05 Explorer EB 4.6 quit while driving. Prior to shutoff, Intermittent ‘Low Oil Pressure’ while driving with gauge jumping from 0 to normal.

[SETexasRasied]

My 2005 Explorer EB 4.6L V8 had a weird message “Low Oil Pressure Warning” after replacing serpentine belt and belt tensioner assembly. Killed it immediately and went to make sure I had the belt on correctly. Tried running it again and the same message was up but went away after 3-5 seconds. Throughout the next couple of days that same message would come on and off while driving. Mostly when it first started up in the morning. Then all of a sudden a day ago, I noticed the message was accompanied with really low rpm at idle. When I revved the engine, the message would go away and so out of curiosity, I tried to drive just around the corner and the truck died on me when I let off the gas.

When I attempted to start the truck back up, I got a strange ‘TEST’ in the message center I’ve never seen before or heard of. Clicked ‘reset’ and went through a series of data (I think Live Data in a sense) but in all of that info I got Diag code 9318 D900, and 5284. Car won’t start over, even when trying to jump. Just a series of clicks.

Please feel free to shoot me a Text with any ideas or anything helpful, my cell is +1 (409)-267-9863. Anytime.

Thank you guys.

 

[LMHmedchem]

Sorry that I can't be of allot of help in this area but if you were actually running with low or absent oil pressure I think you have to be concerned that your engine has seized. I guess your starter could have gone as well. There are a number of threads out there about how to manually crank over your engine by turning the crankshaft. In some cases, this can break if free if it has seized.

Here are a few links,

How To Unseize An Engine And/Or Piston Rings
How to Unseize an Engine!
How To Unseize a Frozen Engine
How to unseize an engine that ran out of oil

You may have to pull the spark plugs to relieve compression. A big v8 has allot of compression. This is usually done when the engine has sat for so long that it has rusted. In this case you just have to break free the rust to get it moving. I am not sure that these methods work very well if the engine has seized up because it was run without oil, though the last link seems to suggest that it may be possible.

If you can get the engine to turn with a big wrench, then maybe you can look elsewhere for the issue such as at the starter.

I wouldn't start tearing your engine apart just on my suggestion so hopefully someone else will chime in and give their opinion.

LMHmedchem

 

[SETexasRasied]

Sorry that I can't be of allot of help in this area but if you were actually running with low or absent oil pressure I think you have to be concerned that your engine has seized. I guess your starter could have gone as well. There are a number of threads out there about how to manually crank over your engine by turning the crankshaft. In some cases, this can break if free if it has seized.

Here are a few links,

How To Unseize An Engine And/Or Piston Rings
How to Unseize an Engine!
How To Unseize a Frozen Engine
How to unseize an engine that ran out of oil

You may have to pull the spark plugs to relieve compression. A big v8 has allot of compression. This is usually done when the engine has sat for so long that it has rusted. In this case you just have to break free the rust to get it moving. I am not sure that these methods work very well if the engine has seized up because it was run without oil, though the last link seems to suggest that it may be possible.

If you can get the engine to turn with a big wrench, then maybe you can look elsewhere for the issue such as at the starter.

I wouldn't start tearing your engine apart just on my suggestion so hopefully someone else will chime in and give their opinion.

LMHmedchem

Thank you. Any help is better than no help and all is greatly appreciated.

 

[joney]

My 2005 Explorer EB 4.6L V8 had a weird message “Low Oil Pressure Warning” after replacing serpentine belt and belt tensioner assembly. Killed it immediately and went to make sure I had the belt on correctly. Tried running it again and the same message was up but went away after 3-5 seconds. Throughout the next couple of days that same message would come on and off while driving. Mostly when it first started up in the morning. Then all of a sudden a day ago, I noticed the message was accompanied with really low rpm at idle. When I revved the engine, the message would go away and so out of curiosity, I tried to drive just around the corner and the truck died on me when I let off the gas.

