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I was about an hour into an hour and a half drive with the wife and dog and all of a sudden the engine dies while I'm in the left lane. A month and 1,000 miles into owning this car, it was kind of scary as I've never had that happen to me in a car before but I slowly go over into the right lane and was able to start the car while rolling and kept on our way because there was no shoulder at all on that part of the Palisades Parkway. About 15mins later same thing happened right before an exit so we pulled off and stopped on the side of the road for a few. No check engine lights or any warning lights came on at any time before it happened. We pulled off into a park that miraculously was right off the road and let the car sit for about an hour.
My oil level was a little on the low side (after driving myself nuts trying to read the dipstick correctly) so I added a few ounces of oil to get it back in the middle of the marks on the dipstick and watched the oil level gauge creep back up to the middle. It was hanging around just a hair over the red/low area and close to the bottom low mark on the dipstick. I get a small drip after a spirited drive and the car does not get driven during the week.
Decided to cut our day short and head back home. Drove home with no issues at all and it was 90+ degrees out.
Some back story of things that I have noticed before this all happened....Car recently has been having trouble starting on the first try. It'll turn over and then I'd have to give it some throttle to get it to catch. If I don't give it gas and give up on it, the second try always fires up no problem without having to give it some gas. It's not on a trickle charger as I'm in a public garage. Trying to get the manager to let me hook one up. Idle is also a little bouncy at around 800rpms.
My DME is the Focus 9 solid state with pump prime and it works so that probably isn't the issue.
Dirty ISV? Fuel filter? Fuel pump?
Greg- if it just shut off, it's prob the fuel pump. Or the electrics to the fuel pump. Try first to swap out the dme for a new or "other" one.
Does that car have the 964 or 993 coils? I can't remember if we had swapped to 993 coils on that car...
Also- just for good measure, look in the records and see how old that battery is.
Will try and swap out for other DME relay and see about the start issue.
In early July car was brought it by previous owner for stalling issues…..parts replaced….New ignition wires, spark plugs, distributor cap & rotors, one ignition coil (arcing on primary coil). I’d have to go look at them for part number as it’s not on invoice.
One coil was replaced prior to that in 2012 and then another in 2014 with part number 944-602-115-00-M14
Can’t find anything specific on battery history other than a mention of a new battery in November of 2015 listing of car for sale. I could check battery voltage with multimeter though.
Fuel filter was replaced at 174,000 miles (about 2+ years ago)
I have a persistent intermittent problem like this. I’m my case when the engine dies the tachometers shows no reading which my mechanic suggested could be related to the crank sensor- so we replaced it. Also had leaking coils and those were replaced which made the car rim much better but was unrelated to the problem. Also focus 9 relay.
I also brought ip the possibility that the immobilizer might be the culprit. In that case the power to the DME relay is cut. The problem is that it’s intermittent. The car has been towed back to the shop only to start and run perfectly so it’s been tough to trouble shoot.
At at this point we are actually wiring test lamps to all potential problem areas so as to isolate the problem in real time when it happens next.
In my case it’s a real bummer because I can not rely on the car. I was at Suzuka circuit and it started acting up- I pulled right into the pits for the rest of the day. I did a 180 on a rural road in a corner when the engine just cut out mid corner. The car is unusable until the problem is solved.
Hopefully yes will be easier to figure out! At any rate let us know how this works out for you and when we find my problem I’ll post.
I really think it may end up being the DME- Also check fuel pump relay and i believe there is another relay near the fuel pump that can up sometimes as well.
I have a persistent intermittent problem like this. I’m my case when the engine dies the tachometers shows no reading which my mechanic suggested could be related to the crank sensor- so we replaced it. Also had leaking coils and those were replaced which made the car rim much better but was unrelated to the problem. Also focus 9 relay.
I also brought ip the possibility that the immobilizer might be the culprit. In that case the power to the DME relay is cut. The problem is that it’s intermittent. The car has been towed back to the shop only to start and run perfectly so it’s been tough to trouble shoot.
At at this point we are actually wiring test lamps to all potential problem areas so as to isolate the problem in real time when it happens next.
In my case it’s a real bummer because I can not rely on the car. I was at Suzuka circuit and it started acting up- I pulled right into the pits for the rest of the day. I did a 180 on a rural road in a corner when the engine just cut out mid corner. The car is unusable until the problem is solved.
Hopefully yes will be easier to figure out! At any rate let us know how this works out for you and when we find my problem I’ll post.
Pete
When mine died, the tach showed no reading as well and all the dash lights come on like a Christmas tree. Freaked me out, saw all the lights first then saw the tach wasn't reading anything... turned my hazards on to slowly veer over while letting out a few f-words.
I’ve been there several times. I also switched out the dme with a known good unit and it did not solve the problem. All the wires /connectors from the crank sensor checked out.
I was on a road trip when a 964 C2 owner had a sudden cut out issue. I replaced his DME and the car started, then a few minutes later it cut out again. After the second time doing this he had it flat bedded.
The issue turned out to be a loose wire in the loom under the fuse/relay box. Changing the DME moved the wires so it started, then driving moved them again and stopped it dead.
Changing the dme or the dme relay? Your referring to the main fuse box in the trunk correct? This type of problem is exactly what I think is occurring.
My mechanic said that on another car he traced a similar problem to a junction of several wires deep in the loom the were simply crimped together (poorly) at the factory with no type of connector.
Changing the dme or the dme relay? Your referring to the main fuse box in the trunk correct? This type of problem is exactly what I think is occurring.
My mechanic said that on another car he traced a similar problem to a junction of several wires deep in the loom the were simply crimped together (poorly) at the factory with no type of connector.
Pete
Pete, sorry. Yes, it was the DME relay wiring underneath the plug, not the ECU under the seat.
I didn't take the car out for a drive tonight (NYC traffic sucks) so I just tested some things I could in the garage. I pulled the F9 solid state DME relay and plugged in the spare I have which is the 993 part number. Trouble starting on first try still existed and acted the same way. Second start was instantaneous as usual. Put F9 relay back in as that doesn't seem to be an issue on start up.
Tested battery with multimeter and it read 12.4 volts. Didn't have a second set of eyes to see what the battery reads with starting up.
Checked ignition coils and they are indeed the silver Bosh ones.
I replaced my original coils with silver coils and still have this same issue. One did fail within 2 months- no warranty either. I put in a used black coil for now and that is holding me over until I do the 993 coils.
I went back to the C2 owner with the cut-out issue. He said it was a loose main power feed connection into the fuse/relay box in the Frunk that caused his issue.
Sounds like fuel pump to me, because of the hard-start issue. An old fuel pump that is on the way out can take a long crank, or a few cranks, before building enough pressure to start and usually it will sound like it *wants* to start but can’t quite. If, that time when the engine shut off while tou were driving, the engine started to stumble before it died that would cement it for me. Once the engine stalls all your dash warnings will come on of course
However, if it really is like a knife switch then look to electrical issues first. I.e. if the slow start problem is “engine turns but does not try to fire at all, then suddenly starts just fine” that would suggest electrical to me: coils, DME or immobilizer.
09-03-2018, 07:07 PM
Engine died on highway at 60mph...
