MM was down temporarily

[MMM2003]

Hello:

Just wanted to report of my latest experience with my beloved MM.

Weather got very cold here (-15F) on Monday and my MM would not start. I had put in a new MTP-65 (875 CCA) Interstate battery two months ago (replaced the stock) and she was cranking over, but would not fire up. BTW, great battery. Kept cranking strong many times in these cold conditions.

I had to call a tow truck and they took it to my dealer, who determined that the throttle body cable got stuck in a mid-open position, and everytime I tried to start it, more fuel got dumped in and eventually flooded the spark plugs. (No, I did not pump the gas pedal!)

The dealer cleaned it all up, removed and dried the spark plugs, did a fuel line and injector cleaner, changed the oil, cleaned up the gunk around the throttle body connection and now she is up and running again.

I did notice some slight hesitation in the previous months when accelerating from a stop. Guess, I should have checked on that as it probably was an indication of the cable starting to stick.

Just a heads to those that might be experiencing similar problems. Don't procrastinate. Check it out if you notice any symptoms. It'll save you about $600!

Good luck!

Thanks,

Peter

[ChiTownMaraud3r]

Good to hear its all well and taken care of. My Marauder didnt start yesterday, but then again its under a car cover for winter hibernation. I hope it is just a weak battery cause of the cold as it just clicked without turning over, but its too cold to mess around with so will have to wait a week maybe. Can't wait for spring!

[MENINBLK]

Good to hear its all well and taken care of. My Marauder didnt start yesterday, but then again its under a car cover for winter hibernation. I hope it is just a weak battery cause of the cold as it just clicked without turning over, but its too cold to mess around with so will have to wait a week maybe. Can't wait for spring!

You should go buy a trickle charger and hook it up in the meantime.

[michael ward]

You should go buy a trickle charger and hook it up in the meantime. I went to sears and bought one for thirty dollars its the best thing i ever did. pluged it in on oct 1st and never touched it. keeps battery charged and warm. i start the mm twice a month and it pops right over no problems. last winter i had to jump start three times..

[Mike Poore]

Hello:

Just wanted to report of my latest experience with my beloved MM.

I had to call a tow truck and they took it to my dealer, who determined that the throttle body cable got stuck in a mid-open position, and everytime I tried to start it, more fuel got dumped in and eventually flooded the spark plugs. (No, I did not pump the gas pedal!)


Good luck!

Thanks,

Peter

WOW Peter, that is a VERY good dealership with an astute bunch of wrenches working for them.

Changing the oil was an exceptionally heads-up thing to do, since raw fuel surely got past the rings and contaminated the filter and oil. If you hadn't gotten it towed and started it later, you may be replacing an engine.

Good marks to you for getting it towed, and good marks for the service guys for doing it right. :trophy:

[Daily 03]

Peter,
I would recommend that You get a Battery Tender while your car is stored. The tender will keep the battery charged but not over charged. I have one for each of my stored cars.
Dale

[cyclopsram]

Pumping accellerator will have no flooding tendency in a Fuel Injected engine without a carburetor accelerator pump... Just a old age gotta do something reflex..computer will just scratch its head and say what is that old fool doing...??? RAM

[MMM2003]

WOW Peter, that is a VERY good dealership with an astute bunch of wrenches working for them.

Changing the oil was an exceptionally heads-up thing to do, since raw fuel surely got past the rings and contaminated the filter and oil. If you hadn't gotten it towed and started it later, you may be replacing an engine.

Good marks to you for getting it towed, and good marks for the service guys for doing it right. :trophy:

Hey:

Well, I thought it was all take care off, but my car just didn't start right after they worked on it. I took it back and they determined that two coils were bad (#1 and #2) @$100/ea., new spark plugs were needed, and that cylinder #7 had low compression (125lbs) compared to 145 of all others. They also did a wet compression test and it went up to (168lbs) on cylinder #7. According to my dealer this won't hurt or blow anything up, just continue to idle a little rough.

Overall, it is much better now, but it also cost me another $450 to get it back to "normal". Hope this is it and won't be a problem again.

Can anyone explain the compression readings to me and tell me what the worst/best scenario is?

Thank you,

Peter