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Old 04-03-2006, 10:18 PM   #1
Synx
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Default Idle jumps to 2000 in stop and go traffic...

Not sure whats going on here, but this was happening before i went Cobb AP, so im guessing it could be something mechanical or in the factor firmware on the ECU. But basically when ever i sit in stop and go traffic for more than a few min, the idle jumps up to 2000 and driveability becames a pita. Sometimes i can turn off the car and restart and it will go away, but most time it just takes some normal driving to go back to regular idle. Also when it happens as i shift the rev's jump up 200 or 300+ rpm when i lift off to shift. Its starting to worry me a bit now. I was thinking today that possible it could be a waste gate issue maybe its not opening up, but that doesn't explain why it would only happen with stop and go traffic. Any every experienced this before? Got about 60K on the block now, and last time i check at about 30K compression was normal and this was happening even back then.
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Old 04-03-2006, 11:43 PM   #2
Beebs99
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Is your A/C on when this happens? Mine jumps up when the A/C cycles.
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Old 04-04-2006, 08:50 AM   #3
Synx
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Nope, A/C on or off, when the A/C is on idle only goes up a 100 rpm or so, but mine is literially at 2K
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Old 04-04-2006, 08:53 AM   #4
woody06967
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I acquired my 2004 wrx about a month ago and noticed the same thing the first day it was warm in my area. I have no idea what could be causing the fast idle, the car isn't running warm at all either. If I get stuck in bad traffic it will idle fast, and 5 minutes at cruising speed again it's back to 500 rpm idle.
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Old 04-04-2006, 08:57 AM   #5
jdem18l
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do you have an aftermarket bov on your car. i had identical symptoms after i put mon my turbo xs rfl BOV but after i put some washers in and adjusted the spring tension correctly all was well. my ar would drop down to verrryyy low rpms when i would let off the gas and it even died around a turn. and at a stop the car would seem to rev itslef then drop down low again.
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Old 04-04-2006, 09:08 AM   #6
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Car was bone stock when I was experiencing the varying idle issue. It's since received an Injen CAI and the AccessPort Stage 1 ECU flash, and I haven't had it happen recently.
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Old 04-04-2006, 06:53 PM   #7
Synx
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Ya mine was with just a catless exhaust and nothing else, very odd that stock cars are seeing this as well. My coolant temps as read via the idiot guage are normal too, infact with my mostly water/redline mix they are a bit lower than when stock. Ill have to data log exactly what is happening some day.
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Old 04-04-2006, 08:48 PM   #8
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Haha, i post this a few weeks ago and nobody knows anything, now a bunch of people are having the same issue. I was cobb stage 2 (and nothing else) when i had this, just today got my car back as a stage 2.5/4, I noticed from this thread: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=973955 that the problem could exist because of a dirty IACV (idle air control valve) while i was getting the parts installed by a local shop, i had him clean it, so we shall see if it makes a difference.
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Old 04-04-2006, 09:18 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Synx
Not sure whats going on here, but this was happening before i went Cobb AP, so im guessing it could be something mechanical or in the factor firmware on the ECU. But basically when ever i sit in stop and go traffic for more than a few min, the idle jumps up to 2000 and driveability becames a pita. Sometimes i can turn off the car and restart and it will go away, but most time it just takes some normal driving to go back to regular idle. Also when it happens as i shift the rev's jump up 200 or 300+ rpm when i lift off to shift. Its starting to worry me a bit now. I was thinking today that possible it could be a waste gate issue maybe its not opening up, but that doesn't explain why it would only happen with stop and go traffic. Any every experienced this before? Got about 60K on the block now, and last time i check at about 30K compression was normal and this was happening even back then.
The 200 or 300 RPMS after lift-off on a shift is normal WRX behavior...you should just adjust your driving and get off the gas a hair sooner...

Sometimes it occurs out of nowhere...no one has yet to pin down the cause yet...
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Old 04-04-2006, 09:19 PM   #10
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Hehe, ya funny how that works, ive been ignoring this issue for about 2 years now, figured it was time i got around to finding out what the problem is. Ill check up on the IACV and report back as well.
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Old 06-08-2006, 10:55 AM   #11
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I'm having the same problem as well - any updates on if the IACV was the culprit?
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Old 06-08-2006, 12:26 PM   #12
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i have had the same problem.. on my 2003 bug eye..

here is what i did:



hope it helps..

phamster
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Old 06-08-2006, 12:51 PM   #13
Valhakar
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It is the Cruise control cable. It came from the factory too tight on many of the 03-04s. When looking at the throttle body from the front, it is the cable that loops to the left and attached to a small black box on the wheel well next to the turbo.

This is the issue. As the turbo heats up the area the box/cable deforms and tightens. Loosen the cable to have at least 1/2 of slack while cold and the issue will go away. Do NOT loosen the cable on the right as that is the actual throttle cable.

