engine stalled!

[Sactown]

I'm driving across some rough railroad tracks and the engine quits!:( I slip it into neutral, turn the key and it fires up just fine. No recurrence. I'm thinking some loose elctrical, but could use some other opinions on what might have happened.

[SergntMac]

Check your wiring harness on both sides of the engine. near the top rear of the valve covers. There are sharp edges on the engine and on the firewall that can cut through the harness.

[MM03MOK]

I'm driving across some rough railroad tracks and the engine quits!:( I slip it into neutral, turn the key and it fires up just fine. No recurrence. I'm thinking some loose elctrical, but could use some other opinions on what might have happened.Boy, are YOU lucky it started right up!! I shudder to think!..... http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_213.gif

[Sactown]

Check your wiring harness on both sides of the engine. near the top rear of the valve covers. There are sharp edges on the engine and on the firewall that can cut through the harness.
will do! Thanks.

[Sactown]

Boy, are YOU lucky it started right up!! I shudder to think!..... http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_213.gif
Yes, it was a Charmin moment. Country road, no shoulder, a bunch of cars behind me. It took me a few moments to realize what happened.

[Zack]

In the first 2000 miles or so of owning the car, mine stalled out about 3-4 times for no reason.
Havent had a problem since.

[merc406]

Could be the floats in the carb, :up: oh wait you don't have carbs, you guys are carb free. :eek:

[martyo]

you guys are carb free. :eek:
Another reason the MM is good for your health: It is part of the Atkins diet,

[TripleTransAm]

Another reason the MM is good for your health: It is part of the Atkins diet,

:lol: :lol: :lol: !!!

[Sactown]

Well, I was taking it in this morning to get it checked out and it died 3 more times. Had to get it towed the rest of the way. I'll keep you posted.

[Sactown]

Loose ground wire was the culprit. Glad it is a simple fix. Back in the car tomorrow AM. The dealer spotted me a loaner which I am thankful for, but this Vovlo sure makes me want the MM back in a big way.

[valleyman]

Sactown - did they identify which ground wire? Just curious.

[Sactown]

Sactown - did they identify which ground wire? Just curious.
I don't have the paperwork yet, hopefully it will say. I'll let you know what I find out.

[Sactown]

Sactown - did they identify which ground wire? Just curious.
The paperwork says the loose ground was at ground 101, whatever that is. I didn't have time to get the full tour, I was just glad to have my ride back.

[TripleTransAm]

G101 is a big one... located at the driver's side rear of the engine bay, in the rear corner, by the brake master cylinder. It's the ground for PCM, MAF, ignition, ABS control module, etc. everything but the kitchen sink.

It looks like it's that harness that I'm very near and dear to, if y'all remember my adventures from last May... :mad:

[Donny Carlson]

Yes, it was a Charmin moment.
Otherwise known as a "brown alert." :alone:

[Sactown]

G101 is a big one... located at the driver's side rear of the engine bay, in the rear corner, by the brake master cylinder. It's the ground for PCM, MAF, ignition, ABS control module, etc. everything but the kitchen sink.

It looks like it's that harness that I'm very near and dear to, if y'all remember my adventures from last May... :mad:
I wasn't a member back then...what happened?

[merc406]

I wasn't a member back then...what happened?


It wasn't pretty, had the family in the car on an outing and, well, he'll tell ya the rest. :shake:

[TripleTransAm]

Reader's digest version:
2 1/2 hour road trip, 4 adults and a young child (2 adults visiting from Sweden).
1 great parking spot on an incline, 1 application of reverse, 1 dead Marauder. All dealers in the area on strike, Ford Roadside Assistance (subcontracted to CAA) totally useless, dealer gets involved, saves my ass by getting authorization to have car towed 2+ hours back to dealership, dealership promises rental car to get me and family home, Roadside Assistance cancels tow and rental car, practically tells me to f*** off in not so many words. /Steve loses it, dealership saves the day, gets family home safe and sound, fixes Marauder in record time. /Steve finds out same thing happened to another Marauder'er 9 months earlier, very impressed at St.Thomas assembly plant's ability to learn from mistakes, both problems having been caused by misplaced harness getting sliced through and shorted on a sharp surface.

I'm touched you remembered, merc406....

[Sactown]

Reader's digest version:
2 1/2 hour road trip, 4 adults and a young child (2 adults visiting from Sweden).
1 great parking spot on an incline, 1 application of reverse, 1 dead Marauder. All dealers in the area on strike, Ford Roadside Assistance (subcontracted to CAA) totally useless, dealer gets involved, saves my ass by getting authorization to have car towed 2+ hours back to dealership, dealership promises rental car to get me and family home, Roadside Assistance cancels tow and rental car, practically tells me to f*** off in not so many words. /Steve loses it, dealership saves the day, gets family home safe and sound, fixes Marauder in record time. /Steve finds out same thing happened to another Marauder'er 9 months earlier, very impressed at St.Thomas assembly plant's ability to learn from mistakes, both problems having been caused by misplaced harness getting sliced through and shorted on a sharp surface.

