Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Major Idle issue 96 contour

This morning I started my 96 contour, zetec, 123,000,atx, and it started up fine but when it tried to idle it would die instantly. I started and revved the engine multiple times and every time it would die as soon as the rpm's were at idle. I had a cel on the was 1131(O2 not switching, lean), but the code had gone of earlier that day. I had also added a bottle of injector and intake cleaner to the tank the week earlier and still have over 1/4 tank of gas. After work I tried starting the car again and it died at idle again. After a few times of this it started to idle badly and gradually got a little better to were it was staying near idle, although idle was a little eratic. CEL has not come back on and it seems to accelerate fine. Idle is eratic in gear and in park. About a month ago I had a misfire with blinking cel, I was nearly out of gas and thought maybe that is what caused it but maybe I was wrong. I know it could be plugs, wires, or coil, but wires and coil appear to be fine but I have not checked plugs yet. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

96 contour bought at auction supposedly just needed a break job. Not to mention Air conditioner, Fan contol switch, MAF sensor, plenum chamber, trunk lock, new side window, and still going.

check the hose coming off the PCV. if its cracked or broken it will make your car stall when you first start it and its cold

I have not had time to check the hose yet but thatnks for the info. Last night I started the car and did not let it drop to idle death for several minutes(maybe 5-7) and when I finally let it idle it was idling fine but later it was the same idle problem, and again this morning instant death upon idle, but starts right back up?

I replaced the feul filter and the problem has not gone away. I was wondering where to locate the hose out of PCV?is it right out of the air filter housing? I cleaned filter housing and small filter pad was badly clogged, also the hose coming out of the filter housing to engine. Did NOT help? Any more suggestions would be appreciated!

Forgot to add that I pulled codes and recieved 1131 and 0304 despite the CEL not on. Also I have got the car to remain idling without death but it is still very close to and very eratic, wa-wa-wa-wa-wa, sounds like it is not recieving gas. Would the intake injector cleaner have caused the injectors to become plugged with junk?

PCV valve is located under the exhuast manifold. Check the rubber boot and hard tube it's connected to for cracks. Access is from underneith behind the manifold up high. Hope you have small hands!
Check your coil, wires and plugs for defects. What type of manual or cd info do you have if any?

I have the haynes repair manual, but it does not show picture of PCV. I could not locate the IAC either but it was getting dark and I have to work outdoors on car.

IAC cleaning
Zetec IAC location.

For the Zetec I-4, you need to access the IAC from the bottom of the car.

IAC cleaning
from Ray's UIM/LIM how to in Duratec Maintenance how to.

"Replacing the IAC gasket:
(From IAC faq)
Over time, the IAC (Idle Air Control) valve becomes sticky due to buildup from the EGR and PCV systems. It can stick partially open such that idle quality is adversely affected, and engine RPM's will not drop below 1500. For a while, blipping the throttle will restore normal idle, but this only works for so long.

The fix is to remove the IAC valve by unbolting the two 8mm bolts that hold it on and disconnected the wiring plug. If you are careful enough, replacement of the gasket will not be necessary. The gasket costs less than US $1.00, so it is no tragedy if you destroy it. Once the valve is off, spray it out with some carb/intake cleaner and make sure any gunky residue is gone. Reattach, and you are done. It is a lot cheaper than a new IAC, which runs around US $70. Note: Ford claims the IAC cannot be cleaned, but this is not true in my experience." Ray.

Location of the IAC for the Zetec.

"It's on the back side of the intake plenum under the throttle body area." DESIGN.

I looked at the Haynes manual and the Zetec IAC valve is located next to the starter. Below are the steps from the 1996 Ford CD to remove it .

Idle Air Control (IAC) Valve


Removal

1. Disconnect battery ground cable

2. Remove the air cleaner outlet tube and resonator assembly.
3. Disconnect the main chassis vacuum line.

4. Disconnect the ignition coil and radio interference capacitor wiring.

5. Remove the fuel line bracket retaining bolt.

6. On 2.0L engine equipped vehicles, raise vehicle on hoist.
7.
7. Disconnect the engine control sensor wiring or fuel charging wiring (depending upon application) from the idle air control valve (IAC valve) at the idle air control valve connector.

8. On 2.5L engine equipped vehicles, remove retainer for engine control sensor wiring from the upper retaining stud bolt.

9. Remove the two idle air control valve retaining bolts or stud bolt (depending upon application).

10. Remove the idle air control valve and idle air control valve gasket.

Installation

1. Note: If scraping is necessary, be careful not to damage idle air control valve or intake manifold idle air control valve gasket surfaces or drop material into intake manifold.

Clean idle air control valve gasket mating surfaces.

2. To install idle air control valve, reverse Removal procedure. Tighten the fuel line bracket bolt to 8-12 N-m (71-106 lb-in).

3. On 2.5L engine equipped vehicles, tighten the retaining bolt and stud bolt to 8-12

4. On 2.0L engine equipped vehicles, tighten the idle air control valve retaining bolts to 8-11 N-m (71-97 lb-in).

Zetec PCV location
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/be/65/0900823d801bbe65.jsp
and 5 minute how-to
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=zetecmaint&Number=982031&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=all&vc=1

Today I removed the IAC and cleaned it out. Rather clean though. I also located the hose coming out of the PCV. With a visual inspection the hose appearred to be fine without removing it. There was some gunk around the gromet however. The IAC valve did not have a gasket when I removed it either. The wires and coil appear to be fine. I will replace gasket to IAC and check the grommet and PCV hose tommorrow(eventhough looked fine). Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

No new codes since cleared(1131, 0304)
Still very rough idle and will stall when rpm's reach idle speed after start up.