- Joined
- February 8, 2003
- Messages
- 9,824
- Reaction score
- 84
- City, State
- Sacramento, CA 95827
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1992 XLT
IDLE AIR CONTROL (COMPENSATOR) VALVE
This one is actually pretty easy to understand. The idea behind this is that by bleeding in what amounts to a vacuum leak into the intake, you can adjust the idle speed. (To experiment try pulling a vacuum line and covering the end with your finger… gently vary the leakage and watch and listen to the engine speed vary in response. Why? well sometimes we want a little more idle speed... like when the Air Conditioning kicks on, maybe in cold conditions, etc....
That is what this little valve does. A solenoid pulls in a pintle valve to vary the leak. Here is a diagram of a typical IAC valve
{FORD DIAGRAM GOES HERE}
Here is a photograph of that same IAC (it happens to be from a 1993 Mercury Sable, but for all purposes it is the same as the one in our Explorers….they vary only slightly in appearance and are the same in operation...sorry about the fuzzy pic)
The valve CAN get “crudded up” and with the non-plastic models you CAN clean them. One thing to remember is to remove the little plastic vent cap…if the felt filter in it gets wet with cleaner you will need to dry it out overnight or the IAC won’t work properly.
When you remove that little cap, BE VERY CAREFUL. Break it and you got a new IAC on your shopping list. So ... do not just pry on the outside edges of the big cap... Pry on the inner edge where it goes onto the tube. I found that something V shaped worked well – this was a door panel removing tool but worked like a champ…
I used brake cleaner and thoroughly cleaned the guts of this little baby…
dried it with a hair dryer and reinstalled.
When they are bad sometimes you will hear a fog horn or train whistle sound… sometimes your idle will be all screwed up. (I'll try and add more detail to this thread as time goes on - just wanted to get it up so I can fine tune it)
This one is actually pretty easy to understand. The idea behind this is that by bleeding in what amounts to a vacuum leak into the intake, you can adjust the idle speed. (To experiment try pulling a vacuum line and covering the end with your finger… gently vary the leakage and watch and listen to the engine speed vary in response. Why? well sometimes we want a little more idle speed... like when the Air Conditioning kicks on, maybe in cold conditions, etc....
That is what this little valve does. A solenoid pulls in a pintle valve to vary the leak. Here is a diagram of a typical IAC valve
{FORD DIAGRAM GOES HERE}
Here is a photograph of that same IAC (it happens to be from a 1993 Mercury Sable, but for all purposes it is the same as the one in our Explorers….they vary only slightly in appearance and are the same in operation...sorry about the fuzzy pic)
The valve CAN get “crudded up” and with the non-plastic models you CAN clean them. One thing to remember is to remove the little plastic vent cap…if the felt filter in it gets wet with cleaner you will need to dry it out overnight or the IAC won’t work properly.
When you remove that little cap, BE VERY CAREFUL. Break it and you got a new IAC on your shopping list. So ... do not just pry on the outside edges of the big cap... Pry on the inner edge where it goes onto the tube. I found that something V shaped worked well – this was a door panel removing tool but worked like a champ…
I used brake cleaner and thoroughly cleaned the guts of this little baby…
dried it with a hair dryer and reinstalled.
When they are bad sometimes you will hear a fog horn or train whistle sound… sometimes your idle will be all screwed up. (I'll try and add more detail to this thread as time goes on - just wanted to get it up so I can fine tune it)
Also can this cause a lean bank code thrown?
