Glad to hear the problem is solved. I can see how a CV joint could feel like stutter, but not how it would cause a stall, but strange things do happen.
I’m still not convinced and can’t follow your story. You had noticeable arcing, no arcing, back to arcing. You stated you had continued problems after the VRIS was changed.
A bad halfshaft could cause a stutter but not a stall. A bad halfshaft is also going to act up all of the time; not just after 20-50 miles of driving.
The VRIS and a halfshaft is also not going to cause a tachometer needle twitch.
Keep us informed. I’m not sold on any of that just yet.
I don’t think there ever were, “wires arcing”! It was, only, misfire, wasn’t it? I think you heard someone use the words “wires arcing”, and you used the words indiscriminately to describe the engine problem.
Accurate description is very important in this forum. When people are mislead by the careless use of terms, they can’t perform accurate diagnosis.
“I hope you didn’t try to get by with a 12 dollar wire set.”
Or just as bad one of the designer sets for $70. More money does not always mean better wires. OEM quality wires from a knows brand is your best buy.
Let me explain this arcing issue.
When I took the car to the FIRST mechanic, the diagnosis was an engine misfire. This diagnosis included ARCING between the spark plug wires and the engine block. This was why a new set of spark plug wires as well as taping the wires was tried. I described this a couple of times previously. The mechanics told me there was arcing between the engine and the block, but there was no explanation. The engine was misfiring and it was assumed the misfire and the arcing was related. I assumed solving the misfire issue would solve the arcing issue.
The sound of the arcing, which I previously just assumed to be valve noise, has been eliminated since the timing was adjusted and a new VRIS solenoid was installed.
Whether the arcing existed or not, I can’t confirm because I never PERSONALLY saw it. I can only say what the mechanics told me and what I’ve heard from the engine (the assumed valve noise).
The bad news is that it doesn’t seem like the problem has gone away, so ok4450 was right about that.
I was driving tonight, after about 300 miles of trouble-free and smooth running, when things went bad again. The car stuttered a little, so I put it in neutral (it is a 5 speed). The odometer began jumping around a little bit. The engine got pretty close to shutting off, but the RPM’s jumped up and down a few more times and the engine never died. The check engine light went on, the odomoeter jumped around a little bit more, and then everything went back to normal. I continued driving home about 15 miles with no more trouble.
What might this be? Throttle position sensor? A speed sensor?
I will get the codes read tomorrow and report back.
Thanks guys!
I think you need to look into the grounds for the computer or maybe a new computer. The more I read about this, the more I’m convinced its the computer. I went through a similar series of events with a Dodge Colt once, the computer kept point to a bunch of sensors, but it turned out to be a ground run on the computers motherboard that was causing all the problems.
I’m still leaning towards an ignition coil. Since you’ve had chronic misfires, arcing, and who knows what the ignition coil is one of the items in the line that can be damaged by this.
A misfiring spark plug can kill a spark plug wire which can kill an ignition coil which can kill an ignition module…
Just like a string of dominos; push one and they all fall eventually.
As I mentioned, a jumping tach needle usually points to the secondary ignition; the coil, ignition module, or distributor.
Thank you keith and ok4450 for the replies. Both of you bring up extremely good points and my code says you both might be right. I got the codes read on a cheap scanner. There was one code. P1345. This is a CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR MALFUNCTION.
Apprently this is not a seperate part, but an integral part of the distributor. I’ve done some more research and apparently this can also be a possible sign of other problems, such as the PCM, as keith alluded to.
I came across this page–> http://ford.justanswer.com/view_image.aspx?href=%2Fuploads%2F32dmadden%2F2007-04-11_222923_scan0056.jpg
Which is apparently a method to trouble shoot the problem. This is the same code I had before I took it to the Ford dealer. The code they said was for the VRIS Solenoid.
Anyway, since the odomoter craziness and the code setting, the car has run great since. I am not scared of the car leaving my stranded, so I intend on driving the car while I try to figure this thing out. Maybe there will be a castastrophic failure that will give everything away, but I might not be so lucky.
I guess I will look into methods for testing the PCM and its grounds. Should this be my first step, or am I heading in the wrong direction?
Thats a good place to start, but there is one more possibility before investing in a new computer. Remove the distributor cap and rotor. Now turn the engine over until you get a vane on the reluctor to line up with the thin metal strip on the pickup. Now get a brass feeler gauge of about .010" and slip it between the vane and the pickup. Now push the top of the rotor to see if you can increase the gap. If you try this without a feeler gauge, you cannot see if there is a slight movement. If the gap opens up, you may have a worn distributor shaft bushing.
This can cause many of your symptoms as well. If the shaft has just a little play, the misfires will be intermittent but will get worse with time. I know your distributor was replaced about 10,000 miles ago so I didn’t bring this up earlier. It should not be bad if the distributor was remaned properly but its worth checking into.
Here is Auto Zone’s instructions for checking the camshaft position sensor with a scan tool http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/14/47/c1/0900823d801447c1.jsp Check the wiring to the distributor, carefully. Disconnect, inspect the pins and terminals, and reconnect each electrical connector to, or from, the distributor.
I appreaciate the responses.
I will try and do some of the testing you both described as soon as I get a chance and report back.
Thanks!
Even though this thread is ridiculously long, I’d like to keep you all updated.
The current diagnosis is a crankshaft position wire with its insulation worn through. The wire was rubbing up on the water pump belt because it was not routed properly with the CPS was installed a few months ago. This wire has been replaced and so far so good.
If indeed this is the cuase, I will be even more dissapointed with the Ford dealer not being able to wiggle some wires and trace this down…
I’m glad the cause was found; but, which was it? Was it the camshaft position sensor, or the crankshaft position sensor?
The wire on the crankshaft position sensor is cut up. The code, P1345 was for a camshaft position sensor malfunction. The camshaft position sensor is an integral part of the distributor which is evidently getting all kinds of bad information from the crankshaft position sensor.