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Renix high idle

GOT IT!!! Thanks again for all the suggestions, in the end they led me to the problem. First I've put less than 1000 miles on it after buying it from god only knows what # owner. I finally removed the TB from the intake and gave it a good cleaning and found a large gap around the butterfly, I tried to adjust the stop screw which looks like they adjusted it with a pair of channelocks (threads mangled) and the allen end is also stripped so they evidently decided to just bend the stop ear on the butterfly (pliar marks again) to make it idle insted of cleaning the TB or replacing the stop screw; straitened it out and all is well. It also solved the long cranking before starting problem.
 
I need to revive this thread to ask how to measure where the throttle stop screw is supposed to be from the factory?
I suspect the PO may have adjusted it....im chasing a high idle on my 89 and want to rule that out
 
Automatic trans? Describe what the idle is doing.

Typically, in a Renix it will be bad grounds or TPS out of adjustment or bad.

Tell us more:)
 
Manual trans.
its idleing around 1300 rpm.....
I have been driving with the IAC unhooked for years because with it hooked up it revs to around 2000 rpm briefly on start up.
I cleaned my TB last night and decided to hook the IAC back up so I think its IAC related but want to rule out the throttle stop screw...
Other than that it runs good....tps is fairly new and adjusted right (did that yesterday)
 
All the throttle stop screw does is stop the throttle plate from slamming into the TB bore and eventually cutting a groove in the TB throat. The basic adjustment is so the throttle plate just clears the TB throat.

The thing about the throttle stop screw adjustment is, minor adjustments may hardly be noticeable, the ECU corrects some for the idle change. Minor changes in the stop screw are like chasing your tail, you may get a momentary idle change, but the ECU eventually corrects and it ends up just about the same as before you fiddled with it. The ECU adjusts the pulse band width, fuel ratio and IAC. And any adjustment at the stop screw requires another TPS adjustment.

1300 RPM sounds like a vacuum leak, most likely in a sub system, heating, A/C controls, maybe the purge vacuum line or maybe the vacuum lines for the vacuum canister. I usually make up a handful of short pieces of vacuum line, around two inches long, with a screw in one end and plug off every vacuum inlet on the intake manifold, except the fuel regulator. Process of elimination, if the idle falls, plug them back up one at a time and see which one is causing the high idle, troubleshoot the sub system from there.

Like mentioned the TPS grounds can also cause issues. TPS controls timing and fuel to some degree along with inputs from other sensors. Replacing the TPS sensor may not help if the issue is in the wiring, connectors or the ground points themselves. I even had one idle problem that was from oil in the TPS connector. Some mechanic thought it was a good idea to spray the connector with WD-40 which turned out to be a bad idea. Many of my TPS issues caused what I call hunting at idle, the idle goes up, then down and then back up again, in 2-3 minute cycles. The exception is a really bad (water soaked) TPS then you may get a 2500 RPM idle. Or serious ground issues which may cause a Renix hot start, when the idle flairs way up right after a start. Sticky IAC or even charging system issues can also cause a hot start.

I always start out by plugging off all the unnecessary vacuum inlets on the intake manifold, re-torque the bolts for the intake/exhaust manifold, check the TB for tightness (the gasket shrinks with age) and ohm my TPS grounds. Eight times out of ten it is one of these 3-4 things causing the high idle issues.

You may also want to take a look at your charging system. Many times when my IAC started acting up it was because of a charging or battery issue. Not often a high idle issue, more often a stalling issue, sometimes a hot start issue. The IAC gets sluggish when the charging system is sick, Renix or OBD.
 
Last edited:
8mud
thank you for your very detailed reply.Can you explain the process of ohm testing the tps grounds and where they are?

The quick method for me is to strip back a little of the insulation on the black ground wire on the TPS side of the connector, set your ohm meter on the X100 scale and ohm test to the battery negative terminal and see how much resistance you have. I usually route the TPS wires over the top of the rubber intake before the TB, this makes the test much more simple.

When/if you find significant resistance, say over 0.5 ohms, you start moving your test up stream from the battery pole. Your trying to isolate the problem, though it may be a *combination* of less than perfect connections. It is usually a problem at a connector or a ground ring, sometimes a splice. Time consuming and a general pain, it is necessary or more often than not you are wasting your time swapping parts out and making adjustments.

Remember cold motor and warm motor (over around 140-160 F.) reacts differently and uses different motor management. Most times a Renix hot start happens on a warm (hot) motor after the XJ has been stopped and then started again while the motor is still hot. A high idle flair on a cold motor is often a sticky IAC or maybe a TPS issue. A high idle on a cold motor around 1500 RPM's is most often a vacuum leak and as the motor warms up the idle may fall some or the idle may cycle a little high and a little low on the warm motor as the ECU tries to adjust.

First thing I'd check if I were you, is the torque on the intake bolts. I have to re-tighten mine every few years (3-5 years). I just had a high idle issue in my 96, it would idle above a thousand RPM and would eventually settle in to 800 or so as the motor warmed up. Turned out to be an intake/exhaust manifold gasket, the bolts had come loose (the rear stud actually fell off) and the exhaust eventually burnt a groove through the gasket. If I'm hunting a high idle issue one of my first thoughts is when was the last time I re-torqued the intake/exhaust manifold. I usually ignore the end studs on the manifold when re-torquing. those thing snap off way to easily. The thing about an intake gasket leak is as the motor warms up the higher than normal idle may go away as the parts heat up and swell/expand or it may get worse as the intake/exhaust parts flex from the heat.
 
Thanks again.
was poking around today and found a vac leak at the rear ccv line.
now idle is around 1000rpm.(what is spec for a 5 speed?)

tested tps again and found it had a dead spot right before WOT.
 
GOT IT!!! Thanks again for all the suggestions, in the end they led me to the problem. First I've put less than 1000 miles on it after buying it from god only knows what # owner. I finally removed the TB from the intake and gave it a good cleaning and found a large gap around the butterfly, I tried to adjust the stop screw which looks like they adjusted it with a pair of channelocks (threads mangled) and the allen end is also stripped so they evidently decided to just bend the stop ear on the butterfly (pliar marks again) to make it idle insted of cleaning the TB or replacing the stop screw; straitened it out and all is well. It also solved the long cranking before starting problem.

Ugh, I had this problem with an 89 I bought for the wife. Took me quite a while to find this, oddly enough it was the marks left by the pliers that gave it away.
 
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