When I attempted to start the truck back up, I got a strange ‘TEST’ in the message center I’ve never seen before or heard of. Clicked ‘reset’ and went through a series of data (I think Live Data in a sense) but in all of that info I got Diag code 9318 D900, and 5284. Car won’t start over, even when trying to jump. Just a series of clicks.

Please feel free to shoot me a Text with any ideas or anything helpful, my cell is +1 (409)-267-9863. Anytime.

Thank you guys.

Just a wild guess, but it happened right after you changed the belt and tensioner, are there any electrical connectors/wires or hoses that could have been disturbed or broken in that area while doing the work?

 

[SETexasRasied]

Just a wild guess, but it happened right after you changed the belt and tensioner, are there any electrical connectors/wires or hoses that could have been disturbed or broken in that area while doing the work?

I was looking around for the last two days and my gut is stuck on this thread for some reason: Have a 4.6L? Here's a problem I bet you all have...

I just can’t think of anything I might have bumped while trying to put it on.

However, Knowing me and the little patience I have, it was cold as hell and my hands froze up to the point that I lost feeling in my fingers which didn’t help when little things aren’t working out the way they should ‍ Any pointers on any connections I should check around the front side of the engine? I’m gonna run out there now and start checking

 

[LMHmedchem]

I was looking around for the last two days and my gut is stuck on this thread for some reason: Have a 4.6L? Here's a problem I bet you all have...

The wiring harness in question from this thread has three wires in it. One of the wires goes to the oil pressure sensor that is located next to the oil filter (white insulation on mine). One goes to the AC compressor that is above the oil pump (yellow insulation on mine), and one goes to the starter that is below the oil pump (red insulation on mine). It is usually the wire to the oil pressure sensor that goes first since it is the thinnest gauge. The wire to the starter is huge and it would take allot of friction to get through it.

This issue could certainly cause your oil gauge to drop out and show no pressure. You could have had intermittent readings if the wire was partly worn through. This doesn't explain why you would have low rpm at idle or why your engine would die. The fact that you are getting a clicking sound from the starter suggests that it's still getting power. I suppose that a very worn wire could result in not getting enough current to engage the starter but I don't know. This is certainly a good thing to start checking since it should be repaired in any event.

You can remove the oil filter drip tray and get a look at the section of the harness where it usually wears. If the largest of the wires is not significantly worn then I don't think this is why your engine won't start.

LMHmedchem

 

[SETexasRasied]

The wiring harness in question from this thread has three wires in it. One of the wires goes to the oil pressure sensor that is located next to the oil filter (white insulation on mine). One goes to the AC compressor that is above the oil pump (yellow insulation on mine), and one goes to the starter that is below the oil pump (red insulation on mine). It is usually the wire to the oil pressure sensor that goes first since it is the thinnest gauge. The wire to the starter is huge and it would take allot of friction to get through it.

This issue could certainly cause your oil gauge to drop out and show no pressure. You could have had intermittent readings if the wire was partly worn through. This doesn't explain why you would have low rpm at idle or why your engine would die. The fact that you are getting a clicking sound from the starter suggests that it's still getting power. I suppose that a very worn wire could result in not getting enough current to engage the starter but I don't know. This is certainly a good thing to start checking since it should be repaired in any event.

You can remove the oil filter drip tray and get a look at the section of the harness where it usually wears. If the largest of the wires is not significantly worn then I don't think this is why your engine won't start.

LMHmedchem

What could of happened?

To add pre-context to my situation: one very frigid morning I attempted to jump start another one of my cars with my Explorer. After a few tries the other car wouldn’t start up so I revved my engine to around 2500-3000RPM and kept the throttle floating around said RPM for about 3-5 Minutes tops. Tried starting the car again, and it started up but my Explorer made a clunk noise accompanied with the squeal of the belt. So I killed my Explorer checked under the hood and seen right away that the pulley attached to the tensioner assembly was broken.

