This is topic A more accurate description of what is wrong with my car in forum Tech Talk at Northern California Ford Owners  .


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Posted by 96WhiteSnake (Member # 229) on :
 
for those of you who dont remember or didnt read my previous posts: my car randomly dies.
now i can describe it really well.
- the car dies, more or less, at random.
first thing, it runs perfect, except for the times that it is gonna die.
now, when it does die, it always dies soon after it is started. And what happens is it will start up, then a few minutes later, the check engine light will come on. sometimes it dies and other times it just runs VERY badly. It shakes a lot and sends a lot of smoke out the pipes. When it dies, it must be left off for a minute or two and then it will usually run perfect, but if it is started again without waiting, it will just keep dying. Also, a few times the check engine light has come on, like flashed on, for a sec, and then contiuned to run just fine,
-it does not matter how much gas is in the car.
-it does not matter how hot or cold the car ir--it will do iit first time it is started in the morning or after it has been running great all day.
-it has been to a mechanic who could not find anything wrong with it and scanned the computer, but didnt get any codes.
-Also, I fixed the exhaust leak and I now have cats.
The mods on the car are as follows:
3 chamber flows and bassini x-pipe w/ cats, pro 5.0 shifter, 10" tach, JET chip (not custom), a custom powerpipe with a k&n, bbk adjustable fuel pressure regulator, steeda pullies, koni shocks, eibah springs, and mm c/c kit.
i listed everything just to show whats on the car, tho i am pretty sure the suspension mods wouldnt cause this.
any ideas would be nice, and i will answer any questions i can....
 
Posted by cobraman_1994 (Member # 467) on :
 
mabey the chip? i have no clue. my car did that and it was the tps.
 
Posted by 9cobrasnake9 (Member # 575) on :
 
When you put on the cold air intake did you retain the mesh screen that goes between the pipe and the maf. This screen directs air flow and I have heard of some 4V cobras dying and running rough due to the lack of this screen. Just a thought.
 
Posted by 96WhiteSnake (Member # 229) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by 9cobrasnake9:
When you put on the cold air intake did you retain the mesh screen that goes between the pipe and the maf. This screen directs air flow and I have heard of some 4V cobras dying and running rough due to the lack of this screen. Just a thought.
Well its not a cold air kit, but i did remove the screen. the reason for this was that it fell off and would not go back on. I went down to ford to get a new one, but when i opened it up, the new one didnt have the screen....so i didnt get the new one and left the old one their without a screen. However, that was last summer......if that was the problem, wouldnt it have started acting up soon after the screen was removed?
 
Posted by T-TopTerror (Member # 480) on :
 
Dude-
when ever your check engine light comes on the problem it incurred is stored in your comp. Just have your shit code scanned, that's all. Replace the randomly faulty part and no more haedaches....
 
Posted by 96WhiteSnake (Member # 229) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by T-TopTerror:
Dude-
when ever your check engine light comes on the problem it incurred is stored in your comp. Just have your shit code scanned, that's all. Replace the randomly faulty part and no more haedaches....
like i said above, it was scanned and came up clean
 
Posted by Silver92GT (Member # 1264) on :
 
ok my friends 94 had the same problem but his wouldent start after it would just crank. we replaced the crank position senson and it works great now.
 
Posted by UKCobra (Member # 1240) on :
 
Hi,

When did the problem first start ?

Had you made any recent modifications to the car ?

Is your battery connected properly ?

You are doing the right thing by asking for people's experiences, but do not randomly start replacing parts. It will cost far too much, and you may not get to the real root cause.

I witnessed a guy on Saturday spend $300 on O2 sensors as thats all Ford had in stock, and told him it could be the cause of his stalling problem, along with a whole host of other things.

I know its a pain in the ass, try and define the problem statement, identify the most likely causes and use troubleshooting techniques to prove the root cause.

Good luck, I hope you find the cause and can rectify it.

