IAC Valve bad?

Aguyindallas

New Member
Apr 11, 2012
108
Lake Lewisville Texas
Boat Info
2004 320 Sundancer
Engines
8.1 Merc with BIII
Hey all...I have a rough guess that I have a bad IAC on my port engine. It will no longer idle. Here is the sequence of events this season that leads me this way...its a long one, so bear with me.

About 2 months ago, we moved from one marina to another, on the same lake. In that process, we loaded all of our dock items (dock box, trash can, patio furniture etc) onto the boat and took a slow cruise across the lake. I never got above about 1300rpm. It took about 45 minutes to make this slow trek. No big deal. When I was about to back into my new slip, the port engine died. I put it back in neutral and started it. It idled, but as soon as I shifted into reverse, it stalled. This happened 3 times. Then....it went back to normal, no issue. I got in the slip, ran it a little bit longer, no issues.

Fast forward a month and I change my oil (run it at idle in the slip for a while, no issue.) Fast forward another 2 weeks and I change the impellers. Ran both engines and no issue EXCEPT at random, the Port Side engine started to idle about 100rpm higher than the starboard. I revved it a few times and it still went back to the high idle. I turned both off, turned off the ignitions inside the cabin and tried it over again. Engine started right up and idled at normal range in line with the starboard engine.

Now....yesterday....I start the engines to run them a bit before we head out. The port side ran for about 15 mins at idle and died. When I go back to restart it, it will start right up but immediately stalls. No change to even get it to throttle up to try to get a little rev and see if its stumbling etc. So, retart, die, restart, die, restart, die....then eventually after 7-8 attempts, it started to crank but wouldnt start (almost as if it were a carb engine that is flooded). Then it would go back to the restart and immediately die. I gave up and went home.

My initial thought is bad IAC, but I really have no idea. The boat is a 2004 320DA with 496Mag, stern drive. How can I diagnose this without just throwing parts at it? Any tips??
 
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Does it stay running if you give it a little throttle and keep it there? You should get an alarm on smart craft if you have a bad IAC, at least I did. Typical IAC symptom is that it will obviously not idle, but if you don't bring the RPM down below 700-800ish RPM it will stay running with an alarm every 60-120 seconds. Try starting it with throttle like if it was carberated. Also, it is an easy swap, so try the known working IAC from the other motor, but DO NOT use the suspect one on the other motor as you could fry the ECU.
 
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I had my 1st IAC issue. Alarm sounded when running home but seemed fine. I put into neutral opened that hatch and all
Seemed fine. I got back to marina and when I put into neutral it stalled. I then knew it was the IAC so I started engine in Neutral with some throttle so it stays running and docked it with the one good engine. Then I changed the IAC, I had a spare and it idled and ran fine and no more alarm every 2 minutes. I used the IAC from rock auto. Seems to be like the oem but the gasket was a little different so I used the oem as it was still perfect looking.


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Well I'm not really sure if it will run if I try to start it with a little throttle. Im not getting any alarms and didn't when I had the first issue moving the boat a couple of months ago. The only thing I'm seeing on my Smart Craft is an alert for a 5VDC low error.....but that's been like that for 2-3 years and I've had zero issues. That error comes and goes. To date, there haven't been any alarms or anything that I can recall that would point to this or any other errors.

I came across this in my searching today. I assume this is the correct one.

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Don't try to save a few dollars with a nonmarine rated IAC. Get the Merc OEM part. You will need the gasket and foam muffler. It takes 10 minutes to change out the valve. If the swap doesn't fix your problem save the original valve as a spare.
 
Sierra makes a marine IAC as well, part is 18-7701, 83$ on one website. I have replaced one on each engine. The last one happened after 2 trips where the engine had issues idling, either idle rpms too low, or stalling, finally on third trip I received the IAC error on my smartcraft monitor and it would not run. Next time, I'm going to replace it before I get the alarm.
Not sure if the Sierra part is as good as the Mercruiser OEM part, if the Sierra part only lasts for a season, I might try the Mercruiser part next time.


Brown Eyed Girl - 2007 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer, 350 MAG MPI V-drive
 
Anyone use the IAC from rock auto part AC423? Just wondering if anyone used the gasket that came with it as it's different then the flat oem one.


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Is this a common repair part? I have the same engine. I never had a problem yet, but should we keep a spare on board?
 
Is this a common repair part? I have the same engine. I never had a problem yet, but should we keep a spare on board?

Yes, it's very common. I replaced two on prior boats. Fortunately, it's an easy fix. Takes 15 minutes or less. Search this forum. There is a technical thread showing step by step how to replace. Get a spare valve, gasket and muffler to keep on board.
 
