Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Throttle hang/rise

Hello all,

I've been suffering from a rise in revs every time I stomp on the clutch to shift. As a result, I'm not able to match revs.

In addition, the revs don't drop when gears are engaged. I can sit in first giving it no gas and it will just drive itself at 1000RPM. The car won't idle any lower than 1000RPM either, except at startup. I reset the PCM and no improvment.

Can anyone here shed some light on the possible cause and solution of this problem? I've heard about bad fuel pumps causing similar symptoms.

Thanks all!

Check this: FAQ

Also make sure that the throttle body is clean.

I know it's not the classic TH problem that comes standard on all SVTs. I've had the fix in place for a year - this is a downright rise in revs, all the way up to around 3500. I thought I recalled a bunch of CEGers with similar problems over the years. Anyone......

There is an accelerator cable bushing recall for the 1998's that solved the exact problem you are describing for me. It got so bad for me that I could idle around in 5th gear at 50 MPH!!!!!! When I pushed my clutch in, the RPM's would climb to 4000 and not go down for about 15 seconds. Very dangerous!!!!!! The recall took care of it.

Originally posted by Ed98.5SVT:

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There is an accelerator cable bushing recall for the 1998's that solved the exact problem you are describing for me. It got so bad for me that I could idle around in 5th gear at 50 MPH!!!!!! When I pushed my clutch in, the RPM's would climb to 4000 and not go down for about 15 seconds. Very dangerous!!!!!! The recall took care of it.

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Thanks very much! I'll look into this!

Harry!!!

This is exactly what has been happening with my car off-and-on for the past eight or nine months.

Campbell's replaced the IAC valve in March, and that seemed to fix things, but only for two or three weeks.

I took it back in a couple of weeks ago, and they did what was called a "hard stop adjustment." That fixed the problem for about a week; it's back again.

(Although when the car is not doing the high RPM thing, I notice the revs drop quite smartly between shifts since having this "hard stop adjustment." Campbells says this adjustment is something the techs figured out on their own; it's not in any of the manuals...FYI)

I drove down to London over the weekend, and believe me, it gave me quite a wild ride returning along the 401 through Toronto....four lanes, bumper-to-bumper at 120-130 kph...and I'm on-and-off the brakes to keep from rear-ending slower drivers.

I'll be going back to Campbell's for a new console soon, and will bring the info the recall on the 98s with me.

This is a major pain...can't shift properly; must be causing premature clutch wear, higher fuel consumption, not to mention the danger involved from longer stopping distances and driving a car that speeds up when you take your foot off the gas.

On a lighter note, I took this complaint to Donnellys in July...the shop foreman there spent about 15 minutes telling me this was "normal."

Let me know how you make out getting yours fixed.

Cheers.

Originally posted by BlacknBlue:

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Originally posted by Ed98.5SVT:

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There is an accelerator cable bushing recall for the 1998's that solved the exact problem you are describing for me. It got so bad for me that I could idle around in 5th gear at 50 MPH!!!!!! When I pushed my clutch in, the RPM's would climb to 4000 and not go down for about 15 seconds. Very dangerous!!!!!! The recall took care of it.

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Thanks very much! I'll look into this!

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Here is the recall info that fixed my problem.

In reply to:

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Recall Alert: FORD CONTOUR, MERCURY MYSTIQUE
Owner Notification Date: 8/9/1999
Number of Units Potentially Affected: 153,000
Component Description: FUEL:THROTTLE LINKAGES AND CONTROL
NHTSA Campaign Number: 99V194000
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Description of Recall Campaign: Vehicle Description: Passenger vehicles. The accelerator cable may have been manufactured with a burr on or near the end of the cable sleeve interior. This burr could fray the core wire resulting in the accelerator not returning to idle when the accelerator is released.
This condition can result in the throttle sticking, binding, or causing high engine RPM.

Dealers will install a revised accelerator cable that has a flared conduit sleeve end and molded on end fitting. Owner notification is expected to begin during August 1999. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673. Also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Auto Safety Hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

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I am having the exact same issue and the dealer has told me on about six different occasions that it was a vaccum leak. Short term resolve and then it returns. This time around they have reprogrammed the PCM, replaced the IAC sensor. Wait and see at this point as they are awaiting word on whether or not they tear down the tranny (synchros gone perhaps, in ESPs hands now.)

Fern

FWIW, I had the accelerator cable recall performed back in '99, but in the past 4 months or so I've occasionally experienced "throttle rise" (a very appropriate name for the phenomenon, quite distinct from the "throttle hang" resulting from the built-in emissions reduction strategy).

My observation is that there is no irregularity whatsoever in the "feel" of the throttle pedal when this happens, so in my case at least I conclude there's nothing wrong with the throttle cable or body. The air has to be coming from somewhere else downstream of the MAF sensor (the IAC, perhaps).

Can anyone shed some light on the inner workings of the IAC? Is it a solenoid, or a continuously-variable control valve? I suspect the latter, and if I could command the IAC "full open" and see the engine RPM increase to 3500-4000 or so, I'd have to say the problem is caused by the IAC valve sticking open on occasion.