Thanks for the response!

I probably drove it ~20 miles yesterday after I noticed the problem, and now that I think of it, I don't think it was as bad by the time I was done, but by then I already had it in my mind that something was wrong. Because of this, I actually disconnected the battery last night for about 45 mins, I just haven't had the time to drive it yet. When I do later today, I'm going to follow the instructions in the manual (I read those last night).

Just curious, if this doesn't change things, what possibly could be wrong?

 

can someone please post on the proper way to do the PCM re-learning thing.my car did not came with an owners manual.i try doing it last week but all i did was disconnect the battery and put it back after 30 minutes.

 

I don't think your should open the butterfly with your hand, its not a carb. Have someone push the gas pedal with the key on.

 

i just clean my wifes tb and i couldnt believe all the black gunk i took out of it.the hole rag was black when i was done.she had so much stuff that i couldnt see the silver finish from the tb it was all black.this is with 35000 miles.

 

I pushed mine yesterday and notice no problems driving it yesterday or today.

 

You're welcome.
The most common causes of an erratic idle are reinstalling a tune, disconnecting the battery, loose air intake or MAF sensor connections, dirty or bad TB/MAF sensor, and a bad TPS(throttle positioning sensor, although this normally causes a CEL).

 

**UPDATE**
I'm happy to say that resetting the computer and following the steps in the owner's manual to make the computer relearn its idle and fuel trim strategy has worked wonder's for my car. The problems I had described above are now gone.

Resetting the computer in conjunction with cleaning my throttle body has made a very noticible difference to me! Idle is pretty precise now and the car just seems to get up and go so much easier and quicker. This was evident when I got up to 110mph without even trying and it felt effortless.


Here is the exact wording copied directly from the owner's manual:

Or, in simpler terms, here's exactly what I did:

Put car in neutral (MT), made sure all accessories were off before I started the engine (e.g.: radio, A/C), then I started the engine. I sat in the car and waited for the engine's coolant temp gauge needle to reach the midway point/normal operating temp. I did not drive the car, rev the engine during this time, or give it any gas whatsoever; I just simply turned the car on and let it sit there and run. Once the needle hit the midway point, I let the car idle for another minute or two as instructed. Then, I turned the A/C on to Max A/C and blower speed 2 for about a minute and a half. After that, I turned it off and went for a drive and made sure that I drove at least 10 miles and that it consisted of city AND highway driving and also of "normal" & "lead foot" driving.


I took the TB completely off and used my hands to open the plates. I made sure to be very careful and to open them slowly using as little effort as needed. It all seemed to go just fine, and this isn't something you're going to be doing every other week.


FWIW: I took the throttle body out of my parent's '03 Ford Escape V6 (mechanical throttle system) that has 67,850 miles and cleaned it. Man, was that dirty! It made a very noticible difference, also! It idles better and revs easier/smoother/quicker.

 

-With the car parked, start the engine and turn off all accessories.
-After the engine reaches normal operating temperature, let it run at idle for at least 1 minute.
-Turn on the A/C, and let the engine run at idle for at least 1 minute.
-Drive the vehicle for at least 20-30 miles(The manual says 10 miles, but this may not be sufficient).

NOTE: Doing the above steps expedites the PCM's idle re-learning process. If you do not do them the PCM will eventually re-learn the idle, but it will take a little longer.

 

thanks you all.

 

Now what if you have a tune preloaded all ready... do you set your car back to stock before you do this..I.E putting your stock intake back on and stock tune. Or can you do all this with a tune already loaded !