Common questions

Do you need idle control valve?

Do you need idle control valve?

Its purpose is to control and regulate the engine idle speed, increasing and decreasing it as necessary to keep up with operating conditions. Most idle control valves come in the form of a motorized valve or motor that is mounted somewhere on the vehicle’s intake manifold.

Do all cars have idle air control valve?

In the not-so-distant past, nearly all cars had an idle air control valve (IAC). It’s a pretty simple device that controls idle speed by managing the amount of air bypassing the throttle plate. These days, most new cars have electronic throttle control (ETC), eliminating the need for an IAC.

Who is responsible for the idle air control valve?

The engine control unit is responsible for managing the idle air control valve. When this central computer receives information about the temperature and load of the engine, it uses this information to make the proper adjustments to the idle air control valve.

What happens if you have a bad idle control valve?

Since the idle air control valve is supposed to manage the idle speed of the engine, a bad valve will certainly throw that out of whack. It will cause the idle speed to randomly fluctuate to different speeds rather than stay at one constant speed. The idle speed may be too high at one moment and then too low at other moments.

What should resistance be for idle control motor?

Connect an Ohm meter to the two and measure the resistance between them. Fords are designed to operate with the resistance in the solenoid in a range between 7.0 to 13.0 ohms. If the resistance is outside that range, the idle control motor needs to be replaced.

What happens when the idle control motor is disconnected?

With the Idle Control Motor disconnected, get back into the vehicle and start the engine again. The engine should still start and run without any issue despite the idle control motor being disconnected. Be sure to tuck the wiring you disconnected up in the engine bay so it doesn’t get caught in any moving parts.

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Ruth Doyle