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trying to diagnose a higher than normal idle (just passed smog)


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hi all, im trying to diagnose a high idle in my 97 wagon 2.5. let me preface this by saying i just had it smogged and it passed with flying colors, and no CEL. i have an OBDII scanner and did a scan on top of that and no codes. i checked the throttle linkage and it looks to be in order. i just put in a fresh PCV valve, i bought a new fuel filter and plugs and wires, but havent put them in just yet. ive checked for vacum leaks, but none to be found, i would also think that if i had some sort of vacum leak through the manifold or hoses, i wouldve failed my smog inspection off the bat.

 

anything else i should be checking on? any help would be great, thanks in advance.

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Have you looked at / messed with the Idle Air Control Valve?

 

What exactly is your vehicle idling at? Does it waver, or does it keep steady?

 

Either way, start with the IACV. If it's dirty or grimy, it could be getting stuck. If it's incorrectly adjusted, it would give you the wrong idle speed.

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IAC sounds like a good starting point.

 

Also, note that 1500 is NOT an abnormal idle if it's cold outside. These cars are particularly aggressive in how they handle cold weather. Idle speed is significantly increased in order to warm up more quickly, and the transmission will hold gears MUCH longer for the same reason. If it's 1500 even after it's warmed up, though, then something is definitely up (in addition to the idle, lol.)

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I had something similar where it would idle fast but if I turned the car off and restarted it was fine. In my case I replaced the TPS with a used one from ebay and that fixed it.

I think there are videos on youtube to cleac the IACV as well as the MAF (might need cleaned also).

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i cleaned the IAC and the idle (when warm) went down to under 1000 RPM. it still idles at over 1600 RPM when started cold, but once it gets warm, it goes down considerably. thanks for the help fellas.
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yeah, i figured that. all my other vehicles that i own seem to idle at a cold start at just over 1000 RPM, so when i noticed my subie revving at 1600, i thought it wasnt normal, but after talking to a lot of membet is a pretty normal rs on the forum, ive come to find out that that is fairly normal when cold. since the cleaning, it idles cold at 1500 RPM, and it now idles when warm much lower now.
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