fast Idle

[chazwood]

Can anyone tell me how to fix a fast idle that works sometimes and not others? Is there some thing I can bang on, or thump, or take apart and oil?
Thanks,
Chaz.

[Lin]

I had a similar problem that turned out to be a bad toggle switch on the dash.  I love that kind of fix.

[chazwood]

When the fast idle works, of course,  you don't think about it. When it stops, you realize you don't even know what makes the fast idle, idle fast. So you go around to the back and stare at the engine, like you think your somebody, trying to figure out where you would live if you were a fast idle.
As luck would have it, the idler must have realized I had a hammer in my hand and was looking for something to smack, because it sprang to life. (as most idlers do when discovered) This gave me the opportunity to enlist the help of a small child's finger to flip the switch on and off as I took my trusty hammer to the back to investigate.
I now know where he lives.
Not only did I locate his lazy brother "the switch" living in squalor, high on the firewall, but I located he himself "the intermittent idler" squatting in full view between the fan belt. His propensity to work part time must have christened him.
I think I have him by the throat.

[dolson]

If this happens right after you start the engine you may not have enough air pressure yet

[chazwood]

mystery solved.

I took the butt end of a screwdriver and popped the copper lines going to the brake release. Two things happened.
#1; The white emergency brake light came on. (not to be confused with the  green brake light.)
#2; The fast idle began to idle fastlyisher.