Car dies, I'm out of ideas.

Three02much · 10-06-2008, 11:46 AM

I have a 95 gt, with a 347 and aluminum heads. When i got the car running with the new motor i noticed that every once in a while on the highway the car would randomly miss, just once on one cylinder. but it wasn't like a miss, the best way i could describe it would be a hiccup. when it happened it felt like the motor quit for a split second and jumped back to life, more violent than a miss would be. I figured it was because i haven't had the car tuned with a chip. So This problem maybe happened once a month. so the other day the car completely shut off, except for the gauges, so it had power. Then i tried to start it, it would crank for three seconds, fire and die. Then after letting it sit for a while i was able to start it and get the motor revved up a little, once it fell below 2000r's it died and didn't start like before. I replaced the pickup coil, and checked the coil, now the car starts but wont rev up over 2500 r's Next im looking at the ignition module. it has good plugs and wires, good fuel pressure. what else could it be, maf? oh and the air conditioner doesn't work anymore, blowers work but no cold air.
any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

goodyear1984 · 10-06-2008, 12:38 PM

it would be good if u can list ur mods so we know what u have on the car.ps with out a dyno tune and a chip it will never run to what its capiable of

Three02much · 10-06-2008, 01:08 PM

Mods.. 347 stroker, 24lb injectors and calibrated maf, ford motorsport svo upper and gt40 lower intake, patriot 185 heads, comp ultra gold rockers, comp 555/565 274 xtreme energy cam, comp hydraulic lifters, no egr, no secondary air injection. 80 mm throttle body, exhaust , adj fp regulator, tremec tko, 390 gears. car ran good and idled good, no problems, fuel pressure set at 38 w/ vaccum off. 10 degrees base timing, properly set tps. I know i need a chip but i was able to get the car running great by adjusting those things, it was just a little bit rich. before this it had a 347 with everything stock except no egr, and no secondary air injection, removal of those didn't seem to effect the car negativley at all.
after these other mods the car ran fine except for the occasional highway miss for 8 months.

Three02much · 10-08-2008, 08:05 PM

Here's what I've found out. The Motor will rev but begins missing above 2500 rpm. The fuel pressure increases when the motor is revved, seems to make sense? I don't have any spark jumping or a bad wire. The miss is completely random. It does it regardless of the load on the engine. Misses with the spout connector out and in. My ICM has a good ground, and full battery voltage, same for the pickup coil. A/C worked yesterday but not today, A vacuum issue? I checked for vacuum leaks and found noting, plus the motor doesn't act like it has a leak. Could a bad cap and rotor cause this?
Once again guys any ideas would be great

Unit 5302 · 10-09-2008, 04:41 AM

Tap on the MAF with the back of a screwdriver while the engine is running. A lot of times, you'll get a change in how it runs by doing that. If it's missing like that, I'm guessing it's not getting fuel one way or another. A single fuel injector would not cause a stall, and a TPS problem will generally present itself only a single throttle setting (idle, 1/4 throttle), but not across the board. The fuel pump would be suspect, but you say you've got good fuel pressure. The IAC won't impact revving performance, the O2 sensors drop out of the loop under WOT and when the engine is cold so you can rule them out. The EGR won't stall your engine with part throttle.

The ignition module is usually all or nothing, but I have seen them do what you're describing. I would wager ignition module or MAF.

goodyear1984 · 10-13-2008, 12:07 AM

when the icm goes 99% of the time they quit when hot because the resistance get higher when hot and usally car will stop running when hot.rule out one thing at a time take a spake tester and connect it between the wire and plug.see how its sparking when it is skiping.also check all the plugs and look to see if one of them looks way diff from the others,pay attention which plug came from which cyl

Three02much · 10-13-2008, 10:04 AM

im going to replace the icm today. i checked the wires with an led test light and seemed to flash correctly, but its hard to tell because it only misses in the higher rpm ranges. i didn't get it hot enough to where it totally dies but i think i got it narrowed down enough to be confident that it is the icm.

Three02much · 10-16-2008, 06:33 PM

After i replaced the pickup coil the car missed, i put the new ICM in and it still missed. I went back to the original pickup coil and now the car runs fine, got it warm, drove it around for 30 mins no problems. Except for a slip in the drive train, when i punched it in fifth gear the motor revved faster than the car accelerated. I don't smell a hot clutch. I didn't do anything to the diff when i put the gears in, (they have been in for three years) so what typically happens when the diff goes, is it a common problem? If I rebuilt the diff would it hold up. car has about 350 hp?