Mark

P.S We use the Kepner Tregoe Analytical troubleshooting System (ATS) here at work, it does help narrow down the most likely cause.
 
Posted by 96WhiteSnake (Member # 229) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by UKCobra:

When did the problem first start ?

Had you made any recent modifications to the car ?

Is your battery connected properly ?
The problem started a few months ago and seems to be getting worse (maybe I should have thrown that in before). What I mean is that after the first time it died, it took about a month for it to do so again. Now it seems like it does it once a week.
Also, no mods had been made to the car in awhile- the mechanic said the chip might be the cause, but he also said he really didnt know. Since the chip had been in there for almost a year, I found it odd that it would all of a sudden cause problems. Thats why I thought it was the exhaust, since we created a huge leak where the header connects to the pipe when we were swapping stuff in January in order to smog the car. But now that is fixed and I even put cats in t, but the problem didnt go away.
The battery is hooked up just fine, althoo there is quite a bit of corrosion on the negative terminal, which also has a bolt that has been rounded to all hell.
 
Posted by UKCobra (Member # 1240) on :
 
Hi again,

This is interesting news regarding the negative cable. From the scenario you mentioned, my inital thought was battery related. I have known Mustangs to exhibit these faults with defective grounding/negative leads to the battery.

I would look at cleaning up the connection, and possibly replacing the negative cable. This would explain why it got worse over time.

Also, if the bolt has "been rounded to hell" is it on real tight ? If its not then this could be an intermittent connection fault.

Also, only make one change at a time, don't use a shot gun approach and swap/change many things. Otherwise you won't really know what fixed it.

I hope this helps.

Mark

[ May 13, 2002, 11:26 AM: Message edited by: UKCobra ]
 
Posted by JUSTIN (Member # 586) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by UKCobra:
Hi again,

This is interesting news regarding the negative cable. From the scenario you mentioned, my inital thought was battery related. I have known Mustangs to exhibit these faults with defective grounding/negative leads to the battery.

I would look at cleaning up the connection, and possibly replacing the negative cable. This would explain why it got worse over time.

Also, if the bolt has "been rounded to hell" is it on real tight ? If its not then this could be an intermittent connection fault.

Also, only make one change at a time, don't use a shot gun approach and swap/change many things. Otherwise you won't really know what fixed it.

I hope this helps.

Mark
not to put down any ideas but if the alternator works fine then the battery is just used to start the car and the car will still run even if the battery is removed. check for above 13v at idle and 13.5 to 14.4 at 1800 rpm. then make sure your egr isn.t stuck open and maybe a leaky injector? check plugs for a black or wet one. hope it helps
 
Posted by rob (Member # 50) on :
 
not quite...

a computer doesn't function well with a "floating ground", you need the battery to be hooked up for proper computer function.

I'd replace the cable and the battery just to make it LOOK good.

good luck, man!

[ May 15, 2002, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: rob ]
 
Posted by Drift-GT (Member # 762) on :
 
Sorry to hear about your problem. I hate to tell you but it sounds like it is either fuel or emissions (or both) related. Unfortunately the only way to truly find out what component is bad is to check the code that the ECU is showing.
Now some engine codes are static and some are dynamic. A static code is one that stays the same and the ECU keeps in memory (usually a big problem). A dynamic code is one that can come and go even while you car is running (that is why you will see the engine light come on and off). Dynamic codes do stay in memory as long as the car is on (running or not as long as the car is not turned to the off position).
Go down to your local Kragen, Pep Boys, etc. and buy a cheap code tester. These testers are super cheesy (usually use flashing lights or beeps to tell you the code), but they are only about $50-100. That might be a lot but in this day and age everyone should have one in there tool box if they are going to tune EFI cars that have the damn CA emissions.
Keep the checker with you and the next time it acts up let it run like crap and die (don’t touch the key) go and check the code. Then fix or replace the part(s) that are needed. Hope I have helped take it easy.
 
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