My 1988 ford f-150 has a rough idle and hessatates when accelerating

SOURCE: rough idle; engine light appeared

I had that problem with my 2005 FX4 turned out to be a coil on #6 cylinder I replaced the coil my self and the light went out coil was $58.00.These trucks are sensitive to water in the gas you may want to add gas line antifreeze or isopropyl alcohol to your gas every other tank to displace any water which may be getting in there.

SOURCE: 1993 Ford Explorer idles rough when engine is warm

try changing distributor cap & coil

SOURCE: 1996 FORD CONTOUR 4CYL ROUGH IDLE ROUGH ACCELERATION

no problem. If you are getting that low of voltage on a load then you might want to test the alternator as well to make sure it is running at capacity.

Marvin

• 85242 Answers
• Posted on Mar 13, 2009

SOURCE: rough idling and poor fuel economy on 92ford f-150

This whole problem is most likey due to a sludged up intake and idle speed control valve, do the following procedure and it should take care of the problems, also run a couple of cans of LUCUS brand fuel injector cleaner through, I know u will see it is more expensive than other brands, but the thing is it works!
Here is the most common cause of surges and stalls at stops and low erratic idle speed and rough idle, it is the idle speed control air-bypass valve and throttle valve (IAC for short), they get full of gunk over the miles and cause idle issues (stalls, low idle) like yours, Get a can of intake cleaner from any local parts store, not carb spray, intake cleaner, it is made by a company called CRC, remove the air intake hose to the engine, hold the idle high so the engine won't stall, then spray the can of cleaner into the intake while keeping the engine running, use at least 1/2 the can, shut down the engine and disconnect the battery for 5 minutes, then restart and complete a number of mixed driving cycles, town, freeway, stop and go etc., after a few days the problem will go away as the system will relearn to the clean intake

SOURCE: rough idle 2003 f150

plugs or wires need replacing.