1994 Mercury Cougar idle problem, could it be the IAC valve?

[Johnny916]

I have a 1994 Cougar with 120k miles on it. Whenever I'm in park and rev up the RPM a bit the guage takes a couple seconds to go back to a regular idle. Also, when I'm in reverse it idles up and down very slightly..
Could it be the IAC? Should I get one from the junk yard?

Also the CEL come on intermittently, is there a way to retrieve the code without using special tools?

[peppermrj]

Originally Posted by Johnny916

I have a 1994 Cougar with 120k miles on it. Whenever I'm in park and rev up the RPM a bit the guage takes a couple seconds to go back to a regular idle. Also, when I'm in reverse it idles up and down very slightly..
Could it be the IAC? Should I get one from the junk yard?

Also the CEL come on intermittently, is there a way to retrieve the code without using special tools?

It could be the IAC. Don't get one from a scrap yard. Try cleaning it and the port it fits into first.

This link will explain how to retrieve codes about page 20 if I remeber.