Ted7 Posted July 23 Posted July 23 That's not a joke, I'm super tired of that issue and no shop so far could spot what's wrong with this car! It's a Seven moved with a 2.0 Zetec SVT, it has been recently rebuilt but the issue occurred even before that. The issue : Car drives well, pulls strong, but randomly it cuts off, abruptly, for no reason. Hot, cold, cruising or WOT, absolutely no reason. I drove it at night and when it dies the lights are still on, so it's not an electric issue. When it dies, pushing the clutch pedal all the way restarts the engine (without turning the key in the ignition). Also, randomly when stopping it's idling at 2,500 RPM, and will go down to normal after maybe 15-20 seconds. We had hope it would be the crankshaft sensor, but no, it's not. We wiggled all the cables under the bonnet and couldn't replicate the cut off. Any help to fix that issue and I promise to PayPal, Zelle or Venmo you a hundred $!
sltous Posted July 23 Posted July 23 You've got something weird going on with an ECU ground probably. Maybe somehow the ground path is going through the clutch assembly. I would find a pinout for the ECU, trace back the grounds and one of them is probably on the gearbox housing or the engine block and your ground strap from the chassis to the engine block is probably missing or failed.
Croc Posted July 23 Posted July 23 7 hours ago, Ted7 said: That's not a joke, I'm super tired of that issue and no shop so far could spot what's wrong with this car! It's a Seven moved with a 2.0 Zetec SVT, it has been recently rebuilt but the issue occurred even before that. The issue : Car drives well, pulls strong, but randomly it cuts off, abruptly, for no reason. Hot, cold, cruising or WOT, absolutely no reason. I drove it at night and when it dies the lights are still on, so it's not an electric issue. When it dies, pushing the clutch pedal all the way restarts the engine (without turning the key in the ignition). Also, randomly when stopping it's idling at 2,500 RPM, and will go down to normal after maybe 15-20 seconds. We had hope it would be the crankshaft sensor, but no, it's not. We wiggled all the cables under the bonnet and couldn't replicate the cut off. Any help to fix that issue and I promise to PayPal, Zelle or Venmo you a hundred $! OK - I have seen this before on my old yellow SVT Zetec. But question first - it should be happening as you come off throttle or trailing throttle? It is not under acceleration, correct?
Ted7 Posted July 23 Author Posted July 23 3 hours ago, Croc said: OK - I have seen this before on my old yellow SVT Zetec. But question first - it should be happening as you come off throttle or trailing throttle? It is not under acceleration, correct? It also happens under acceleration too. The only time it won't happen is if I'm at full stop.
wdb Posted July 23 Posted July 23 (edited) Pushing the clutch pedal causes the starter to operate?!? That's bizarre. I'd be looking for pinched wires in the starter solenoid vicinity. Edited July 23 by wdb
S1Steve Posted July 23 Posted July 23 Morning Ted, I had a similar problem years ago with my 7. Something is loose or better yet rubbing in the wire harness, that may have worn a wire down to the copper .In my case it was under the dash. Fuel pump wire was in between the bell housing and the passenger side of a frame tubing.. Start looking at your wiring… Your problem sounds very similar…. Hope you find the solution..
sf4018 Posted July 23 Posted July 23 11 hours ago, Ted7 said: That's not a joke, I'm super tired of that issue and no shop so far could spot what's wrong with this car! It's a Seven moved with a 2.0 Zetec SVT, it has been recently rebuilt but the issue occurred even before that. The issue : Car drives well, pulls strong, but randomly it cuts off, abruptly, for no reason. Hot, cold, cruising or WOT, absolutely no reason. I drove it at night and when it dies the lights are still on, so it's not an electric issue. When it dies, pushing the clutch pedal all the way restarts the engine (without turning the key in the ignition). Also, randomly when stopping it's idling at 2,500 RPM, and will go down to normal after maybe 15-20 seconds. We had hope it would be the crankshaft sensor, but no, it's not. We wiggled all the cables under the bonnet and couldn't replicate the cut off. Any help to fix that issue and I promise to PayPal, Zelle or Venmo you a hundred $! Try adding a light or some indicator temporarily to each of the outputs to the relay circuits relating to the engine starter/ignition, maybe something strange is happening to the key wiring. 2
wdb Posted July 23 Posted July 23 1 hour ago, sf4018 said: Try adding a light or some indicator temporarily to each of the outputs to the relay circuits relating to the engine starter/ignition, maybe something strange is happening to the key wiring. Ah! That would explain why the starter is operating when the clutch is depressed. Clutch pedal interlock switch. Ignition switch stuck or failing? 1
Ted7 Posted July 23 Author Posted July 23 2 hours ago, wdb said: Pushing the clutch pedal causes the starter to operate?!? That's bizarre. I'd be looking for pinched wires in the starter solenoid vicinity. It doesn't, the engine is restarting without turning the key or whatsoever, it just... comes back to life That's very weird...
