cleaning idle control valve?

[michael]

I took off the idle control valve on my 92 sc400 and noticed that it had some black powder like stuff stuck to a sensor looking deal, looked like a small probe/bullet. I have been having problems starting/idle with my car, and I was wondering if cleaning the sensor looking deal will help?:bad:

 

[Lextreme II]

There is an article on this at our friend's site www.planetsoarer.com

 

[michael]

thanks

Lex, I will try this in the morning, I think I understand my car a little better now. Thanks for the info, much appreciated, I will let you know how it turns out tomarrow.

 

[michael]

Man, everything was looking up. I took the IAC apart, it was actuall cleaner than I thought it would be, bearings were fine, cleaned the sensor, put it back together, car started perfect first couple times, celebrated. Then I drove the car awhile and it is stalling when I start it again???? I really don't want to go to the dealer. Any suggestions anyone??

 

[mycarhasposessedme]

Start with the basics Michael, chech for vacum leaks would be the first from a split hose.
Then I'd head into the ignition, dizzy caps, rotor buttons, leads, plugs.
When was it last serviced?
Fault finding is a process of elimination, start with the most probable cause and work from there.
Stalling at idle is usually a vacum leak somewhere.
Other problems become more apparent when more load is placed on the engine.

 

[michael]

Thanks for your reply. In regards to the vacum leak, I would bet that what it is. You see the car sat for 6 months and a rat decided to make the engine compartment his home, there's probably a chewed up tasty vacum hose somewhere. Are the any schematics available anyone knows of for the vacum system? Thanks

 

[jibby]

Other things you could check for would be a faulty TPS (throttle position sensor), and or dirty throttle body.

 

[Nick M]

Does it stall with hot and cold starts?

 

[michael]

It stalls when hot. I have found that when I have the AC on at start up that the car will start evry time.

 

[DonyLingus]

Thanks for your reply. In regards to the vacum leak, I would bet that what it is. You see the car sat for 6 months and a rat decided to make the engine compartment his home, there's probably a chewed up tasty vacum hose somewhere. Are the any schematics available anyone knows of for the vacum system? Thanks

I agree a schematic of the vacum system would be a goldmine of troubleshooting knowledge.