Anyone using ford two-wire idle valve (like Ford Focus)?

[Jon k]

Hi all,

Going to give a go on a Ford 2-wire idle valve. I was wondering if anyone knew what frequency and general settings it likes to be run at.



Any info at all is greatly appreciated!

Jon

[Matt Cramer]

Most Ford IACs seem to run at around 300 Hz on the stock ECU, but can be driven at a lower frequency.

[Jon k]

Most Ford IACs seem to run at around 300 Hz on the stock ECU, but can be driven at a lower frequency.

Do you have good response around 200 - 300 hz? I am going to install the air hose biased to one side of my intake plenum. I don't suspect that it'll make a difference but the factory idle valve was plumbed centrally. Do you know if this valve has a wide gamut of PWM control? Or is it narrow, like 40 - 60%?

[Matt Cramer]

IIRC, the Mustang valve we tested seemed to go from 50% to 0%.

[Jon k]

IIRC, the Mustang valve we tested seemed to go from 50% to 0%.

Hey matt

Just getting around to testing this valve - put it on the car and couldn't get much reaction. It defaults to being "open".

I brought it into work and put it on a 14v 5A power supply - when I tap the leads to one way I have the current clamp light come on the PSU so I think that's less than ideal. If I flip the leads around I hear the valve go "ca-plop" like it wants to move, but nothing moves. Should the valve close? Do you have one you can test? Or, does it need PWM to close (though I would think holding it to +14v and GND would be 100% DC).

Thanks!

[jsmcortina]

Sounds like the valve is faulty.
The one on my car (very similar) takes about 1A and moves easily.

James

[Matt Cramer]

Sounds like the valve is faulty.
The one on my car (very similar) takes about 1A and moves easily.

James

Another reason the valve sounds faulty: Most Ford IACs we test seem to default to closed.

[Jon k]

Weird - it's brand new out of box. It has the spring inside the one port. I read in another thread that the valve requires engine vacuum to draw the plunger shut and the solenoid pops the plunger open.

[jsmcortina]

Weird - it's brand new out of box. It has the spring inside the one port. I read in another thread that the valve requires engine vacuum to draw the plunger shut and the solenoid pops the plunger open.

In that case then you need to apply vacuum to it to test it. Mine doesn't work that way.

James

[john.p.clegg]

Jon

Polarity,I blew a couple of these,mine had inbuilt diodes across the coil , check for small + or - by the connector,you may have blown it..

John

[jamies]

Jon

Polarity,I blew a couple of these,mine had inbuilt diodes across the coil , check for small + or - by the connector,you may have blown it..

John

X2
our late model (1996-2001) aussie fords had inbuilt protection diodes on the IAC's whereas the earlier ones didnt

[The Deviant]

I brought it into work and put it on a 14v 5A power supply - when I tap the leads to one way I have the current clamp light come on the PSU so I think that's less than ideal. If I flip the leads around I hear the valve go "ca-plop" like it wants to move, but nothing moves. Should the valve close?
Thanks!

Last night I was doing some IAC testing as well, and I noticed that a new IAC I had appeared to have a diode clamp in it to prevent reverse polarity hookup; my PSU did the same thing when I wired it backwards - a "short". My valve did, however, default to the CLOSED (i.e. not flowing air when no current applied) state, and I tend to agree with everyone else that thinks they all default CLOSED with no current (I've tested a few of them, all defaulted to CLOSED).

Weird - it's brand new out of box. It has the spring inside the one port. I read in another thread that the valve requires engine vacuum to draw the plunger shut and the solenoid pops the plunger open.

I have also read that some Ford IACs need the vacuum to work properly - although I can't speak to the validity of that statement, as neither of mine require a vacuum to work.

[Peter Florance]

Jon

Polarity,I blew a couple of these,mine had inbuilt diodes across the coil , check for small + or - by the connector,you may have blown it..

John

I can confirm the diode

[Peter Florance]

There is a + and - on the connector IIRC

[Jon k]

Thanks for all the feedback guys - I could not see a + or - on the connector and the pigtail I received had 2 white wires. Hrm.

Well, assuming its shot, can anyone provide a PN# for a valve that they are using and like?

I did some testing of a Bosch 3-wire and I like the potential but I'd have to run another wire through the harness I made (very clean mil-spec style) in order to use it.

[Peter Florance]

Thanks for all the feedback guys - I could not see a + or - on the connector and the pigtail I received had 2 white wires. Hrm.

Well, assuming its shot, can anyone provide a PN# for a valve that they are using and like?

I did some testing of a Bosch 3-wire and I like the potential but I'd have to run another wire through the harness I made (very clean mil-spec style) in order to use it.

I think I brought it up slowly on my 12v variable supply and tried each direction. One drew a lot of current; one didn't

Or put a 12v light bulb in series to limit current while testing polarity

[Jon k]

Thanks for all the feedback guys - I could not see a + or - on the connector and the pigtail I received had 2 white wires. Hrm.

Well, assuming its shot, can anyone provide a PN# for a valve that they are using and like?

I did some testing of a Bosch 3-wire and I like the potential but I'd have to run another wire through the harness I made (very clean mil-spec style) in order to use it.

I think I brought it up slowly on my 12v variable supply and tried each direction. One drew a lot of current; one didn't

Or put a 12v light bulb in series to limit current while testing polarity

Yeah I use a Kikusui PMC18-5A with variable current output with a clamp, but the first time I tested was on the car... with a 7.5A fuse (all I had at the time). So, hopefully the valve is just borked and not the ECU.

[9secz]

I was going to start a thread, but this one is close to the question I want to ask. I'm adding an IAC to a Duratec 3.0 V6 application that didn't come with one. Looking through Rock Auto listings for the various Ford and Mazda models that did come with an IAC, it seems there are many IAC part numbers that all have the same form factor. Can anybody recommend a particular valve part number that has worked well?

Jeff

[Peter Florance]

I was going to start a thread, but this one is close to the question I want to ask. I'm adding an IAC to a Duratec 3.0 V6 application that didn't come with one. Looking through Rock Auto listings for the various Ford and Mazda models that did come with an IAC, it seems there are many IAC part numbers that all have the same form factor. Can anybody recommend a particular valve part number that has worked well?

Jeff

I had no issues with the valve once I figured the polarity. I think any of the Ford valves will work; ours had positive and negative signs molded on connecter.