Three02much · 10-21-2008, 03:07 PM

Ok put in a new clutch this weekend but the electrical issue came back. i drove it probably 50 miles during the daytime in 80+ degrees after i replaced the ICM. Drove to a party the next day, left around 11 or 12 pm got on the highway and the car began to die again, but when it did i would press the gas a little and it would start to run roughly and backfire then run fine for a minute. it did this for maybe ten minutes then ran fine the rest of the way home, i even got into it a little to see, everything ran fine. next morning i started it up and could tell that it was running poorly, it wouldn't idle well, kind of hard to start, did not run smooth ( like the timing was way off )

Three02much · 10-21-2008, 03:35 PM

I think that it is a fuel problem because i have been through most of the ignition components and still have issues. Plus the car's exhaust smells extremely rich when idling in the drive way, It burns my nose, and makes my eyes water and the car does have cats. I checked the tps and the voltage went from .98 all the way to 4.65 with nothing in between that seemed out of the ordinary. Any way to check the maf. I have the stock maf but it is for 18 lb injectors and when i put it on it totally changes the way the car runs and i am unable to determine if it solves the problem.

FoxRod · 10-31-2008, 11:41 AM

What kind of distributor holder are you using. When I built my car I used one from UPR that was not applying enough pressure. So I installed a stock one and the distributor didn't move anymore.

I have a random no start also and replace most of the ignition and still have the random problem

5.0JOE · 11-27-2008, 10:11 AM

I have had this problem before. If you still have the cats hooked up then one of them has plugged up. A plugged cat will do everything that you have described. IF you still have them on unhook the h pipe and run the car when it is cold to see if it changes. THiat is what I did after spending a couple hundred dollars on parts that did not fix the problem.

Lets Drag · 12-16-2008, 06:28 PM

my guess is... the injectors are to big for it... its over loading on gas and cant burn it... which would cause it to flood out.. and shut down... and after sittin for a bit... it will fire up again.. get smaller injectors

Lets Drag

FoxRod · 12-17-2008, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lets Drag

my guess is... the injectors are to big for it... its over loading on gas and cant burn it... which would cause it to flood out.. and shut down... and after sittin for a bit... it will fire up again.. get smaller injectors

Lets Drag

Exactly what I was thinking, so its at a mustang shop to get a custom tune.

Lets Drag · 12-17-2008, 04:21 PM

Thats what it sounds like to me

).. or it could be the fuel pump... if it dont smell flooded out and your doging it to hell speeding... the fuel pump might not be pumping the fuel fast enough to keep up with the engine... its one of the two

FoxRod · 12-18-2008, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lets Drag

Thats what it sounds like to me

).. or it could be the fuel pump... if it dont smell flooded out and your doging it to hell speeding... the fuel pump might not be pumping the fuel fast enough to keep up with the engine... its one of the two

Its never run above 3500 yet, because I was breaking in the engine and new trans for the first 500 miles. When I sent it down to the tuner the trunk was full of optional stuff to install in case it needed more fuel or different pulley sizes. I trust pauls work, so I guess we will see what happens. This is the first time I ever shopped any car thing out. But since I do not have the time to learn tuning, figured leave it to a pro. If he tunes it and still the problem is there. I can only assume when the previous owner did a horrid job of dissassembly that a ground or somthing is cut. I decided I would just remove the harness and install a painless harness. The car was low mileage the previous owner dissassembled it to make a show car. We instead of using the proper tools to remove plugs, he like to just cut them. Probably spent more time wiring the car then anything. I have a feeling it might be somthing that might be jumping to a ground or somthing.

Lets Drag · 12-19-2008, 01:08 AM

thats possible also...

10-06-2008, 11:46 AM	#1
Three02much Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 12	Car dies, I'm out of ideas. I have a 95 gt, with a 347 and aluminum heads. When i got the car running with the new motor i noticed that every once in a while on the highway the car would randomly miss, just once on one cylinder. but it wasn't like a miss, the best way i could describe it would be a hiccup. when it happened it felt like the motor quit for a split second and jumped back to life, more violent than a miss would be. I figured it was because i haven't had the car tuned with a chip. So This problem maybe happened once a month. so the other day the car completely shut off, except for the gauges, so it had power. Then i tried to start it, it would crank for three seconds, fire and die. Then after letting it sit for a while i was able to start it and get the motor revved up a little, once it fell below 2000r's it died and didn't start like before. I replaced the pickup coil, and checked the coil, now the car starts but wont rev up over 2500 r's Next im looking at the ignition module. it has good plugs and wires, good fuel pressure. what else could it be, maf? oh and the air conditioner doesn't work anymore, blowers work but no cold air. any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