I'm touched you remembered, merc406....
I remember reading long ago about wiring getting cut through. Where should I look for these problems?

[TripleTransAm]

I guess the best way to start would be to get a close close look at the harness at points where they might contact sharp or rough edges, and look for signs of abrasion.

[merc406]

TTA, was that around the firewall area, top, or all along the firewall? Somewhere around the wiper sheilds, you'd think they fixed that tho, no?

[TripleTransAm]

There are two harnesses that have been known to come dangerously close to sharp objects. One of them was running close to the rear of the passenger's side head, and would chafe itself on the actual corner. This was seen sometime in summer '02 or fall '02. I believe I asked my tech to have a look at that harness, but I'll probably ask again. I didn't bother to check it out when I bought the car because I figured, "hey, it's a Feb '03 build... you would THINK they would incorporate the fixes into the build process by now".

I obviously thought wrong, as there was also the harness on the DRIVER'S side that was at risk as well, this time on a bracket that holds up the cowl panel. Very obvious that the wiring harness was touching it, only I didn't think to check that when picking up my car at the moment of purchase because, again "Hey, you would think someone on the assembly line would notice these things.". Again I obviously thought wrong. (someone on here had actually had the same harness chafing on the same component about 10 months before my car was even built!!!)

You know, I'm sure the droid that worked on that portion of my car and every other car that's ever had sloppy harness routing is probably still sitting pretty on the assembly line, content in the reality that his job is forever protected by his union, no matter what kind of crap work he puts out.

All of you out there... y'all better hope this monkey wasn't ever on job rotation in the brake installation department when your cars were being assembled! :eek:

[Marc]

Mine just stalled 2 days ago. I was on a steep incline waiting to exit a parking lot. Trying to be careful to not gun it and spin because there was a lot of gravel, it just quit. To the uneducated, it must have looked almost as if I didn't know how to drive a stick.

[TripleTransAm]

In my case, my PCM feed shorted (blowing the PCM fuse) because the harness had been sufficiently chafed to the point where the wire was bare (hard to see unless you twisted the wire to expose the conductor). This happened when I was on an incline... I stopped the car, put it in reverse, tried to back up... the moment I stepped on the accelerator, it quit on me. For good. (fuses don't heal themselves).

Putting the car in reverse torqued the engine on its mounts enough to deal the final blow to that wire, shorting it against the metal bracket on the cowl. I imagine the torquing of the engine in the opposite direction (ie. when the car moves forward, while pulling up an incline) would mean another harness (perhaps passenger's side?) might short or break contact in this scenario?

You might be able to reproduce this by holding the car in gear with the brakes, and slowly pressing the accelerator to the point just before the rear wheels would begin spinning (obviously I don't have to reiterate that one should be extremely careful when doing this to avoid injury, and not to lose control of the car).


One thing I just remembered... the MM's 4.6l DOHC at stock idle is extremely weak-kneed, as can be verified by tugging the steering left/right/left/right/etc. very quickly, while in Drive or Reverse, with the brakes held tight. Seems the load of the power steering pump is enough to bring the engine almost to a stall point, and I believe mine has actually stalled during a bad set of circumstances. I think the idle air control tries to open things up when it senses a stalling condition, then as you change direction with the wheel, the idle will go up, the PCM will command a lower idle, and then the power steering pump will load up the engine yet again. At this point, the engine can't respond fast enough and the idle falters... badly.

Try it.

[tomd]

Quick question? What is a stock Marauder suppose to idle at? Mine idles at 500 to 525 when it is engine is hot.

I think that first line on the tack is 500?? :confused:

[TripleTransAm]

That's the same as mine. I can't help wondering if this low idle is yet another attempt at squeezing a little bit more MPG out of this motor... while it runs smooth with no load on it (and is able to deal with A/C compressor cycling with no worries), seems the power steering pump under load is enough to humble it. :(

[woaface]

Another reason the MM is good for your health: It is part of the Atkins diet,You know, I was eating Taco Bell tonight thinking...


Wow..this stuff is REALLY crappy for me! No wonder America has such a high rate of cancer...I bet no one on MM net eats this stuff by the bucket like me, maybe I'll quit...at least I don't eat fries...Everyone on MM net is healthy because they drive Marauders, and eat and sleep Marauder (or at least I do) I wonder if this should be part of the Atkins diet?You beat me too it bud:D


Holy moly!? 500-600 idle? I've never seen anything below 1000 besides a hon:censor:

I'm going to check my wires and do the cool left/right/left/right/left/right/left/right/left/right thing....