Most SVT's with a factory tune will do this on a regular basis. Cold temps contribute significantly so it might just be a winter thing. However, other mechanical Fordness could be happening too...

TPS or a vacuum issue would be my first guess if it's not the typical tune-related idle.

 

I appreciate the info.
I've had this car for a sice July of 05.
Did not experience this problem last winter.
It was running great and just started doing this out of no where.
I have looked for any vacuum leaks and have not found any.
I guess I can try replacing the TPS. That would be a relatively easy and cheap fix if that is the problem.

Thanks,
Tony

 

I think it could be your Idle air control, AKA Idle control valve.

 

Appreciate the info.
Now one more question. I know the tps in located by the throttle body, were is the iac valve located? Okay, one more question. Is the tps and iac the same on my 01 ZX3? If so, I can try switching to see if one of these is the problem.

Thanks,
Tony

 

i dont think they are the same as the throttle bodyies are different

 

Thanks for your help.

Tony

 

the idle air control valve is behind your coil. I just had mine off and cleaned it. It's a pain to get to. i had to take my battery and airbox out.

 

Have you tried manually moving the throttle plate by hand to ensure it's closing all the way? You may have some oily grunge or crud on the plate or housing surface keeping the plate from sealing completely. If you do I would removing the intake tube and making damn sure nothing has dropped down into the intake manifold. Engines for some reason don't like to injest anything other than fluids. Short of that I would guess it's the IAC. Also the stock SVT throttle body has an idle adjust screw located on it. It's a PITA to get to and is sealed with a dap of pretty tough epoxy from the factory which prevents a tool being used to adjust it until all of the epoxy is dug out of it. But it may be possible that it has jarred loose. Or maybe someone has messed with it.

 

is it throwing any codes or are your rpms staying high dirung shifts? it maybe your throttle postitioning sensor. mine did the same thing.

i was sitting at a stoplight the one time and i was reving at about 3,000 rpms and a state trooper pulled up next to me. it souded like i was going to launch my car. he kept giving me a look like go ahead and try me. :lol: i rolled down my window and told him that my car is screwed up and he laughed. it was loud with the 2.5 exhaust too. good times good times.

-spatakula

 

in my town he would have been writing a ticket for loud exhaust. there are alot of honda wannabe racers around here and have ruined it for everyone

 

It never has thrown any codes. Suppose to warm up a little, this is a long weekend coming up, so I'll have some time to mess with it a little. It's not my everyday driver, but I like to have it running right when I'm in the mood for some fun. Know what I mean.

 

Mine since its been getting colder has idled around 2500/3000rpm and takes about 5 mins to drop down. Its kinda dificult to drive when the revs hang

 

Mine always idle's at about 3000rpm when it gets chilly out. I find it best to let it warm up for a bit before you drive it, or it can be a little bitchy.

 

I run a stock tune and it usually never goes above 2200 or so when dead cold and it settles in at 1000 fairly quickly.

The IAC is SVT unique but if the other car is a manual trans Zetec then the TPS is the same.

I did recently have issues with the idle in my SVT and after replacing the TPS it seems to be all better.

I have them in stock, your cost $17.73 plus shipping.

BTW- If you want to try something fun, take the car for a drive with the TPS unplugged.

It'll idle horribly and erratically and the revs will climb between gears but it seems to pull like mad without a functioning TPS.

It WILL throw a CEL if you try this.

 

bringing this thread back from the dead. My 2002 SVTF (107K miles) is idling EXTREMELY high. I have cleaned the Mass Air Sensor, guess the next thing to do is to clean the throttle body, then the Idle Control Valve, check for any vacuum leaks(I don't think there are any), and maybe a new Throttle Position Sensor. It's about that time that I need to start putting in some money into the SVTF to get it running like new.

 

Check the hose couplings on the intake manifold runners
Check the gasket between the throttle body and intake manifold.
Check the IAC valve.
Check the TB adjuster set screw
Check the throttle cable and ensure it's not preventing the throttle blade from closing fully.

The TPS shouldn't cause and extremely high idle. The engine needs air to idle high.

 

Gotcha....thanks DigitalGT

 

the idle air control valve is behind your coil. I just had mine off and cleaned it. It's a pain to get to. i had to take my battery and airbox out.

can you take a pic 4 me? thanks

 

Not to threadjack but:

My SVT also has a high idle, but ONLY when its cold, maybe under 45°F. It idles around 2000-2500rpm after I slow down to a stop, even if I warm the car up and let the idle get down to about 900-1000rpm from its usual 1500 startup idle.

I don't think its a vacuum leak, and I've checked the throttle cable and TB butterfly and they're fine.

I've looked at the IAC valve and I think I can get it out pretty easily (I've got a short ram), but I doubt that I can get it back in.

This seems to be a common SVT problem; there has to be some logical cause for it. Maybe its tune related instead of mechanical.

 

It's a common problem with the factory ECU tuning. It's not a component problem. It's a tuning problem. SVTs have a notorious rev hang issue that was programmed by the SVT engineers to keep RPM elevated between gear changes. Rather than rev hanging for a half second then dropping RPM like it should, it will rev hang until the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) output drops to damn near zero. If you unplug the VSS you'll get a CEL but the rev hang goes away too. The rev hang issue also reduces engine braking quite a bit.

The high idle when cold is a factory tune issue as well. It's done strictly for emissions. Catalytic convertors have to heat up quite a bit to reach "light off" temperatures where the catalyst actually starts doing it's job. Before cat light off is reached, no exhaust gas scrubbing is occuring and the car is polluting more than it normally does. Most OEMs have reduced cat light off time by moving the cat closer to the cylinder head......look at the regular Zetec for example. The SVTs long tube header moves the catalyst a lot further downstream so the cat light off time is reduced through tuning. The cold start idle speed is raised, spark timing is retarded which also creates more exhaust heat, and intake cam timing is adjusted. All three of those creat more exhaust gas heat to bring the convertor (and the oxygen sensors) up to temp quicker. Unfortunately the retarded ignition and intake cam also severely reduces available power. On a very cold morning you'll probably notice the car is gutless if you start it and drive instantly.

An aftermarket tune can remove all those issues. I received mine from Randy at FocusSport. Loved it when I was still NA.

 

i cant figure mine out,my idle will go up to 3000rpm then shoot up to 5000 and i have to rev it more so the idle will come back down, i have a jrsc w/bbk and only 22k on the svt, i cleaned the iac and it did not work. im thinking on replacing both iac and tps, does anyone have any more ideas? no vacuum leaks either,thanks for any input, im new to the forums,usually i can figure this stuff out but this one has me banging my head! ouch!

 

im not saying im correct but so far i have had almost the same issues and it all stems from bad TPS sensors. im on my 3rd one but its my fault they fail due to moisture getting in my intake and for some reason they are really sensitive. it is really not a bad idea to hit up FORDSVTPARTS to get a new one for 20 bucks. my car will idle high on start up and between shifts will spike up to 5k unless your not moving in which case the vcc keeps the revs in check. also the check engine light does not always come on but my car will idle at 3k cold. hope this helps its a good place to start. i would also look into an aftermarket tune the stock svt one is horrible and always has been.

 

I'm thinking of picking up a new TPS, the SVTF has over 108K miles. Don't think this will help my loss of power at times though.

 

thanks for your help fociray,i have a tune with the supercharger from the big boost kit. i just ordered a iac and a tps from steve @ tousley ford.ill try the tps first and see if that works and go from there. thanks again

 

any word Stevo?? My high revs are killing me....drawing unwanted attention to the Focus...lol. I refuse to believe that this can't be solved with something OTHER than an aftermarket tune.