Can anyone explain my problem??? I have an '02 SCrew that is 6 months old. The other day it would half-way start but wouldn't turn all the way over. When I gave it some gas when trying to start it, gray smoke poured out of the exhaust pipe! That isn't supposed to happen with a new truck. I had to call roadside assistance, which was very good by the way, and they towed it to the dealership 20 minutes after I called. They fixed whatever the problem was in 15 minutes or so but I was in a hurry and didn't get an explaination. The receipt says "Cause: EEC TEST, PINPOINT TEST, DCL TEST, IGNITION SYS TEMS TEST, REPLACED IAC. RETEST." The IAC is the idle air control. Can anybody help explain what this is all about???

 

If I was a betting man, I'd guess you have the 4.6 engine? Seems ford has a problem with the IAC valve in the 4.6. The IAC in our stang just crapped out when the car hit 37k miles. I've since popped it off and hosed it down with carb cleaner twice to avoid paying $80 for a new one.

In case you don't know, the IAC is a little valve that lets in a variable amount of air at idle. Since at idle with your foot off the gas pedal the throttle blade is closed, there is no other means for the engine to get air. It's sort of a fine tune mechanism for the computer to meter the right amount of air for a given idle RPM and other conditions (such as cold start, etc.) I've noticed in mine that it seems a bit gummed up, maybe from the crankcase PCV system... poor design maybe?

Anyway, hope this helps.
jC.

 

Thanks for the explanation! I do have the 4.6 so that probably explains it.