Hi all,

I've been experiencing a strange problem with my 126 body m116 engine 380se. I'm sure its a sensor/electrical issue, but here's how it started.

I was driving along when suddenly at the tap of the pedal the idle speed instantly jumped from normal speeds up to about 1300 rpm in gear. I got it home with all my weight on the brake pedal and found that it idles in neutral at about 2000 rpm. I went ahead and changed out the idle speed air control valve, but it didn't change anything. I checked the overload protection relay and it seems to be fine. I give it a shake and I hear something bouncing around. Could that be an issue? It seems to make a difference when I try running the car without that relay, so I'm thinking its functional.

I've checked the throttle linkage and it returns to the right position. The only few things I could conclude were that either the idle control unit is shot somehow, the throttle position sensor is stuck/broken/shorted, or there's a broken fuse or relay somewhere that's making all this happen.

At the moment, it idles at 1500-1600 rpm when its absolutely cold. When warmed up it hits about 2000 rpm. In gear it bounces between 800-1000 rpm betwen cold and hot operation.

Does anyone know if its difficult to get to the TPS or idle control unit?

Any advice is much appreciated,

-Troy

__________________
- - - '77 federal 280e - 222k miles
- - - '85 380se - 129k miles
- - - '07 Chevy truck
- - - '79 Datsun 280zx with '82 turbo motor
- - - Currently looking for a clean 190e with less than 160k miles.