diff --git a/src/core.js b/src/core.js
index ce265196..0ebc61df 100644
--- a/src/core.js
+++ b/src/core.js
@@ -396,7 +396,7 @@ jQuery.fn = jQuery.prototype = {
 					
 				// Everything else, we just grab the value
 				} else
-					return this[0].value.replace(/\r/g, "");
+					return (this[0].value || "").replace(/\r/g, "");
 
 			}
 
diff --git a/test/unit/core.js b/test/unit/core.js
index cea8c61e..e71de2db 100644
--- a/test/unit/core.js
+++ b/test/unit/core.js
@@ -881,9 +881,11 @@ test("$.extend(Object, Object)", function() {
 });
 
 test("val()", function() {
-	expect(2);
+	expect(3);
 	ok( $("#text1").val() == "Test", "Check for value of input element" );
 	ok( !$("#text1").val() == "", "Check for value of input element" );
+	// ticket #1714 this caused a JS error in IE
+	ok( $("#first").val() == "", "Check a paragraph element to see if it has a value" );
 });
 
 test("val(String)", function() {