OK, so I was on my way home a minute ago and something strange happened. I was sitting at a red light when all of a sudden the warning alarm (Not sure what to call it, it just goes beep) went off, the battery light came on, the oil presser dropped to 0 and the message center read, 'check gauges', and then it died. Lucky for me it started right back up and made it the extra 3 blocks home, but any ideas of whats causing it? It has been running a little different the last few days, like maybe a little loss of power, but nothing really major until this. Thanks guys!
What just happened to my truck/Need answers
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OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Tank of bad gas perhaps?
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Tank of bad gas perhaps?
hmmmm, never thought about that. I just put in a half tank from empty at a station that I don't normally use, so maybe
Tank of bad gas perhaps?
hmmmm, never thought about that. I just put in a half tank from empty at a station that I don't normally use, so maybe
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
I've had similar situations with bad gas, so I just stick to Esso, Shell, or Petro-Canada up here.
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
I've had similar situations with bad gas, so I just stick to Esso, Shell, or Petro-Canada up here.
Likewise. Ever since I had problems following a fill-up at a discount corner gas station, I stick to the Shell, Chevron, Esso, or Petro-Can. The newer the station, the better, as presumably there is less junk in the tanks.
I've had similar situations with bad gas, so I just stick to Esso, Shell, or Petro-Canada up here.
Likewise. Ever since I had problems following a fill-up at a discount corner gas station, I stick to the Shell, Chevron, Esso, or Petro-Can. The newer the station, the better, as presumably there is less junk in the tanks.
Originally Posted By: wheelman
Fuel filter, fuel pump getting weak ? Low voltage maybe from a loose wire or old battery?
I've been running these through my head. The fuel filter is due for a change and the battery is close to 3 years old, so anything is possible
Fuel filter, fuel pump getting weak ? Low voltage maybe from a loose wire or old battery?
I've been running these through my head. The fuel filter is due for a change and the battery is close to 3 years old, so anything is possible
Vacuum line? When we had our old 98 Ford Winstar with the 3.0 Vulcan, it died at a stoplight once, turned out to be a cracked vacuum line.
This is the Ford with the 4.6L in your sig, right?
It's a Ford so clean the throttle body. If you have a throttle cable (not drive by wire) you also have an IAC. They tend to develop two different problems causing a stall, one of can be fixed just by taking it off and cleaning it out with throttle plate cleaner. If you have drive-by-wire (no throttle cable) it shouldn't cause stalling unless very dirty, but if it's a little dirty AND has a failing winding, that can do it. Any of these problems would typically cause a stall just after stopping, but could happen while sitting stopped.
An ignition related misfire could also make you stall at an idle. The Fords are typically much more tolerant of misfires before turning on the check engine light than some other makes. You CAN have a misfire that is bad enough to stall the engine without the engine light turning on even though the PCM knows the misfire is there. If you have any access to an OBDII scan tool, query the mode 6 data. For a MY2004 truck the test ID is $53 (that's 53 hex which is 83 in decimal notation, should your scan tool be decimal) and the component IDs correspond to the cylinder numbers. A higher test value means more misfires per 1000 revolutions on that cylinder. A suitable tool may be available for loan or rent from a parts or tool store. You can probably buy one new for maybe $120 as a standalone or $60 requiring a laptop. Your common causes for a misfire (most common to least) would be dying coil (internal failure of insulating material), eroded/worn spark plug, deteriorated coil boot, clogged catalytic converter (check for low vacuum at high RPM), fouled spark plug, PCM high internal resistance on coil driver ckt. There are certainly other possibilities, but those are the most common, and if it were the PCM it would probably throw a P035x code regardless of whether or not it was bad enough for a P030x misfire code.
If this just happened after a refuel from nearly empty, yes, there's a possibility you cooled the fuel pump too quickly and broke it. If so, you'd more likely see a no-start problem than a die-on-road problem. Bad gas or wrong gas can also be a factor, but if so you should have a check engine light on with a P0171 and/or P0174 code.
Still, if this is a one time event, it could be tough to track down. If it were becoming a habit or turned on the check engine light it would be both easier and more important to figure out.
