I have an issue with extreme high initial idle at start up. I took my 1998 Ranger with a 3.0L to the local dealer to have some work done about a month ago. Long story short, my number six plug wire got burned against the exhaust rail.

Anyway, I guess they re-flashed the computer to the newest *.bin, or flash version. After that when I start the truck the tachometer jumps up to 2200 – 2300 RPM and then it settles’ down to about 1500 after a moment or two, then it finally adjusts itself to about 1100 for a few more seconds and eventually ends up at 900 – 1000 RPM.

I confronted Ford about this and they said that Ranger’s and F-150’s do have a tendency to do that at start up. Ordinarily I wouldn’t be too concerned, however I believe that the 2200 – 2300 RPM high idle at start up at 0°F in Alaska is a bit much.

If anyone out there joins my concern, please point me in the right direction.

Regards,


John from Alaska….

 

I'd agree with your concern, 2300 seems way too high to rev initally. 1500 seems fine for 0 degrees. Obviously the first guess is that the ECM update they gave you might not be calibrated with what your sensors are sending to it. Is it possible to get flashed to what it would have been programmed to in 1998? How long has it been since the update and how much have you driven since? Perhaps it's just re-learning itself and will self correct. Maybe you have a sensor that's on the outer edge of tolerance/lifespan which takes the re-learning a little longer? If it doesn't self correct within a few good drives I'd be taking it back to the dealer for another look.

Also you might want to re-post this or ask a moderator to move this to the Ranger forum where it will probably get better exposure.

 

Thanks’ for the suggestion; I originally posted this in the Ranger section. After the first response I posted this on a couple of other places within the forums, enough said.

I’m finally happy that someone else shares my concern. It’s been about a month now and what I forgot to mention is that when it’s parked inside of a garage at 60/70°F it does the same thing. Obviously my concern is at extreme low temperatures. I do understand about the “learning" that you mentioned, however the 2200 – 2300 issue hasn’t changed.

I guess it’s off to the dealer again, unless there’s an independent in town I can trust.

By the way, what’s your opinion on independents now a days?


John

 

Just for information's sake: how long exactly does the 2300 rpm's stay up there (in seconds)


I would try to keep on the original repair shop (the dealer) as long as you can with this one until it's fixed....ask them to provide you in writing (aka service manual) what the specified idle speed is -there and then while you're standing there. Or better yet, see if you can find it yourself before you go back. Then I'd demand that your vehicle performs to that specification. If they balk at that, have them put that 2300 rpm is 'acceptable by Ford's standards' in writing. I doubt they would do that, but it sure would be good evidence to have before you walk away from them, just in case.

The dealer's "they just do that" comment sure makes it seem like you're dealing with a jackass, so I'd be prepared to argue your case...

Ask if the computer can be flashed back to the factory 1998 version, instead of the update. You might get lucky and it could be the cheapest fix for everyone.

If not, it's a good chance they'll look it over and then start throwing a few parts at it, and will charge you, (but so would anyone - and it may turn out that you do need something else replaced) so I'd go one part at a time with it and ask them for your old parts. Pay with a credit card so if the problem persists, you can refute the charges through your card company.

Independants are like anything else, some great & some not. But for this repair, he'd be starting at square one, trying to fix someone else's issue possibly related to a software upgrade in the computer...not a good place to be for either of you.