So lately I've been having random idle troubles. Sometimes it will work fine other times I'll come to an idle and it will start bouncing. I also had the battery light come on, I knew I needed a new battery so I got a new one and tested my alternator and they are good. I recently read up a little on the IAC valve and I think this is my problem. How can you clean/check this?

 

Take off the IAC and clean it with carb cleaner. As far as your batt light,thats a sign of the alternator going bad.

 

one at a junk yard wont cost much at all. they arent a big deal really.

 

You dont need another IAC just clean yours...getting another is about as smart as buying a new car once your oil is dirty.

 

Is there anything else that could be giving me the battery light. I tested the alternator myself and got 14.8V. I think I'll get the IAC cleaned up this week and let you guys know.

 

you know they do go bad and need to be replaced...its always good to have extra's either way..i always keep extra sensors. although it might just need to be cleaned.

 

Is the battery light coming on and staying on or going on and off randomly? If its going on and off or flickering I would say the problem is your voltage regualtor which is inside your alt. Next time the light comes on check voltage again.

 

The light could be flashing on when your idle drops too low and the alt isn't charging enough.

 

That may be true if it is just dirty, but making a generic blanket statement is just as stupid. I've had two bad IAC valves and in both cases the symptoms remained or worsened after cleaning. They DO go bad and they are not expensive.

The alternator could be bad, or maybe not. At a low idle it is feasible that it would come on, telling you that it is not putting out sufficient amperage. The two things may or may not be related. My advise is fix what you KNOW is bad first...

 

Start with the simplest task first,dont go out and start buying parts then find out all you had to so is clean your IAC.

If you are experiencing low idle thats classic signs of a dirty IAC. Witch would make you batt light come on.