I have a 2000 Mercury Villager with 6 cylinder engine and 117+000 miles. It stalled out on me after starting to sputter.
I feels like a problem I had with a Toyota some years back. It had a distributor and the ignition module went south. But this is fuel injected. I could be ignition problem, fuel filter clogged, fuel pump problem, dirty injectors, grounding problem, or ? There was no check engine light, or any other warning light before the problem. I have done lots of car repair and maintenance and plan on fixing what I can short of a computer/ignition problem. Yes it does have gas.
Comparing your current problem with a problem you had with “a Toyota some years back” is a waste of time.
You’ve told us about your Toyota’s problem, “some years back,” but you’ve told us little about your current problem, despite what you may think.
We need more information. Lots more information. And please don’t tell us about your Toyota if you want help with your Mercury.
Minor point: Fuel injection <> electrical so <> ignition.
“<>” is “does not equal”
You’re all over the map, and not even on your current ride. Details. Read post above, please.
O.K.; The car sputtered a bit about a week ago, but straightened out. Today I drove to a store and when I left (shortly after I started to drive away) it started to sputter I.E. It began to run like it was missing. I believed that I could get it back home about 3 miles away. But it got progressively worse and stalled out completely half way home. There is some more info to offer. About 2 hours ago I put 2 quarts of oil in it to eliminate the possibility that low oil was causing the computer to shut the engine down. It started but ran rough as though it was not running on all cylinders. Any other info you will have to ask me about specifically.
Thank you for time and attention.
Response to new comment while posting this comment:
Yes, after I looked under the hood, I realized that the fuel injection and ignition system are different; my ignorance. I have mostly experience with cars 20 years or more old without fuel injection.
Had no idea you were typing, so an apology for that. You’d be surprised at the things people connect, so it’s always good to make sure you’re clear.
This sounds like a fuel delivery problem. Could be the fuel pump isn’t putting out enough pressure, or the fuel regulator isn’t working properly. I would perform a fuel pressure test next, if you have the equipment. I don’t think I ever had (or needed) one when I was working on motors with carburetors, so you may not either. Very few of those had electric fuel pumps, though.
When was the last time the fuel filter was replaced?
I have not replaced the fuel filter while I have had it. I don’t have fuel pressure equip. I would just find the fuel feed line and disconnect it and put the end in a glass jar and crank the engine. In my experience with fuel filters, (again old paper element filters) they haven’t cause cars to stall and refuse to start. I had a Chevy Monza (tail end of Vega line) that had an electric fuel pump in the gas tank. That was an electrical problem.
It just failed, no warning signs. The problem was a section of wire harness with aluminum wires. But that is ‘off topic’ sorry.
thanks for time and attention
It’s the “started to sputter” that’s leading me to a fuel delivery problem. Turn the key to on (not start), and listen for the fuel pump. If it runs, and then turns off, the pump may be OK. If it doesn’t run at all, check the fuses and the relay.
Just because the fuel pump is running doesn’t mean it’s running correctly, nor that the pressure is making it all the way to the engine.
Now, error codes collected are P0340 and P0325. Search reveals camshaft position sensor circuit for P0340 and knock sensor for P0325. Any ideas regarding a reason why both of these items would be the result of the same problem?
Sometimes one problem will set multiple codes. I’d try to find the diagnostic information for testing these sensors before throwing parts at it. I would suspect the cam position sensor being the problem, but who knows.
I solved this problem by replacing the distributor. I got a tester and got the fault codes that pointed to the distributor. It tended to confirm my original suspicion that it was the power module, but since the power module is not a separate component, as is the coil and the cam shaft sensor (fault code) I had to replaced the whole distributor. It is probably the easiest thing to replace on this car; easier that taken out some of the plugs.