Will it hurt the engine to drive with the IAC solenoid unplugged?

Reason i ask, starting this morning its acting up (more). When i'm shifting i let off the throttle for a second, normally the rpms drop as you'd expect, today though they stay right where they were before i pushed in the clutch. Also, when i stop the rpms climb up ti 2500-3000 (no tach), hover a second, then drop to idle. Cold or hot, does it every time.

So for the drive home i unplugged the IAC and it didnt act up at all... The rpms dropped a little faster when i let off the throttle but otherwise it idled normally and seemed to run a little smoother...

 

If it runs better unplugged, hell leave it!

I got a couple things unplugged on the 1999 Buick to make it run better.... then again witch GM doesn't need to unplug a bunch of things to make it run good?

 

Did you try cleaning it?

 

you may notice it harder to start in colder weather however with it unplugged and inoperable. The IAC acts like the fast idle on an old carburetor fed engine in that it lets more air into the engine when the engine is at idle. During cold starts the ECU has a cold start enrichment that adds a certain percent of extra fuel based on the outside air temp. The IAC is intended to open up to let the extra required air into the engine until the coolant temperature starts to warm up. As David said, try cleaning it first. If that doesn't work it's probably not too expensive to replace it in many cases.

 

I ran the 87 in my sig for 3 winters like that, tried new tps, new iac, timing, Spent days looking for vaccum leaks but nothing worked. When I started it cold you have to give the pedal a tap to give it some air, but don't flood it, but you will have to hold the pedal for a min in winter before it runs on it's own. What finally fixed mine was a throttle body from a junkyard. I think the bushings finally got too much wear on them and the throttle plates wouldnt close all the way.

 

David, i cleaned it once before. I unplugged it last night to see if that was the problem. It was... Edit: i didnt clean it because its the one piece one you can't clean... maybe i just sprayed it with carb cleaner...

Swoosh, thanks for the description... It's a lot cheaper than i thought it would be, so i might replace it...$39

84, My first thought was vacuum leaks, but unplugging the IAC stopped it acting up.. And its my 2000 Ranger, i can't flood it...


I need to push the damn thing off a cliff.... or drop a new motor in it....it could go either way...

 

Oh yes you can, i have done it, it will inject fuel, you usually only run the risk when it is very cold though.
If it runs cold with the iac unplugged its getting unmetered air from somewhere, either by the throttle plates, or from a vac leak. In clod weather it wont start without hooking the iac back up or tapping the pedal.

 

Yes, you will be fine unplugging it. The ECU may go into a fail-safe mode and possibly throw a SES light depending on how mad it gets. If the sensor is causing the poor idle, try cleaning it anyway. Can't hurt a broken part by cleaning it. Use MAF sensor cleaner or electronics cleaner. Brake parts cleaner is too harsh and will kill it.

 

Well.....learned a little something about my 1999 Ranger today haha.

 

It ran but just barely. I have it plugged back in. It's almost back to normal...

Its got mad, threw the CEL, and hasn't turned off... Good thing i have a reader... I'll have to try and clean it.

Wanna trade? I'm getting fed up with it...

 

You could do what I did and take a chance on a junkyard TB, with a different tps iac and maybe good throttle bushings

 

Good thing you have a code reader. I had to disconnect the batteries from my Nissan Sentra for half a day to clear the codes. I was farting around with the MAF sensor, though.

I think your Ranger is begging you for a 4BT swap. Oh, yeah.

Edit: Just as a curiosity, can a FI engine be converted to a carbureted engine? Sure you can put a new TB and carburetor on it but what about the distributor? Just a shot in the dark for my info only.

 

No Chris I dont wanna trade my ranger for yours, mine studders a lot at idle, and it just....dies once in a while, plus someone wrote on my windshield the following: I hope you get killed in Iraq....then continued to vandalize my vehicle.

 

That makes me sick.....

Well, i for one am glad you have not been.

 

I've come close 4 times, been lased in the eyes, i have had my fair share of scares....