Check Engine - Rough Cold Idle
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Check Engine - Rough Cold Idle
No.2 son has a 96 F-150, 300 CID-6, 5 Spd manual, about 100,000 miles. Moved out of state, so I can't poke around on it.
His "Check Engine" light has come on and stays on. The truck also just started idling rough, especially when cold. Sound like an oxygen sensor, or is it likely to be something else? The only manual he has is a Chilton's.
Thanks!
Pops
His "Check Engine" light has come on and stays on. The truck also just started idling rough, especially when cold. Sound like an oxygen sensor, or is it likely to be something else? The only manual he has is a Chilton's.
Thanks!
Pops
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 25
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Check Engine - Rough Cold Idle
Your might be right about the O2 sensor. Trouble is that there are 3 of them at about 100 bucks a piece. You can't check O2 sensors with a multi-meter or anything else that I know of. The other problem is that it's OBD2, and the scan tools aren't very cheap. A trick that a mechanic told me was to sand blast the O2 sensor tips to clean out the crud. Didn't help on my rig, but it might be worth a shot.
On the other hand, you mention cold idle - The computer doesn't look at the O2 sensor during cold start-up. That leads me to the Idle Air Bypass - Chilton's tells you how to check the Idle Air Bypass with a multi-meter. You also don't mention whether it's an automatic or not. Could be the CV cable. Chilton's also describes how to adjust that sucker.
Yet another solution could be to unplug the battery for about 15 to 25 seconds and clear the computer. My check engine has been on for the past 40K miles. This trick kept the check engine light off for about 2 tanks of gas at a shot until I got around to replacing the O2 sensor. My problem came back about 20K after replacing the 02 sensor though, and my trick doesn't work anymore. I think it's the cat instead of the O2 sensor. I'm just waiting for prices on the OBD2 scan tools to go down (they are 400-500 bucks right now).
Nate French
1996 F150 300 CID, 116K miles
On the other hand, you mention cold idle - The computer doesn't look at the O2 sensor during cold start-up. That leads me to the Idle Air Bypass - Chilton's tells you how to check the Idle Air Bypass with a multi-meter. You also don't mention whether it's an automatic or not. Could be the CV cable. Chilton's also describes how to adjust that sucker.
Yet another solution could be to unplug the battery for about 15 to 25 seconds and clear the computer. My check engine has been on for the past 40K miles. This trick kept the check engine light off for about 2 tanks of gas at a shot until I got around to replacing the O2 sensor. My problem came back about 20K after replacing the 02 sensor though, and my trick doesn't work anymore. I think it's the cat instead of the O2 sensor. I'm just waiting for prices on the OBD2 scan tools to go down (they are 400-500 bucks right now).
Nate French
1996 F150 300 CID, 116K miles