It's a Ford so clean the throttle body. If you have a throttle cable (not drive by wire) you also have an IAC. They tend to develop two different problems causing a stall, one of can be fixed just by taking it off and cleaning it out with throttle plate cleaner. If you have drive-by-wire (no throttle cable) it shouldn't cause stalling unless very dirty, but if it's a little dirty AND has a failing winding, that can do it. Any of these problems would typically cause a stall just after stopping, but could happen while sitting stopped.
An ignition related misfire could also make you stall at an idle. The Fords are typically much more tolerant of misfires before turning on the check engine light than some other makes. You CAN have a misfire that is bad enough to stall the engine without the engine light turning on even though the PCM knows the misfire is there. If you have any access to an OBDII scan tool, query the mode 6 data. For a MY2004 truck the test ID is $53 (that's 53 hex which is 83 in decimal notation, should your scan tool be decimal) and the component IDs correspond to the cylinder numbers. A higher test value means more misfires per 1000 revolutions on that cylinder. A suitable tool may be available for loan or rent from a parts or tool store. You can probably buy one new for maybe $120 as a standalone or $60 requiring a laptop. Your common causes for a misfire (most common to least) would be dying coil (internal failure of insulating material), eroded/worn spark plug, deteriorated coil boot, clogged catalytic converter (check for low vacuum at high RPM), fouled spark plug, PCM high internal resistance on coil driver ckt. There are certainly other possibilities, but those are the most common, and if it were the PCM it would probably throw a P035x code regardless of whether or not it was bad enough for a P030x misfire code.
If this just happened after a refuel from nearly empty, yes, there's a possibility you cooled the fuel pump too quickly and broke it. If so, you'd more likely see a no-start problem than a die-on-road problem. Bad gas or wrong gas can also be a factor, but if so you should have a check engine light on with a P0171 and/or P0174 code.
Still, if this is a one time event, it could be tough to track down. If it were becoming a habit or turned on the check engine light it would be both easier and more important to figure out.
Renegade,,,Pay attention to what YonYon says,,to the letter,the man Does know what he's talking about,,without any doubt.These are the kinda things,,that all of us,who work in shops have been dealing with for a long time,,manufactures have made diagnostics,,a very precise ordeal,and sometimes,even we can't figure them out.Oh,,you can replace this or replace that and hope that it fixes the problem,,but YonYon has obviously been on the receiving end of trying to track down a problem like yours,,,and YES,,it might be a simple repair,,,but do yourself a favor, to make sure that the problem is fixed,,follow his instructions.I'm a GM guy,,he is obviously FORD,,,he know what he's talikng about.I'm even tempted to print off what he quoted,for my own files,,you usually don't get that much information from anyone on these forums.
Thanks everybody who replied. Yonyon, I will deff. clean the throttle body and will look into a misfire/ related problem as well. The coolent level was fine, and that was the first thing I checked since it hit over 80 here yesterday
Originally Posted By: beaker60
Renegade,,,Pay attention to what YonYon says,,to the letter,the man Does know what he's talking about,,without any doubt.These are the kinda things,,that all of us,who work in shops have been dealing with for a long time,,manufactures have made diagnostics,,a very precise ordeal,and sometimes,even we can't figure them out.Oh,,you can replace this or replace that and hope that it fixes the problem,,but YonYon has obviously been on the receiving end of trying to track down a problem like yours,,,and YES,,it might be a simple repair,,,but do yourself a favor, to make sure that the problem is fixed,,follow his instructions.I'm a GM guy,,he is obviously FORD,,,he know what he's talikng about.I'm even tempted to print off what he quoted,for my own files,,you usually don't get that much information from anyone on these forums.
I'm a GM guy, all the way! It's just that, well, sometimes Ford happens.
Renegade,,,Pay attention to what YonYon says,,to the letter,the man Does know what he's talking about,,without any doubt.These are the kinda things,,that all of us,who work in shops have been dealing with for a long time,,manufactures have made diagnostics,,a very precise ordeal,and sometimes,even we can't figure them out.Oh,,you can replace this or replace that and hope that it fixes the problem,,but YonYon has obviously been on the receiving end of trying to track down a problem like yours,,,and YES,,it might be a simple repair,,,but do yourself a favor, to make sure that the problem is fixed,,follow his instructions.I'm a GM guy,,he is obviously FORD,,,he know what he's talikng about.I'm even tempted to print off what he quoted,for my own files,,you usually don't get that much information from anyone on these forums.
I'm a GM guy, all the way! It's just that, well, sometimes Ford happens.
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