Low idle??

My Escorts service engine light is on, and it pulls the code "System running too lean". The car idles real low, i have to keep on the gas at red lights or engine will stall what could it be?

Check the PCV valve, it should rattle when shaken and you should be able to blow into it one way, but not the other. Check the hoses running to the intake from the PCV valve. Check all the vacuum lines running off of the vacuum block. A vacuum leak would make it run too lean. Try some fuel injector cleaner in a tank of gas. It could be a matter of dirty injectors. A partially clogged fuel filter could make it run too lean. Take the IAC (Idle Air Control) off and spray it with some WD-40, It's a little motor with a flange on top of the throttle body. Take the electrical connection loose on the IAC and douse it with some alcohol. Bottom line is you're getting too much air into the engine and- or not enough fuel.

Thanks Dave, would you happen to know how to get at the fuel filter? I got my back seat out and am just waiting to get in there

The fuel filter is located in the engine compartment next to the firewall on the drivers side. It is positioned vertically. You will lst need to pull the top line off. Take loose the clamp on the body of the filter, then jack the car up and take the bottom line off. You pull the plastic hair pin type retaining clip out of the connector.

anyidea where the ground for the gas tank is located?

There are two ground wires that enter the gas tank. One for the pump and the other for the fuel level sending unit. Where the ground wires actually are connected to the body ground depends on your year as the order that the power passes from relay to pcm to inertia switch varies. I believe that one arrangement has the ground near the tank and another near the inertia switch for the pump. I would assume the sending unit ground wires would go to the same ground points as for the pump.

The only thing I can add to Dave's post is the EGR valve could be bad.

Do not remove the clips from the fuel filter unless you have new ones on-hand. The old ones tend to brake. I don't jack up my car to get at the lower clip. I stand on the right side of the car and can reach it from there.

Thanks guys hopefully its one of these things

I just got my low idle fixed a few days ago. Did a tune up and it fixed most of my problems. was really erratic, low idle, and had a severe miss/hesitation. Got the distributor cap, rotor, plugs/wires, and fuel filter replaced and runs smooth now at just over 1k rpms.