-Dave
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Old 06-08-2006, 12:53 PM   #14
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I havnt had a real good test, but i had the IACV claned while it was in the shop. Hasnt done it since, and im in stop-and-go everyday for about 45min at a time. Though i have notice my idle is high (1.5-2k) when i first start in the morning, but it goes back down after 5 minutes or so.
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Old 06-08-2006, 12:57 PM   #15
krk206s
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Thanks for the response - high idle when engine is cold is normal. Guess I need to clean my IACV this weekend.

BTW found this thread earlier which has good instructions: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=781242
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Old 06-08-2006, 01:51 PM   #16
phamster
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krk206s
Thanks for the response - high idle when engine is cold is normal. Guess I need to clean my IACV this weekend.

BTW found this thread earlier which has good instructions: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=781242

good find.. that one totallys trumps my little picture..

anyways.. cleaning the sensor should help..

phamster
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Old 06-08-2006, 06:45 PM   #17
Synx
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Awesome call on the cruse cable. I did the cleaning of the IACV and while it apeared to go away its come back and in strong force. I'll check that cable tonight and report back. Thanks again!
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Old 06-14-2006, 04:38 PM   #18
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Any feedback on the cruz cable adjust fix?

I just cleaned my IACV but it did nothing to fix the near stall when I throttle back for stops.
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Old 06-14-2006, 04:41 PM   #19
Synx
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Cable seemed to have done the trick! YAY! Not sure about stalling though, im having high idle issues
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Old 05-12-2007, 09:30 PM   #20
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Gang,
My sons 05 WRX starting idling at 2500 rpm when hot this spring. Per Valhakar's (Dave's) recommendation, quoted below, I adjusted the cruise control cable to put more slack in it. Initial indications on the first day are that the problem is fixed. My thanks and kudos to Dave for identifying the problem for me. It is great to have this site and be able to quickly find the solution to a problem.
Hats off and thanks to Dave.
Roy

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It is the Cruise control cable. It came from the factory too tight on many of the 03-04s. When looking at the throttle body from the front, it is the cable that loops to the left and attached to a small black box on the wheel well next to the turbo.

This is the issue. As the turbo heats up the area the box/cable deforms and tightens. Loosen the cable to have at least 1/2 of slack while cold and the issue will go away. Do NOT loosen the cable on the right as that is the actual throttle cable.

-Dave"
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Old 05-12-2007, 10:51 PM   #21
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nice, I might need to get that checked out then....although I'm not quite sure what the deal is because I have that same problem. First time it happened was in traffic, stop and go for like 45 minutes, it was idling from about 1500-1750. After the traffic subsided, and cruised some, the idle went back to the normal 750.

It happened again when I was doing some AutoX. Idle jumped to like 1800, but kept on doing runs, and it went over 2100rpm after some more.

My last AutoX, 1st run, idle climbed to about 1500rpm, but kept on packing the IC with ice before and after runs, and the idle was at 750rpm again for the rest of the runs.
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Old 05-13-2007, 12:17 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Valhakar View Post
It is the Cruise control cable. It came from the factory too tight on many of the 03-04s. When looking at the throttle body from the front, it is the cable that loops to the left and attached to a small black box on the wheel well next to the turbo.

This is the issue. As the turbo heats up the area the box/cable deforms and tightens. Loosen the cable to have at least 1/2 of slack while cold and the issue will go away. Do NOT loosen the cable on the right as that is the actual throttle cable.

-Dave
How do you loosen the cable?
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Old 05-13-2007, 02:22 PM   #23
Valhakar
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The cable is loosened at the throttle body. There are 2 nuts on a threaded shaft. Make the saft longer on the end facing the throttle body and you shorten the length of the cable. Both the throttle and the cruise cables are set up this way and are right next to each other. Make sure you only touch the cruise control cable ( left one).
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Old 05-15-2007, 10:35 AM   #24
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I've had the high idle on my '04 for since September when I started working in NYC and driving in the traffic. I recently cleaned the IACV and it didn't help. Afterwards, I still had high idle in traffic and low idle/stalling under normal conditions. I cleaned the MAF and reset the ECU and the low idle went away. Back in '04 when I took my car in for its first oil change, the cruise cable was supposedly "fixed". I never thought about it again until I saw this thread over the weekend and decided to check the cables out. The throttle cable had way too much slack and the cruise not enough, I guess the dealer "fixed" the wrong cable. I tightened the throttle, loosened the cruise and had no problems in a 2+ hour traffic jam yesterday. And as a bonus I gained some throttle response!

Another big thanks to Valhakar!
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Old 05-15-2007, 10:54 AM   #25
Synx
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The fix was not the tension on the cable (if you are in fact referring to the TSB). The TSB called for a clip to be placed over the cruse control cable where it attached to the throttle body to prevent it from coming unclipped and putting tension and opening the throttle body. While the results from the problem are similar the issues are not.

I've had both happen to me btw
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