Diagnose loss of power 93 Escort

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Steve - 22 Aug 2006 16:27 GMT

Hi, I was driving down the freeway yesterday ( a hot day), and after
about 5-10 minutes, I lost 90% engine power.

The car did not die though, I was able to limp to the side. A
couple hours later (after I had it towed), it started and ran fine....

The car does not have an OBD II port (too old)...

How can I diagnose this problem? Don't really want to use trial and
error :-)

Car is 93 Ford Escort, 1.9 EFI, manual trans.

Thanks

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sleepdog@optonline.net - 22 Aug 2006 17:16 GMT

> Hi, I was driving down the freeway yesterday ( a hot day), and after
> about 5-10 minutes, I lost 90% engine power.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Thanks

Take it to an autozone or similar store and have the codes read for
free, get the code numbers and post them online. You can also get a
EEC-IV reader from Sears for about $20, or use an analog volt meter and
paper clip to count needle sweeps if you are the McGyver type. Sounds
like your car went into "limp" mode for some reason, was the engine
light on or blinking? Get the codes and you might have a fighting
chance to diagnose properly, otherwise it is just trial and error.

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Kevin Bottorff - 22 Aug 2006 17:49 GMT

sleepdog@optonline.net wrote in news:1156263418.956400.301600
@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

>> Hi, I was driving down the freeway yesterday ( a hot day), and after
>> about 5-10 minutes, I lost 90% engine power.
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> light on or blinking? Get the codes and you might have a fighting
> chance to diagnose properly, otherwise it is just trial and error.

or just check your timing belt. KB

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Fordfan - 22 Aug 2006 21:51 GMT

> sleepdog@optonline.net wrote in news:1156263418.956400.301600
> @i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
> or just check your timing belt. KB

He said it ran fine after it cooled down so it can't be the timing belt.
I had a similar problem with a 94' Escort. It turned out to be the
ignition coil. It was failing when the engine got hot but would run fine
after a cold start. He said it was a hot day.

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Steve - 23 Aug 2006 00:01 GMT

<snip>

> He said it ran fine after it cooled down so it can't be the timing belt.
> I had a similar problem with a 94' Escort. It turned out to be the
> ignition coil. It was failing when the engine got hot but would run fine
> after a cold start. He said it was a hot day.

Thanks everyone, I'll check with AutoZone, but I thought they only have
OBD-II readers.

I too suspect the coil, is there any way to confirm before buying a new
one ?

Thanks all

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sleepdog@optonline.net - 23 Aug 2006 04:31 GMT

> I too suspect the coil, is there any way to confirm before buying a new
> one ?

Other than having a garage confirm your suspicion about the coil, no.
You'll have to spring for a haynes or chilton manual, a multimeter to
check the coil per the specs listed in the manuals, and get any codes.
All for probably under $30. Throwing a new coil at it will probably
set you back double that.

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Fordfan - 23 Aug 2006 17:52 GMT

> <snip>
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Thanks all

I started with the assumption that the loss of power in conjunction with
the rapid hesitation (missing) seemed more like an ignition problem than
fuel related. I narrowed it down to the coil after replacing each plug
wire (one at a time) with a new one. I drove the car after each wire
swap with the engine hot. I did the same procedure by swapping each
spark plug with a new one. Neither of those tests corrected the problem
so I decided to go for a new coil. It was about $60 from 'Advance'.
I don't think you could find this problem by just measuring the
resistance of the coil windings, since it's apparently caused by a
voltage breakdown in the windings when the coil gets hot. The engine
would idle fine even when the problem was occurring while driving. This
too is a symptom of coil failure under a load but not when idling.
Did yours still idle? If not, you may want to check the ignition module
too, since that will cause the engine to quit running and not start
until it cools down. You can test this by seeing if you have any spark
while you're trying to restart the hot engine.
I had no engine warning light on the instrument panel so I doubt there
were any codes stored for my coil problem. The EEC-IV system is not very
sophisticated when it comes to diagnosing ignition problems.
Let us know what you find out.

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Steve - 23 Aug 2006 19:41 GMT

Thanks Fordfan and all,

I've decided it sounds enough like a bad coil to replace the old
(original by the way) one.

While I'm at it, it needs plugs, so I'm replacing those too..

Will let you know what happens.

Thanks

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Steve - 24 Aug 2006 05:30 GMT

Replaced the coil, plugs and wires tonight. Was running OK, but I
haven't got it out on a hot day yet for the real acid test. Fingers
crossed....

Only problem is a slight hesitation, but that is another story... I
think the fuel injectors need some attention...

Thanks again...

> Thanks Fordfan and all,
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> Thanks

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Fordfan - 25 Aug 2006 00:00 GMT

> Replaced the coil, plugs and wires tonight. Was running OK, but I
> haven't got it out on a hot day yet for the real acid test. Fingers
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>>
>>Thanks

Try letting it idle long enough for the cooling fan to come on. If you
can drive it then without the old problem coming back it's probably
going to be all right. It would have been better if you changed one
thing at a time so you'd know what the problem was.

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Steve - 04 Sep 2006 05:28 GMT

Hi All,

So, after replacing the coil, plugs, wires, everything seems OK, at
least so far....

But I am still experiencing slight hesitation (when I depress the gas
pedal, there is a momentary hesitation before it "kicks in").... So I
replaced the fuel filter today(it was original 13 years old)...

Bad news - there is still a slight hesitation. It's hard to say if
the new filter improved things, but it certainly couldn't hurt.

Good news - it actually drives pretty well..... it may just be that I
am used to it and know how to work the clutch and gas to make it go :-)

But any ideas on further diagnosis of the slight hesitation welcome...

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Sharon K. Cooke - 23 Aug 2006 04:43 GMT

> Hi, I was driving down the freeway yesterday ( a hot day), and after
> about 5-10 minutes, I lost 90% engine power.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Thanks

The car DOES HAVE an OBD-I (EEC-IV) port, though. Get the ebgine codes
pulled as a starting point.

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Fordfan - 24 Aug 2006 23:53 GMT

>>Hi, I was driving down the freeway yesterday ( a hot day), and after
>>about 5-10 minutes, I lost 90% engine power.
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> The car DOES HAVE an OBD-I (EEC-IV) port, though. Get the ebgine codes
> pulled as a starting point.

He didn't say the check engine light came on so there probably aren't
any codes related to his problem. The light in my 94' Escort didn't come
on when the coil was failing.

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