Hi,

New member here.

I have a 99 Ford Windstar that has > $400 at the repair shop in putting in new parts, still the problem exists.

The Van will not start unless you press on the gas pedal. If you hold the pedal down, it will keep running.

After it warms up, the problem sometimes goes away.

Any time it is running, the performace is good, unless you take your foot off the gas.

The problem is intermittant, so that is making it hard to find.

The Winstar has 105,000 miles, mostly on the highway.

So far I have replaced, the PCV valve, DPFE unit, and a couple of vacuum hoses.

I had my wife hold her foot on the gas just to keep it runing and started wiggling things under the hood near the IAC valve, and PRESTO, the idle smoothed out and it has been running great. (coincidence???)

Any thought would be helpful.

Thanks,

Ken

Does pushing hard down on the intake manifold help?

I haven't tried that but I sure will tonight!

What would you suspect if that does make a difference?

K

If it makes a difference, you have a HUGE vacuum leak...probably the isolator bolts...not a big job.

Are there any engine lights?

Did you reseat or wiggle the wires to the IAC?

I have wiggled the wires at the IAC, might have made a difference?!?

Pressing down on the intake manifold did not seem to make any difference at all.

No Lights are on at all.

Ken

YOu may have had a little corrosion problem in there, but if the problem returns, then you may want to investigate the wiring harness there, the connectors, and the IAC solenoid itself.

A couple of other things to check:

.EVAP purge solenoid valve. Located under/front of the battery. Passes fresh air through the carbon canister for a limited time at start up.

.EGR solenoid valve/vacuum regulator. Provides vacuum to the EGR valve once the engine is warm and under load...never at idle. At idle it sucks in atmosphere to "dump" the vacuum. Make sure the circular cover/air-filter is in place. This thing is located on firewall... has elect hook-up and vacuum hoses ... one goes to the EGR valve.

I hate it when this happens!!

After lots of checking and wiggling of wires and such, the problem has mysteriously dissappeared!.

That only means one thing, it will come back sometime.

Dngrsone, you are probably correct, there is a corroded connection somewhere.

IF it comes back, I will let you know.

Can I spray the terminal connections with something?

K

You can use TV tuner cleaner spray, it's designed specifically for connectors. It will wash away dirt, grease, etc. and leave behind a thin film of dielectric lubricant. You can get a can at Radio Shack and it will likely last you the rest of your life.

The connector should have originally been installed witha small amount of dielectric grease, if you want to replace it in the connector, I just found a link for a 2 oz tube right here:

http://shop.easternmarine.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.prodInfo&productID=5488&categoryID=209