10-06-2008, 12:38 PM	#2
goodyear1984 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: new york Posts: 482	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. it would be good if u can list ur mods so we know what u have on the car.ps with out a dyno tune and a chip it will never run to what its capiable of __________________ 347 stroker all forged,arp everything,stud mains w/girdle,7qt pan,full roller, custom cam, aluminum heads swirl valves 5 angle valve job.quick fuel 750,areomotive pump,cobras w/nitto drags,and m/t et drags for the track, ford racing 373 gears,centerforce clutch,tko500,underdrive pulleys,bassani x-pipe,flowmasters ^best et so far 11.6 1.61 60ft coming soon 9sec et's 1992 mustang gt 2001 gmc 1500 4x4 78 century boat 92 skidoo

10-06-2008, 01:08 PM	#3
Three02much Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 12	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. Mods.. 347 stroker, 24lb injectors and calibrated maf, ford motorsport svo upper and gt40 lower intake, patriot 185 heads, comp ultra gold rockers, comp 555/565 274 xtreme energy cam, comp hydraulic lifters, no egr, no secondary air injection. 80 mm throttle body, exhaust , adj fp regulator, tremec tko, 390 gears. car ran good and idled good, no problems, fuel pressure set at 38 w/ vaccum off. 10 degrees base timing, properly set tps. I know i need a chip but i was able to get the car running great by adjusting those things, it was just a little bit rich. before this it had a 347 with everything stock except no egr, and no secondary air injection, removal of those didn't seem to effect the car negativley at all. after these other mods the car ran fine except for the occasional highway miss for 8 months.

10-08-2008, 08:05 PM	#4
Three02much Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 12	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. Here's what I've found out. The Motor will rev but begins missing above 2500 rpm. The fuel pressure increases when the motor is revved, seems to make sense? I don't have any spark jumping or a bad wire. The miss is completely random. It does it regardless of the load on the engine. Misses with the spout connector out and in. My ICM has a good ground, and full battery voltage, same for the pickup coil. A/C worked yesterday but not today, A vacuum issue? I checked for vacuum leaks and found noting, plus the motor doesn't act like it has a leak. Could a bad cap and rotor cause this? Once again guys any ideas would be great

10-09-2008, 04:41 AM	#5
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. Tap on the MAF with the back of a screwdriver while the engine is running. A lot of times, you'll get a change in how it runs by doing that. If it's missing like that, I'm guessing it's not getting fuel one way or another. A single fuel injector would not cause a stall, and a TPS problem will generally present itself only a single throttle setting (idle, 1/4 throttle), but not across the board. The fuel pump would be suspect, but you say you've got good fuel pressure. The IAC won't impact revving performance, the O2 sensors drop out of the loop under WOT and when the engine is cold so you can rule them out. The EGR won't stall your engine with part throttle. The ignition module is usually all or nothing, but I have seen them do what you're describing. I would wager ignition module or MAF.

10-13-2008, 12:07 AM	#6
goodyear1984 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: new york Posts: 482	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. when the icm goes 99% of the time they quit when hot because the resistance get higher when hot and usally car will stop running when hot.rule out one thing at a time take a spake tester and connect it between the wire and plug.see how its sparking when it is skiping.also check all the plugs and look to see if one of them looks way diff from the others,pay attention which plug came from which cyl __________________ 347 stroker all forged,arp everything,stud mains w/girdle,7qt pan,full roller, custom cam, aluminum heads swirl valves 5 angle valve job.quick fuel 750,areomotive pump,cobras w/nitto drags,and m/t et drags for the track, ford racing 373 gears,centerforce clutch,tko500,underdrive pulleys,bassani x-pipe,flowmasters ^best et so far 11.6 1.61 60ft coming soon 9sec et's 1992 mustang gt 2001 gmc 1500 4x4 78 century boat 92 skidoo

10-13-2008, 10:04 AM	#7
Three02much Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 12	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. im going to replace the icm today. i checked the wires with an led test light and seemed to flash correctly, but its hard to tell because it only misses in the higher rpm ranges. i didn't get it hot enough to where it totally dies but i think i got it narrowed down enough to be confident that it is the icm.

