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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Explorer / May 2005

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?94 ford explorer ?the engine dies while driving

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redcat - 17 Apr 2005 17:35 GMT
Even though the Fuel pump relay has been replaced, sometimes the car
won?t start.  So we do the ?take the relay out to cool off? stuff, and
then it will start.  

The bigger problem is that at times the engine will die while I?m
driving.  The battery light comes on and the rpm goes to zero as the
engine cuts out completely.  I?ve been fortunate to be able to
manuever it safely to the side of the road although the power steering
won?t work at that point.

It can be very dangerous and happens without warning.  It happened
last week when I was driving on a highway at a constant 55mph and was
60 miles into the trip?. then it happened twice in one day.  The first
time I was doing 40mph and only 8 miles from home, got it restarted
and to my destination where the car sat for 3 hours.  I was on the way
home and it died when slowing down for a stop sign and only 3 miles
into my return trip.

I usually let it sit for a minute or two and try to restart.  If that
doesn?t work, I do the relay thing mentioned above.

The mechanics are mystified.  They cannot pinpoint the problem.  I?m
afraid to drive it any distance unless my husband is with me.  

I looked through a lot of the postings, but didn?t see anything
specific about this.  Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
dicko - 17 Apr 2005 18:33 GMT
My '94 did that too. I did the whole thing with the fuel pump relay as
well as the relay supplying power to the whole car. Turned out to be
the battery.   A new battery cured the problem.

dickm

>Even though the Fuel pump relay has been replaced, sometimes the car
>won’t start.  So we do the “take the relay out to cool off” stuff, and
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>I looked through a lot of the postings, but didn’t see anything
>specific about this.  Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Big Bill - 17 Apr 2005 20:06 GMT
>Even though the Fuel pump relay has been replaced, sometimes the car
>won’t start.  So we do the “take the relay out to cool off” stuff, and
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>I looked through a lot of the postings, but didn’t see anything
>specific about this.  Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

From your description of the symptoms, it would seem that he
electrical system is, at times, simply not working.
How old is the battery? Sometimes, when they are at their service
life, they will short from junk (I'm sure there's a name for it other
than sediment) in the bottom of the battery. I'd have the battery
checked.
I'd also check the positive battery cable; peel back some of the
insulation at the battery end. If there's any corrosion, the cable
needs to be replaced.

Signature

Bill Funk
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Happy Father - 18 Apr 2005 16:08 GMT
i agree with the cable problem

>>Even though the Fuel pump relay has been replaced, sometimes the car
>>won't start.  So we do the "take the relay out to cool off" stuff, and
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
> insulation at the battery end. If there's any corrosion, the cable
> needs to be replaced.
redcat - 19 Apr 2005 17:43 GMT
> i agree with the cable problem
> >
[quoted text clipped - 56 lines]
> cable
> > needs to be replaced.

I can’t thank you all enough for your input!!  We bought the car last
April and don’t know how old the battery is, but we will be buying a
new one this week (and having the cables checked).  Thanks again from
this mechanically challenged couple!
Richard Minami - 30 Apr 2005 22:57 GMT
Could it be a fuel filter?  I think there's one on the '94s...  (I'm
mechanically challenged as well)  But it sure sounds like the same symptoms
as my parent's old '82 Ford van.  It died on the freeway while I had the
pedal down.  I was able to quickly throw it into neutral and restart the
engine and pop it back into drive.  We didn't have a problem for the rest of
the drive.  But a friend suggested the fuel filter.  We had it changed a few
days later and never saw the problem again.

My '94 Explorer factory battery lasted 10 years!  I couldn't believe it, so
I checked all my records and couldn't find any new battery purchase.  There
is a chance that I lost it, but I don't think so.  I guess it has to do with
Seattle's mild winters and pleasant summers.  Life has been hectic, and I
just never thought about it.  It always fired right up.  Last year on what
turned out to be the coldest day of the winter, it still cranked but had a
hard time.  Got the battery replaced the next day.  I wonder how much more
"borrowed time" I could have sqeezed out of that thing!

Richard Minami
2005 Explorer XLT Sport 4x4
1997 Coleman Yukon

> Even though the Fuel pump relay has been replaced, sometimes the car
> won’t start.  So we do the “take the relay out to cool off” stuff, and
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> I looked through a lot of the postings, but didn’t see anything
> specific about this.  Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
redcat - 02 May 2005 17:34 GMT
> Could it be a fuel filter?  I think there's one on the '94s...
>  (I'm
[quoted text clipped - 80 lines]
> abuse:
> http://www.autoforumz.com/eform.php?p=529132

Well, now......that could be another possibility.  We did have a new
battery installed and had the cables checked (mechanic said they
didn’t need to be replaced).  The car ran fine and then, on Saturday,
it died again.  Same drill, take the relay out for a few minutes and
then put it back in and the car starts.  We are going to take it back
and get the cables replaced after all.  Will also have them check the
fuel filter.  Thanks for the input!
 
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