NEED HELP!!! Viper is accelerating on its own...

[italianx333]

Hey guys, I have a 96 Dodge Viper GTS, have owned it about 5 months now. Well I took it out today for a drive, and when I took my foot off the gas the car kept accelerating, when I put the clutch in, the car still stayed revved up around 4Krpm and stayed constant there. It was burning my clutch like crazy and the only way to get it to stop was to completley shut the car off. Its like the car is trying to drive itself and give it gas no matter what I do. Can anyone help me figure this out???

 

[mad0953]

The first thing I would check would be the throttle linkage.

 

[ViperGeorge]

Floor Mat interferring with the gas pedal????

 

[Richard Koch]

Did you check to see if the floormat may have slid forward and jammed the throttle?

 

[italianx333]

I dont have any floor mats in it. The gas pedal and assembly does feel loose when I play with it with my hands, it has a little too much movement and feels flimsy.

 

[Dom426h]

The gas pedal and assembly does feel loose when I play with it with my hands, it has a little too much movement and feels flimsy.

That is normal.

 

[Dom426h]

Start troubleshooting by eliminating the manual/mechanical stuff.

Take the airbox off so you can look directly into the throttlebodies. Manualy twist the throttle linkage by hand and watch the throttlebody blades open and shut.
Next, Have someone step on the throttle and release while you are watching the throttle blades open and shut. Also, look at the linkage.
Next, Start the car. Have someonelse give it throttle to try and re-create the issue while you have the hood up and are looking closely at the throttle linkage.

 

[csmwiese]

when I play with it with my hands, it has a little too much movement and feels flimsy.

 

[DrumrBoy]

Stock PCM?

 

[99 R/T 10]

Clean the Throttle Bodies and the linkage. Look at the throttle cable too. If it is starting to fray, it could be catching on something preventing it from returning to the idle position

 

[Mopar Steve]

Return spring.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Sometimes when it is cold and the engine hasn't warmed up mine will rev high. I just stab the pedal and it comes down to nomal. Doesn't sound like that's your problem but I figured I throw it out there just in case.

 

[CEJ]

Wild guess here...Idle Air Controller?

 

[dave6666]

Was just going to say IAC... But 4K does seem a little high. I would clean it tho.

 

[DrumrBoy]

Stock PCM?

FWIW, certain vintage AEMs will do this a lot. Usually to 2500 or 3000 (4K does seem high). Bandaid is to turn the car off once the thermostat has opened, turn the ignition switch to "on" for a ten count and then start and all is well with the idle. I assume you have the stock PCM but just in case you do have an aftermarket controller, this might help.

 

[italianx333]

Stock ecu and all. As soon as I turn the car on, it revs itself up past 4-5k and doesn't stop, stays revved up no matter what

 

[dave6666]

Either stuck throttle or stuck IAC be my first check.

Have you even opened the hood yet to look at it?

 

[bluesrt]

could also be a wacked tps gone stupid- if they get moisture in them they will do this- start unplugging sensors mentioned one at a time if you dont have proper tools. dont have them all unplugged at once that is. put each back before you undo another,and this is with engine off.

 

[italianx333]

alright fella, got a quick 5 minutes free yesterday to do some investigating and it seems my throttle is not fully closing for some reason. I didnt get a chance to take my air filters off to look internal, but the spring is not returning to the closed position unless i push it with my hand. Look at the pics below, first is when I hit the accelerator and the position the throttle stops at, second pic is fully closed after i manually push it closed. Thoughts?

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[KNG SNKE]

Gummed up throttle body blade? Spring worn out?

 

[SHELBYVIPER]

Throttle cable anchored to black grommet on intake?

 

[Tom Sessions]

So unhook the cable from the T-bodies and see if they return correctly. If it does then start working back from there. Cable coming thru the firewall, Pedal assembly hanging up under the dash on the steering column.

 

[GTLaser]

alright fella, got a quick 5 minutes free yesterday to do some investigating and it seems my throttle is not fully closing for some reason. I didnt get a chance to take my air filters off to look internal, but the spring is not returning to the closed position unless i push it with my hand. Look at the pics below, first is when I hit the accelerator and the position the throttle stops at, second pic is fully closed after i manually push it closed. Thoughts?

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I'm down in the area for the week so if you need a hand PM me and I can swing by.

 

[italianx333]

Thanks for all the help fellas, I am going to have some free time tomorrow to actually get under the hood. I will let everyone know the outcome tomorrow night and hopefully I can find the problem.

GTLaser, thanks for offering your help, I will def let you know if I need your assistance if i cant figure it out on my own.

 

[italianx333]

Found the problem! When I bought the car a couple months ago, the previous owner had polished straight tubes installed, well after taking them off, there was a piece of a thin rubber washer that was stopping the throttle blade from returning to closed position, so I removed that and problem solved! Thanks everyone for their help, now lets hope for warm weather here in the east

 

[dave6666]

There ya go. Under that hood you can see that big red engine can't cha?

 

[Jeffsss]

Sometimes when it is cold and the engine hasn't warmed up mine will rev high. I just stab the pedal and it comes down to nomal. Doesn't sound like that's your problem but I figured I throw it out there just in case.

mine did the same thing a few times when we had our little cold spell last week.

 

[Jeffsss]

There ya go. Under that hood you can see that big red engine can't cha?

it's an awesome sight. some days I'll open the hood for no reason other than to look at it.