Cruiser Died While Driving (1 Viewer)

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Jul 18, 2020
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6
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251
Location
VA
I was having an intermittent issue where my cruiser would seemingly lose power for a moment and the kick back into gear. It had happened at low speed and highway speeds. It always happened so quick and so intermittently that I would forget about it. A couple weeks ago it died completely while driving about 15 mph, but then started right back up after I pulled over to a stop. I wish I could remember, but I'm fairly certain that everything went dark, so I'm starting to think it may be a loose battery terminal or bad ground, but I haven't been able to check and my memory isn't 100% if everything went dark or not. There were no check engine lights and no seemingly related codes (I had a C2121 ongoing and B1152 in the history). I replaced the fuel pump and thought I was good to go. Tonight I was on the highway and experienced the same power loss symptom momentarily. Again, no codes. I need some advice on where to go from here.

Edit: I suspected complete electrical power loss but that is not the case.
 
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Your MAF has gone to *hit. Even if its cleaned, its a goner. I'll save you the months of troubleshooting I had including fuel pump, fusebox, fuel filter, fuel pressure regulator.
 
Before replacing unneeded parts. I suggest you check all the cats for clog and also alternator for corroded or loose wires. To do a quick test on MAF, unplug the MAF while the engine is idling, if the engine doesn't die after unplugging MAF that would indicate bad MAF.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I replaced the MAF about 2 years ago with a new OEM unit so I don't think that's the problem.

If the cats were clogged would that throw a code? I'll take a look at the alternator situation.
 
Clean and tighten battery terminals. These cause a host of issues, don't necessarily cause things to go dark.
Did I say clean and tighten battery terminals.
 
Mine did the same thing and Medtro‘s EFI bypass kit solved my issue. I was driving around 5-10mph and it stalled out, fired back up, 2 weeks later the same thing again. Then I had issues with crank no start. Received the kit and no issues since.
 
Mine did the same thing and Medtro‘s EFI bypass kit solved my issue. I was driving around 5-10mph and it stalled out, fired back up, 2 weeks later the same thing again. Then I had issues with crank no start. Received the kit and no issues since.

hmm so you had stalling issues before having a no-start condition? Interestingly I've also had a few occasions where the car acted like it was going to start, then sort of died out, and then started right up on the second try. Did you have any codes associated with the condition?

@medtro I see that you "Liked" Hokie99's post, do you mind to comment as well and let me know if you think my symptoms would potentially be related to what your kit fixes? I'm reading through the thread now as well.
 
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No codes.

you can bypass the efi relay with a wire to see if this solves you problem and if it does then order the kit from Medtro

I would PM him for more trouble shooting details
 
Start with the simple stuff. Check battery terminals - tight and clean.

I had the same thing happen and thought it could be fusebox, fuel pump, all those things. Turned out the wire that goes to oil sending unit and crank position sensor had been routed incorrectly after last timing belt. The wire was rubbing on accessory belt and shorting out -- I'd pull over, and it would crank right back up.

Might not be your issue, but here's how I found it with photos: Update: Potential Culprit Found? —> 2000 LC Dies, Battery, Check Engine, AT Oil Temp Lights - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/update-potential-culprit-found-2000-lc-dies-battery-check-engine-at-oil-temp-lights.1224377/
 
Just as an update, battery terminals were clean, and clamps were tight. I cleaned the posts anyway, and re-clamped. On my first attempt to start, it cranked, acted like it was going to start, stumbled, and died. It started up on the second crank, just like it always does when it behaves like that. I let it idle for about 5 minutes for the RPMs to drop, then drove ~10 miles home without issue. I wasn't aware of the potential immobilizer issue at the time so I did not watch to see if that light was on or off while cranking.
 
Perhaps I missed it. How is your fuel system? Filter, pump, etc...
 
@medtro I see that you "Liked" Hokie99's post, do you mind to comment as well and let me know if you think my symptoms would potentially be related to what your kit fixes? I'm reading through the thread now as well.

If you have blinking security light while engine cranks, then please follow troubleshooting instructions in post #51. This is not a valid test if your security light doesn't blink while engine cranks.
 
YotaWagon, are you using Torque Pro to monitor your engine? If so, that could be the cause. I had similar symptoms last year; and when looking into Torque Pro's forum, there was a owner of a Ford F-150 complaining about the app killing his engine. Ever since dropping Torque Pro, my symptoms disappeared.
 
Just as an update, battery terminals were clean, and clamps were tight. I cleaned the posts anyway, and re-clamped. On my first attempt to start, it cranked, acted like it was going to start, stumbled, and died. It started up on the second crank, just like it always does when it behaves like that. I let it idle for about 5 minutes for the RPMs to drop, then drove ~10 miles home without issue. I wasn't aware of the potential immobilizer issue at the time so I did not watch to see if that light was on or off while cranking.
I have been watching this and I had a feeling it wasn't battery related. I recently had my battery replaced under warranty (bad alternator killed it) and when AAA did it they left the truck running and then just disconnected it and swapped it. Truck didn't seem to mind at all, although I was a little apprehensive of it being switched while running since I have never seen that done before.
 
Also check for a slightly loose engine block ground. Known to cause similar issues.
 
Not to pile one more thing on, but I had a vacuum leak last summer that caused stumbling on startup and died a couple times when coming to a stop while driving.
 
Updating before I forget: died again when entering a roundabout (low speed, maybe 5-10 mph) on 6/27. Still troubleshooting and will organize what I've done so far. First time it died was around 4/14.
 

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