RussellTT94

I just installed my power fc today. It works great, except for one little problem. The car bounces from 850 to 1200 at idle. ANy ideas how to fix this. TIA, Russell

3rdGenLuvr

Apparantly its normal and it goes away on its own. Mine did the same thing today.

RussellTT94

thanks man. what mods and maps are you running?

3rdGenLuvr

I just bought my car a few weeks ago so I havent done much. Its completely stock for now, except for one task I knocked off my reliability mod list. I replaced the stock AST w/ a Pettit unit. I almost went with the elimation route but I figured this car has a cooling problem so every ounce of coolant shld help....
I also installed the PFC lastnight since I was assured several times that it will run fine w/ a stock car. I went for a lil drive arnd the block to see if it felt different. The erratic idle was noticable but slowly I cld see it was goin away. In that short drive it definitely seemed smoother running, not that it was really bad before but there were a couple of spots in the rev range that felt somewhat choppy.
My next mods will include a Pettit dp and catback that I picked up slightly used for a decent price. Which included a MP in the package deal I got so if anyones interested in it drop me a PM........I doubt Ill be goin that extreme.

Gdluck!

RussellTT94

anyone else have any idle problems? it doesn't do it all the time, probably about 25% of the time.

RussellTT94

dammit, the car still has a bouncing idle. it goes away when i turn the ac on though. how in the hell do i fix this?

potatobbq

i've had the pfc in there for 2 days and did some casual driving and it still does it sometimes. around how long long does it take for the car to "learn"? it does seem like it's doing it less and less frequently so maybe I just have to give it time...

lenny

i have the idle problem too. I did a search on the forum, and it looks like adjusting the idle might fix it. Im gonna try it tonight.

lenny

adjusting the Idle screw worked!! it's so simple, i feel stupid now, but at least my car is running good. It is the screw on the throttle body underneath the elbow pipe. I had to close mine all the way.

RussellTT94

lenny- you said that you closed the screw all the way. does that mean that you backed it all the way out so it isn't applying any pressure to the cables?

Leadfoot

It's nice to see the PFC forum still alive and kicking. OK, this is the lowdown as far as I have always understood it ... when you first install the PFC, start the car and lat it just sit there for 10-20 minutes ( some have said 10 and other 15 and 20). that should allow the ECU to "learn" the car, make sure the AC is off. I have seen other guys have to go to the Idle screw and back it out, some saying all the way out and back in 1/4, but it depends on the car. If you have a base or R1 then you may have AC problems, but rarely on the Touring.

OK, try the first thing of starting it and just letting it sit, if it doesn't "learn" after 3 days, then adjust the idle screw. that should take care of it. If I am totally messed up, someone please correct me, if not, then I still remember something.

P.S. there are some threads that go back a couple of months that taked about this same question. I never did have a problem with mine though, (knock on wood).

lenny

i turned the screw clockwise until it would not turn anymore. This gave me an idle aroun 800-900, which I am pretty happy with for now. i should probaly adjust the other thing... i forgot what it was called, but i didnt have the right size wrench.

oh yeah... now my car is making a popping noise when I step off the gas, I guess i have to adjust the deacceleration thingy also.

RussellTT94

i thought that if you turn the screw clockwise, it would raise the idle.

machinehead

He's not talking about the Idle stop screw, he is talking about the air screw which is hidden under the elbow. You can't see it unless you remove the elbow. Once you know where it is you can fish around with a pocket screwdriver and find it. With the air screw turning it in will reduce the amount of air allowed in the engine at idle thus lowering the idle rpm.

RussellTT94

is there any way to get to this screw without taking the elbow off? thanks for all your advice guys

lenny

yes, you can get to it with the elbow on. It takes a little bit of searching for it, but its not too difficult. there is a plastic catch tank that is mounted on the bottom of the TB that looks like it would get in the way, but it leaves a small gap for you to fit a screwdriver into. A mirror would probaly help out alot, but I've been able to get to it just by feeling around with the screwdriver till it catches on the screw

RussellTT94

i adjusted the air screw tonight. i finally have a normal idle again! thanks for all your help everyone.