10-16-2008, 06:33 PM	#8
Three02much Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 12	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. After i replaced the pickup coil the car missed, i put the new ICM in and it still missed. I went back to the original pickup coil and now the car runs fine, got it warm, drove it around for 30 mins no problems. Except for a slip in the drive train, when i punched it in fifth gear the motor revved faster than the car accelerated. I don't smell a hot clutch. I didn't do anything to the diff when i put the gears in, (they have been in for three years) so what typically happens when the diff goes, is it a common problem? If I rebuilt the diff would it hold up. car has about 350 hp? __________________ 95 GT, 347, 185cc Aluminum Heads, 24lb Injectors, Cobra MAF, Extreme Energy 274 Cam, Ultra Gold Rockers, Comp Lifters, Comp Pushrods, 10.5:1 Compression, SVO Intake, 80mm Throttle Body, Smog Delete, Centerforce Clutch, Scatter Shield, Tremec TKO, 390 Gearset, Upper and Lower Suspension Arms.

10-21-2008, 03:07 PM	#9
Three02much Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 12	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. Ok put in a new clutch this weekend but the electrical issue came back. i drove it probably 50 miles during the daytime in 80+ degrees after i replaced the ICM. Drove to a party the next day, left around 11 or 12 pm got on the highway and the car began to die again, but when it did i would press the gas a little and it would start to run roughly and backfire then run fine for a minute. it did this for maybe ten minutes then ran fine the rest of the way home, i even got into it a little to see, everything ran fine. next morning i started it up and could tell that it was running poorly, it wouldn't idle well, kind of hard to start, did not run smooth ( like the timing was way off ) __________________ 95 GT, 347, 185cc Aluminum Heads, 24lb Injectors, Cobra MAF, Extreme Energy 274 Cam, Ultra Gold Rockers, Comp Lifters, Comp Pushrods, 10.5:1 Compression, SVO Intake, 80mm Throttle Body, Smog Delete, Centerforce Clutch, Scatter Shield, Tremec TKO, 390 Gearset, Upper and Lower Suspension Arms.

10-21-2008, 03:35 PM	#10
Three02much Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 12	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. I think that it is a fuel problem because i have been through most of the ignition components and still have issues. Plus the car's exhaust smells extremely rich when idling in the drive way, It burns my nose, and makes my eyes water and the car does have cats. I checked the tps and the voltage went from .98 all the way to 4.65 with nothing in between that seemed out of the ordinary. Any way to check the maf. I have the stock maf but it is for 18 lb injectors and when i put it on it totally changes the way the car runs and i am unable to determine if it solves the problem. __________________ 95 GT, 347, 185cc Aluminum Heads, 24lb Injectors, Cobra MAF, Extreme Energy 274 Cam, Ultra Gold Rockers, Comp Lifters, Comp Pushrods, 10.5:1 Compression, SVO Intake, 80mm Throttle Body, Smog Delete, Centerforce Clutch, Scatter Shield, Tremec TKO, 390 Gearset, Upper and Lower Suspension Arms.

10-31-2008, 11:41 AM	#11
FoxRod Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 3	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. What kind of distributor holder are you using. When I built my car I used one from UPR that was not applying enough pressure. So I installed a stock one and the distributor didn't move anymore. I have a random no start also and replace most of the ignition and still have the random problem

11-27-2008, 10:11 AM	#12
5.0JOE Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Hastings, MI, 49058 Posts: 1	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. I have had this problem before. If you still have the cats hooked up then one of them has plugged up. A plugged cat will do everything that you have described. IF you still have them on unhook the h pipe and run the car when it is cold to see if it changes. THiat is what I did after spending a couple hundred dollars on parts that did not fix the problem. __________________ 🔨

12-16-2008, 06:28 PM	#13
Lets Drag Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 6	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. my guess is... the injectors are to big for it... its over loading on gas and cant burn it... which would cause it to flood out.. and shut down... and after sittin for a bit... it will fire up again.. get smaller injectors Lets Drag

12-17-2008, 04:21 PM	#15
Lets Drag Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 6	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. Thats what it sounds like to me ).. or it could be the fuel pump... if it dont smell flooded out and your doging it to hell speeding... the fuel pump might not be pumping the fuel fast enough to keep up with the engine... its one of the two

12-19-2008, 01:08 AM	#17
Lets Drag Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 6	Re: Car dies, I'm out of ideas. thats possible also...

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