91 explorer dies intermittently | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

91 explorer dies intermittently

Epalm18

Member
Joined
September 17, 2020
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
City, State
Eureka, CA
Year, Model & Trim Level
91 Ford Explorer
Still can’t figure out my 91 explorer. It will idle about 5 minutes then die. I can go drive it and it dies intermittently then fires right back up on side of road. It has codes 87 and 95. I did hook a fuel pressure gauge to it and it does not lose fuel pressure when it dies. Things I have replaced include: fuel pump, canister purge valve, throttle positioning sensor, computer, fuel filter, spark plugs, plug wires, fuel pressure regulator, fuel pump relay, and made sure fuel cutoff switch was good and checked for corrosion at fuse box. Getting very frustrated any more ideas???
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Can you show the kind of guage you are using? Or at least answer : After removing the guage from the test port, does it maintain its reading unless you reset it?
 






Can you show the kind of guage you are using? Or at least answer : After removing the guage from the test port, does it maintain its reading unless you reset it?
It’s a screw in type so if unscrewed it the gauge would lose pressure
 






I believe there is a ignition module in front of the battery. My old Tbird would cut off when it got hot. It was the TFI type, not sure if the new modules experienced this too.
 






I believe there is a ignition module in front of the battery. My old Tbird would cut off when it got hot. It was the TFI type, not sure if the new modules experienced this too.
Yes I was wondering if that could be it. Just hadn’t heard of it being a common problem. Might throw one at it, just tired of throwing parts at it.
 






I had mine tested at my local auto parts store for free, (Adanced Auto Parts). He told me I was the first person to ever have one tested.
EDIT: One thing I'm not so sure of, the test may not be so thorough. I say that knowing my old Tbird TFI module would work fine while it was cold. It only failed when it got hot. Hence why Ford relocated them from the distributor to the firewall. That said, I never swapped my Tbird module, I just relocated it away from the engine heat and it work fine until I sold the car years later. The Explorer module is beside the radiator,....who knows ?
 






I had mine tested at my local auto parts store for free, (Adanced Auto Parts). He told me I was the first person to ever have one tested.
EDIT: One thing I'm not so sure of, the test may not be so thorough. I say that knowing my old Tbird TFI module would work fine while it was cold. It only failed when it got hot. Hence why Ford relocated them from the distributor to the firewall. That said, I never swapped my Tbird module, I just relocated it away from the engine heat and it work fine until I sold the car years later. The Explorer module is beside the radiator,....who knows ?
I’ll look into it. I wonder what the procedure to test it is from home?
 






I had a problem like that until I replaced the ECM relay with a good one. What a relief after living with it for weeks and having it die on me at any time. After 5 minutes or so it would start up and run fine until it died the next time.
 






Can you be more specific ? ECM, Engine Control Module-relay ? Thats a generic term, in my opinion.
EDIT: Let me guess, thats what your mechanic told you the problem was.
 






It's in the same fuse box as the fuel pump relay that you've already replaced.
 












I had a problem like that until I replaced the ECM relay with a good one. What a relief after living with it for weeks and having it die on me at any time. After 5 minutes or so it would start up and run fine until it died the next time.
So there’s the Ac Relay, Fuel pump relay and EEC relay in that box. I’ve replaced the EEC and Fuel pump relay. Where is the ECM relay located?
 






The ECM is the same as the EEC. It goes by both names which can be confusing.
Engine Control module.
Electronic Engine Control.
Be sure the new relays are good that you put in. If you're sure they are good, you've covered it.
Read the engine error codes, if any. That might give you some direction. It's the old OBD1 system but it can still be helpful.
On my 94 EB, it was the relay in 2012. When it happened again in 2019, I checked the relays and they were good. It turned out to be actual ECM. Unfortunately the old OBD1 error codes didn't nail it down to that. As a long shot, I got a salvaged one and it eliminated the stalling problem. You can get a rebuilt one for around $100.
The good news is that it is located behind the right panel of the passenger footwell and can be replaced in about 15 minutes.
 






Back
Top