
95Zetec.jpg
96-97 Z
96-97Zetec.jpg
98-99 Z
98-99Zetec.jpg

AF
 
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IAC is on the side of the manifold below the TB facing the drivers side (its below the runners so its kinda hard to see). the brake booster line should be at the bottom of the manifold. its a hard plastic line about .5" in diameter.
 
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