andhend

My 95 EF had a flat battery and after charging it and starting it the engine will not idle. It runs normally and smoothly but as soon as you stop the car it stalls. With a bit of throttle starts fine. No throttle, no start. Can anybody help me with what to look for ? Thanks

 

NSM074

Get the battery checked especially if its 4+ years old (most modern batteries only last 5 years average)I had something similar happen in my EA years ago in which the battery went flat, recharged it and even though it started fine it did all sorts of strange stuff btw the battery was 9 years old

Aussiblue

Any time the battery is disconnected the transmission must releran the wide open throttle positions to enable the PCM to determine the correct gear for every throttle position.

with engine hot (normal temp), place trans in drive, air con off and idle engine for 60 seconds min. Then turn the engine off (only) - ignition on (dash warning lights on) and auto in drive flatten accelerator pedal and hold it on the floor for a minimum of one minute. Then return auto to park position and switch off the ignition.

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Regards Blue

andhend

Thanks for the tip but I've just tried this (twice) and no difference. The battery was not completely flat or disconnected - it was just really weak. This may have nothing to do with the problem. I've seen bigger coincidences !
Do you have any other suggestions ? Can I just turn the idle screw up ?

Aussiblue

Is the throttle body clean? Oil filled type air cleaners especially if over oiled can gum up the butterfly valve so it doesn't close properly. Try some throttle body cleaner in there and see if it helps. Similarly a badly clogged air filter or failing filter can cause these symptoms.

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Regards Blue

Bomber

Sounds to me like the motors not getting quite enuf current to run everything at idle. Check your alternator is creating enuf charge at idle first. Ruls out the simple things first, then try the complicated

backlash1

Hi
There are 2 possible causes for your problem. The first, your Idle control solenoid is open/shorted or jammed due to carbon deposits and can't move to control idle speed. The second, EFs were known to have an internal PCM fault that made it impossible to control idle speed. This is your worst case scenario. If you have access to a scanner check it for codes. If it comes up with a code that means 'Can't control high/low idle', it's a PCM problem and the only fix is to get another one, which you can pick up at the wreckers for as little as 40-60 bucks. The only temporary fix will be to disconnect the solenoid and override the throttle stop-screw setting and wind it in until you get 750-800 rpm. This however will be a fixed setting, which means if you load the car (A/C on, steering at full lock, etc) it could idle really low or stall because the PCM will be unable to compensate for loads. Hope this helps, cheers
marc