New here; need help with a low idle issue

[huklebuk]

Yes the battery could be going bad and causing those symptoms. Its a crapshoot on replacement alternators. I had one go bad on another vehicle after only 5 months so it really depends. Arent Expeditions fun?

 

[frenchqtrchef]

5 months?? That's crazy! Husband replaced the battery, but it's still acting up. Now he thinks its the starter. Of course, that won't fix the low idle issue. I really love my Expedition, but there are so many little things that are starting to come up lately that it's probably time to get rid of it. I have to say, though, for a truck that's almost 12 years old, and with almost 135K miles on it, I feel like we got way more than our money's worth. The problems only began in the last year or so. It has been such a reliable vehicle. Husband wants to get something different, but I am pushing for another Expedition!

 

[callee11]

My thoughts on this is im thinking its the alternator as someone already stated.... A regulator going bad inside the alt can give you very irratic and intermittent problems.... your mechanic may have checked it out but if the regulator wasnt acting up when he checked it, it would have looked like everything was fine.... something like this is difficult to diagnose cause seems like every time you want to do some checks then the problem goes away (dont fix what aint broken)... but if it were me... I would change the alt out and go from there

 

[markanthony]

Just a side thought. There is a little rubber hose and a 90 angle off the valve cover. I would try there. the other one I can think of is to clean the mass air flow sensor, the intake air temp sensor, the throttle position sensor, and replace the pcv valve.

yes the coils are hard to get to. if you pull the fuel rail bolts, and move to the side. You do not have to really unplug or pull the injectors apart. I found that my local auto store had a set of accell coils for around 300 bucks. they were cheaper then oem and MUCH cheaper then dealer...

I would also think about a cat going bad. If it is getting plugged it would not allow the exhaust to flow and "stall " the engine. I got an laser therm checker and use it to see what my cats temp was. before the cats should be preaty hot. the cats themselves should be really hot then the after the cat should be a little cooler then both. I am not sure what temps the should be. but if there is not heat temp difference in any of it. I would think a cat is not working. If the cat is not burning off the extra fuel. The 02 sensors before and after the cat will show it to have to much fuel and cut it back. This may cause it to run this way as well.

 

[huklebuk]

I would think its got to be throwing codes at this point. I would take it to autozone and borrow their code reader. If the check engine light is going on and off its got to have a code. If the cats are clogged this should also show up on code.

 

[05Bandit]

My 05 had the same problem you are describing but through a low idle code everytime. I replaced the throttle position sensor that didn't work. I sprayed some throttle body cleaner in the throttle body and that didn't work. So i finally pulled off the throttle body and there was so much build up of carbon and other stuff that the butterfly was completly sealed when it was closed. When i cleaned out all the carbon i could see that fuel/air could now pass through the sides of the butterfly at idle... This fixed my idle problem and took about thirty minutes..

05Bandit

 

[frenchqtrchef]

Callee11 - you are so right - every single time I bring it to the mechanic, it stops acting up. Every time. I had an appointment with him a couple of weeks ago and the night before, it started running right. It's very frustrating.

markanthony - I will show my husband your reply.

huklebuk - I took it to Autozone on Thursday of last week. The not so helpful clerk tried to get the codes for me but said there was a fuse blown in my truck and she wouldn't be able to read the codes. I asked her to check the battery as well, and she said she couldn't get a reading on it either. She said it was either so low or there was too much corrosion (I did see what I thought was a lot of corrosion). I went ahead and bought a battery, but the next day the problem stopped. This morning I got in the truck and when I turned the key there was a clicking noise, and the engine wouldn't turn over. I assume this is the starter?

 

[frenchqtrchef]

Wow, 05Bandit - that sounds like a simple and easy fix. I'm going to show this thread to my husband so he can try this if he hasn't already.

 

[callee11]

The clicking noise is most likley the battery/corrosion on the cables.... pull the batt clean the cables with a wire brush and install your new battery if it still does it after all that then i would say its the starter but change batt and clean cables first

 

[huklebuk]

I've never heard of a fuse blown not being able to pull codes but ok I guess it could happen... I use coke to clean my batteries and cables in a pinch, the soda neutralizes all the battery acid and stuff that builds up from time to time. Check to make sure the connections are all tight on the connectors as well, they work loose sometimes. I would go back to autozone and ask for someone who is more helpful. Sounds to me like they didnt know what they were doing. In order to test the battery they have a cart they usually roll out. Sounds to me like the person you got was new. The codes are easy to get, the instructions are generally with the code reader and dont involve much more than 1) turn on reader,insert plug into obd II port 2) turn key to on position and read the codes. Its a pretty straight forward process.