What the heck! (Engine Dies) 3-12-04

[kyle94ex]

What the hell!

ok here is my problem,
my ex completely dies sparradicly and with no warning. one second its fine the next, dead. I just had the ignition coil and fuel pump replaced so I know its not either of those. Help!!!!

 

[Alec]

Anything else to help us figure it out? Status of electrical system, any computer codes, any other recent maintenance, other behaviors, etc?

 

[kyle94ex]

all I can say is that speed and temperature have nothing to do with it. It does have an aging electrical system but it has never given me problems before.
Basically I would be driving and it just starts to bog down and doesn't respond to throttle input and eventually the engine completely dies.

 

[Alec]

Does it start right up when it dies? Does it ever have a problem starting?

Anything else going on with the truck?

 

[kyle94ex]

nothing else is wrong with it. It usually start right up again but occasionally it takes me several tries to get it started

 

[Alec]

This problem is very hard to diagnose without actually seeing the vehicle, but I suspect it's a bad ground or bad battery cables.

 

[jemail]

Have you checked the fuel pressure when it dies? I had a similar problem about 2 years ago and found that the pressure regulator (left front of '91 engine when looking at it) was not holding enough PSI to keep the engine running.

Another problem that I had about 4 years ago was the engine coolant temp sensor (middle right of '91 engine when looking at it, a little hidden under some wiring) was telling my dash gauge the engine temp was around first 1/3 of gauge. However, in reality the engine temp ran up near boiling so the engine would just shut off until the temp dropped down.

Hope this can help.

 

[MrShorty]

Another thought might be the fuel pump or the PCM relay intermittently cutting out on you.

 

[kyle94ex]

I don't think it is the pump, I just had it replaced. Where is that relay located????

 

[jemail]

On my '91 it is located just under the top lip of the carpet directly under the radio.

 

[slag]

Replace the Crank Position Sensor. Its super easy to get to, takes about all of 10 mins, runs about $30.00, and will probably fix your problem.

 

[kyle94ex]

what more can you tell me about this sensor? (i.e. location, purpose)

 

[slag]

what more can you tell me about this sensor? (i.e. location, purpose)

Its discussed quite well in the chiltons manual and shows where it is. Its on the front of the engine, under the crank pulley.

Really, if you are attempting any type of do it yourself repairs at home, you should at least have a chiltons manual. Torque specs alone are worth the cost of the manual.

 

[slag]

dp