New ignition issue on 2005 Bird with 29k miles.

[Rusty_G]

Some background info on the car. Purchased it with 23K miles, experienced coil issue at about 26k miles and replaced all of them. Car has not had any other issues until now. My wife and I drove it last Sunday from Cleveland to Columbus for a White Castle run and it was fine except for one time it seemed to hiccup just once on the highway. I was driving it locally yesterday on a 55mph road and it started cutting in and out, as if you were turning the ignition on and off. It would do this for a few seconds then be back to normal. It started doing this again, but got bad enough I began to lose speed. I then shifted to D4 to keep the RPM up, but the tach went to about 900RPM. I felt like the engine had stalled. I let off the gas and was coasting when the engine came back on at 2000 or so RPM (this leads me to believe that the engine was still turning just with no ignition). I managed to get it back home about 5 miles away with the problem happening intermittently and not quite as severely as when it died completely. This felt much different than the coils, when they went bad it was one or two cylinders misfiring, not all cutting out at the same time. Has anyone else experienced this, and if so what was the remedy? Thanks!

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[Bond007]

Have you checked for codes with an OBD2 reader? Any signs of overheating? Could it be going into “limp mode”? Just my first thoughts.

 

[Rusty_G]

4 pending codes, lean bank 1 & 2, O2S stuck lean 1 & 2. Node hard codes set. Temperature was fine. Actually, while idling reading codes and data, it just set a hard code for lean bank 2. It didn't feel like limp mode.

 

[Anthony C]

What are the code numbers?
What is the fuel pressure ? Dirty/clogged filter?
Did you change fuel brands? E85?
Check for vacuum leaks ........ hoses , intake manifold....
Sticky IAC......
Air filter fitment ...... dirty Mass Air Flow

 

[Rusty_G]

What are the code numbers?
What is the fuel pressure ? Dirty/clogged filter?
Did you change fuel brands? E85?
Check for vacuum leaks ........ hoses , intake manifold....
Sticky IAC......
Air filter fitment ...... dirty Mass Air Flow

P0171, P0174, P2195, P2197
Haven't checked pressure or done any other diagnostic work yet. These cars seem to be predictable in their problems so I thought I would ask if anyone else has had a similar issue. Weather here turned cold again, so I will do more diagnostic if it ever warms back up.

 

[Anthony C]

More than likely a cracked hose causing a bad vacuum leak since both banks are lean .... if it was just one bank I would say a defective O2 sensor.....

 

[Rog]

Some background info on the car. Purchased it with 23K miles, experienced coil issue at about 26k miles and replaced all of them. Car has not had any other issues until now. My wife and I drove it last Sunday from Cleveland to Columbus for a White Castle run and it was fine except for one time it seemed to hiccup just once on the highway. I was driving it locally yesterday on a 55mph road and it started cutting in and out, as if you were turning the ignition on and off. It would do this for a few seconds then be back to normal. It started doing this again, but got bad enough I began to lose speed. I then shifted to D4 to keep the RPM up, but the tach went to about 900RPM. I felt like the engine had stalled. I let off the gas and was coasting when the engine came back on at 2000 or so RPM (this leads me to believe that the engine was still turning just with no ignition). I managed to get it back home about 5 miles away with the problem happening intermittently and not quite as severely as when it died completely. This felt much different than the coils, when they went bad it was one or two cylinders misfiring, not all cutting out at the same time. Has anyone else experienced this, and if so what was the remedy? Thanks!

 

[Anthony C]

There is no easy answer for this condition you are describing. I had a very similar condition with a Mercedes. After weeks of wire tracing, testing, driving and swapping parts ...... Finally, on a rainy day the car suddenly shut off while driving. Crank, no start condition. After a tow home I noticed water dripping from under the dash. Ta-Da! The harness that supplies power to the fuel pump was dripping..... ?? Pulling the dash apart, I found a leaky windshield gasket allowing water to drip directly on the connector. Disconnecting the connector reviled nasty corroded contacts. Replaced the contacts and had the windshield re-installed. So I would recommend carefully examining your harness connectors and look for chewed wires. Dir you ever rinse off under the hood?

 

[Frankie the Fink]

I haven't experienced "limp mode" yet on a retro T-Bird (hopefully never will!). Could these symptoms be that safety feature cutting in due to some other issue as suggested by the poster in post #2 ?

And without an OBDC diagnostic scan this car's owner is missing out on a key troubleshooting tool that could very well lead him straight to the issue.... Until that is performed most of what will be brought forth is guessing or anecdotal from someone's past experience..

 

[Anthony C]

Frankie .... The scan tool is your friend.... (Autel Maxicheck Pro) a necessary tool. The CPU also stores codes that may not cause the check engine light to come on. I also have a laptop loaded with software (Forscan) that does a very good interrogation. Between the two I think I got it covered.
BTW anyone from the South Jersey is welcome to stop by if they need help with their vehicles.

 

[DealerDude]

Some background info on the car. Purchased it with 23K miles, experienced coil issue at about 26k miles and replaced all of them. Car has not had any other issues until now. My wife and I drove it last Sunday from Cleveland to Columbus for a White Castle run and it was fine except for one time it seemed to hiccup just once on the highway. I was driving it locally yesterday on a 55mph road and it started cutting in and out, as if you were turning the ignition on and off. It would do this for a few seconds then be back to normal. It started doing this again, but got bad enough I began to lose speed. I then shifted to D4 to keep the RPM up, but the tach went to about 900RPM. I felt like the engine had stalled. I let off the gas and was coasting when the engine came back on at 2000 or so RPM (this leads me to believe that the engine was still turning just with no ignition). I managed to get it back home about 5 miles away with the problem happening intermittently and not quite as severely as when it died completely. This felt much different than the coils, when they went bad it was one or two cylinders misfiring, not all cutting out at the same time. Has anyone else experienced this, and if so what was the remedy? Thanks!

Sure is a long way to go for a hamburger. They use to be really good, not so great anymore in my opinion.

 

[Charlie 2004]

4 pending codes, lean bank 1 & 2, O2S stuck lean 1 & 2. Node hard codes set. Temperature was fine. Actually, while idling reading codes and data, it just set a hard code for lean bank 2. It didn't feel like limp mode.

Rusty- Did you find a fix? My 2004 has the check engine light on and OBD 2 says P0171, P0174, P0402, P2195, and P2197. Not real sure where to start looking Thanks for any help-- Charlie