Idle Control Valve - 88' 190e 2.3L
 

My mechanic discover, while troubleshooting due to the car dying as it comes to a stop, that my Idle Control Valve is sticking. He remove the wire and the engine revs came up a bit. However, he mentioned that it should cause the revs to come up to about 1400 - 1500 rpms. So we left the wire disconnected and the car has not died since. However, may questions is this:

Could that Idle Control Valve becausing poor fuel mileage and performance? I ask because it is the Idle Control Valve and I am wondering if after you get the car in motion does it still factor into fuel mileage and performance.

Any thoughts would be welcomed. I can replace with a used one for about $75 or $180 new, and I am wondering if it is worth it.

Thanks,

Gards

Assuming this is the rotary idle control valve, having the rpms rise after removing the connector is NOT an indication the valve is sticking. The fact the rpms changed indicates the valve was indeed responding to input - no sticking at that moment, anyway.

Whatever your tech did to determine the valve is sticking, though, bear in mind that disconnecting it you have also removed active loop control from the idle circuit. Many other components in the loop could be malfunctioning to cause your problem - sensors, OVP, ECU, etc. My guess is the valve is not high on the list of likely culprits, and in any event it can be easily removed and tested, cleaned, whatever.

Steve