idle surging April 02, 2009, 09:58:18 PM Hi- 5.0 1986 cougar. It surges while idling. it kinda goes away after warming up a little. but when i turn the lights on it is extremely pr0nounced. to the point where it is on the verge of stalling. but it hasn't stalled yet. any thoughts? Quote Selected
idle surging Reply #1 – April 02, 2009, 10:04:41 PM My first thought was a faulty throttle position sensor, but it sounds like the alternator may be on its way out. Quote Selected
idle surging Reply #2 – April 02, 2009, 11:58:54 PM pull codes,,tps x 2but still, pull codes for sure.Paper clip = code pullersee diy link below Quote Selected
idle surging Reply #3 – April 03, 2009, 12:47:06 AM Turning the lights on puts more load on the engine. It makes the alternator harder to turn.Surging could be a vacuum leak.But do pull codes as suggested. Quote Selected
idle surging Reply #4 – April 03, 2009, 09:50:51 AM thanks everyone. it's uncanny to have so much help available. i think i'm going to invest in a scan tool....... i plan on keeping this cougar forever. Forgive me for not yet being adept at searching yet, but once i pull the code and cross reference the code to what the code means, is there a source that suggests how to trouble shoot that code? for example- CODE XYZ- "first clean abc sensor, then check make sure the curent is .999 jigawatts, if not then get a new sensor." Quote Selected
idle surging Reply #5 – April 03, 2009, 09:52:30 AM the reason i ask is so i don't wear out my welcome here by creating a thread for every single little problem I encounter!!!! Quote Selected
idle surging Reply #6 – April 03, 2009, 02:55:01 PM Quote from: jcassity;265611pull codes,,tps x 2but still, pull codes for sure.Paper clip = code pullersee diy link belowDon't get a scanner just use the paper clip method. That's what I do. It's easy and most of all free vs the ~$40 for a code scanner. Quote Selected
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