I just had one IAC go out (stb) and replaced both on my 280DA (4.3 MPIs) with the Standard Motor Parts AC423 from Rock Auto. They both work like a champ AND they are both a direct numeric cross reference from Mercury's p/n 862998. The gasket that comes with them is for another application and is not the correct one for Mercruiser. The included gasket is a silicone seal designed to fit in a channel cut in the mating surface for the IAC on a different motor.

I re-used the old gasket on one engine, and after carefully placing the silicon gasket and IAC in place used the included gasket on the other. It works, but I do not trust it. I've ordered 4 of the Merc 863112 gaskets, 2 for replacements, 2 for spares inventory. Next weekend I will pull both new IACs and put new gaskets on for peace of mind.

On a plus side, the AC423 may end up being better than the Merc part. Per Standard Motor, they have added significantly more corrosion protection, have a stronger stepper motor, and a different magnet design vs. OEM. Tons of good reviews on Amazon by marine users.

They have a write up on their website, scroll down about half way to get to the IAC valves: http://www.standardbrand.com/en/products/emission-controls/

Normally I don't advocate purchasing non-marine components, but these seem to be pretty good so far. The Merc unit on my stb engine lasted less than a year. Tentative judgement is good, will reserve final judgement until this time next year. Looking good so far.
 
Gif the IAC is not the issue your problem sounds a lot like an issue we had with the fuel coolers our 2006 8.1 L Mercrusier. If your engine has fuel coolers I would check them next. Mercury painted the fuel coolers on the inside where's the paint comes into contact with the gasoline. The ethanol in the gas causes the paint to flake off and it can travel down the field system all the way to the injectors. It's a huge issue that affects thousands of engines that Mercury will not address unless your engine is under warranty. Hope your issue is a simple change of the IAC but if not this might be worth checking into.
 
like said previous try to rev it a little above pure idle . if it runs fine there its not the iac . the iac is only responsible for pure idle control .
 
I just had one IAC go out (stb) and replaced both on my 280DA (4.3 MPIs) with the Standard Motor Parts AC423 from Rock Auto. They both work like a champ AND they are both a direct numeric cross reference from Mercury's p/n 862998. The gasket that comes with them is for another application and is not the correct one for Mercruiser. The included gasket is a silicone seal designed to fit in a channel cut in the mating surface for the IAC on a different motor.

I re-used the old gasket on one engine, and after carefully placing the silicon gasket and IAC in place used the included gasket on the other. It works, but I do not trust it. I've ordered 4 of the Merc 863112 gaskets, 2 for replacements, 2 for spares inventory. Next weekend I will pull both new IACs and put new gaskets on for peace of mind.

On a plus side, the AC423 may end up being better than the Merc part. Per Standard Motor, they have added significantly more corrosion protection, have a stronger stepper motor, and a different magnet design vs. OEM. Tons of good reviews on Amazon by marine users.

They have a write up on their website, scroll down about half way to get to the IAC valves: http://www.standardbrand.com/en/products/emission-controls/

Normally I don't advocate purchasing non-marine components, but these seem to be pretty good so far. The Merc unit on my stb engine lasted less than a year. Tentative judgement is good, will reserve final judgement until this time next year. Looking good so far.

That's what I did. I ordered 2 more iac's from rockauto and oem gaskets. I changed the mufflers prior to launch may 1st


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I started a new thread as I replaced the IAC and it didn't fix it. Started fine and ran about 5 mins and died. Will not start/run my attempting to throttle up.


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Gif the IAC is not the issue your problem sounds a lot like an issue we had with the fuel coolers our 2006 8.1 L Mercrusier. If your engine has fuel coolers I would check them next. Mercury painted the fuel coolers on the inside where's the paint comes into contact with the gasoline. The ethanol in the gas causes the paint to flake off and it can travel down the field system all the way to the injectors. It's a huge issue that affects thousands of engines that Mercury will not address unless your engine is under warranty. Hope your issue is a simple change of the IAC but if not this might be worth checking into.

How do I know if it has fuel coolers?


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My IAC has the 2 hoses connected to it. A different thread on this site instructed to take back hose off, and if it idles about 100 RPMs more it's the IAC. Bought cheap IAC part from Amazon, it didn't work. OEM part does not have a visible spring like aftermarket part did. Took back hose off to test, and it idled as described. Bought OEM part with muffler/ filter for a lot more, and it worked fine. 2006, 290SS T-350 MPI
 

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