Ted7 Posted July 23 Author Posted July 23 52 minutes ago, wdb said: Ah! That would explain why the starter is operating when the clutch is depressed. Clutch pedal interlock switch. Ignition switch stuck or failing? It's not equipped with an interlock switch. I can start the car normally without depressing the clutch.
Ted7 Posted July 23 Author Posted July 23 2 hours ago, sf4018 said: Try adding a light or some indicator temporarily to each of the outputs to the relay circuits relating to the engine starter/ignition, maybe something strange is happening to the key wiring. I'm suspecting that too. Investigating.
Ted7 Posted July 23 Author Posted July 23 57 minutes ago, IamScotticus said: Do you have a faulty crash cut-off? Yup. Bypassed it for testing.
MV8 Posted July 23 Posted July 23 The idle is separate from the other issues. Clean the intake passages where the iac bolts on and inside the holes of the iac or replace it. You could also unplug it when it is hot idling normally and leave it unplugged. This will leave it in the right position but won't self adjust. This would cause the idle right after cold start to be low but would not be going to 2500 on it's own and set a check engine light if equipped. Are you saying that when it dies, you can quickly press the clutch pedal and it will recover? It sounds like an intermittent ignition circuit or failing coil pack(s). You could check for stored codes using the diagnostic port (if equipped) and scanner to give some idea what the issue(s) are. If you have no scanner, they will do that for you at most auto parts stores. A bad ground on an older ecm typically leaves no codes. A few clear pictures of the engine bay might help too. Could be a "birds nest" to address rather than a component failure. Connectors get old and brittle, ham fisted mechs can bend pins for intermittent connections, replacement parts are often not made to oem specs. So much to go wrong.
Vovchandr Posted July 23 Posted July 23 You guys might be overthinking the clutch issue. This might be a engine load not an electrical issue. It doesn't die at idle with no load. It died when connected to drive train. Under load or braking Disconnecting the drive load let's the engine spin. Not saying I know why it happens but it's certainly a perspective on the clutch situation. First thing you need to do is try to narrow down conditions when it happens and be able to cause the fault on the regular to help partition it out by doing different acts in the moment.
IamScotticus Posted July 23 Posted July 23 (edited) Do you have the key sensor issue? Old Zetec ECU issue Edited July 24 by IamScotticus
Ted7 Posted July 23 Author Posted July 23 53 minutes ago, Vovchandr said: Stock ECU or standalone? Stock ECU
Ted7 Posted July 23 Author Posted July 23 2 hours ago, Vovchandr said: You guys might be overthinking the clutch issue. This might be a engine load not an electrical issue. Not the clutch, it has been changed with the transmission and it was doing this before the swap.
wdb Posted July 23 Posted July 23 3 hours ago, Vovchandr said: You guys might be overthinking the clutch issue. This might be a engine load not an electrical issue. It doesn't die at idle with no load. It died when connected to drive train. Under load or braking Disconnecting the drive load let's the engine spin. Not saying I know why it happens but it's certainly a perspective on the clutch situation. First thing you need to do is try to narrow down conditions when it happens and be able to cause the fault on the regular to help partition it out by doing different acts in the moment. Depressing the clutch and having the engine "start" may point to a fuel delivery or shutoff issue. Not enough fuel to keep the engine running with any load, but enough for it to run at idle.
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