~(Thinking about it now, I feel like a tool could have possibly fell off into the front of the vehicle, since I had been working on miscellaneous stuff but otherwise I don’t know how jump starting another car screwed it up)~

So I killed Explorer, replaced the tensioner assembly, threw the new belt on (which was kinda a pain in the ass because I couldn’t feel my fingers. it was -20F with wind chill bringing it to -37F here in Fargo, ND.) had some struggle but made damn sure I had it on correctly according to the routing diagram under the hood latch.

Started it up and cranked up nice, (I did disconnect the battery for the length of time it took me to put the belt on. So about 45 Min- 1 Hr) Low Oil Pressure Message, along with CHECK GUAGE, and oil pressure guage flattened out. So I killed it, triple checked my belt. Ran the engine again, and message came on only briefly then went away, went to take it for a drive down the road to get gas and only while making a turn or hitting a slight bump (such as entering into the parking lot of the gas station from the street) is when those warnings lights come on.
At that time,I was leaning heavily toward a possible electrical short issue or something of that nature.

Nothing seemed to be wrong while driving, in fact, it ran a lot quieter than it had prior to the belt change. Then, the other day the warning message was accompanied with super low rpm, truck was warmed up and everything. The super low idle took me by surprise first so instinctively I gave just a little push of the pedal and the message went away… but only long enough for the rpm to drop back to super low idle then came right back on.

And so I took it around the block and before I could make the second turn after I left the driveway, the truck just sputtered out to a stop, tried to start it again, and it made a dramatic “dead-battery-Like”attempt to turn over but that was the last of it. Just a series of clicks coming from the starter.

It was a daily driver, ODO around ≈165,000MI+

 

[LMHmedchem]

About an issue that may not be related, whenever you have your battery disconnected for a long time, it is a good idea to reset your computer when you start up again. Here is the procedure,

Ford PCM Software Reflash Procedure

It is a simple procedure and may help to avoid some issues. You can try this and see if it changes anything but I don't think it's likely.

You have a few things that you need to figure out.

1. why won't the engine turn over?
2. why was the instrument panel showing low oil pressure after your repairs?
3. what was the cause of the low idle rpms?

I think that the first things to check are the wiring harness and whether or not your engine is seized. You can do that in either order but on the chance that repairing the wiring fixes other issues you may want to try that first.

It wouldn't hurt to measure the voltage on your battery just to make sure.

This is what I would do first,

1. disconnect the battery
2. rear wheel chocks, jack and jack stands under the front cross-member
3. disconnect the wire harness from the starter, this is 2 hex nuts (different sizes)
4. remove the wire harness from the metal bracket by the starter by prying it open
- there is another clip near the same area to disconnect
5. disconnect the wire harness from the AC clutch
- it may be necessary to disconnect the hose from the air filter box to the throttle body to get to this
- use a long screwdriver in from the back side to release the clip
6. remove the wire harness from the metal bracket that connects by the harmonic balancer by prying it open.
7. remove the oil filter drip tray
- there are 3 bolts, 2 are on the front of the cross-member and 1 is inside on the drivers side where the cross-member turns upwards
- I think these take a 13mm socket
8. look in with a light and see the connection to the oil pressure sensor
9. reach in and disconnect the sensor
- if your truck is RWD then you can do this easily from underneath
10. pull the harness out from under the front and examine it for broken or worn wires
- you can also pull the harness out the drivers wheel well
11. make any repairs to the harness and replace it
12. reconnect the battery
13. do the PCM reset procedure and try to start the engine

Post if you have questions about how to repair the wires and replace the plastic shielding.

If the engine starts, check the oil pressure. Do not run the engine for long if there pressure is still at 0 or very low. If the pressure is good, run the engine for a while and make sure that the pressure holds and that the temperature is normal.

If the engine doesn't start then you will need to follow one of the procedures I posted to see if the engine is seized, and try to free it if that is what you find.

The above method for fixing the wire harness would be easier if you first did the check to see if the engine is seized. This is because that will involve removing the fan and fan shroud. With those out, you can just pull the wire up into the engine bay. The engine bay is a much easier place to work on the wire. If you have to tools to remove the fan and such, you may want to try that first, it's up to you.

I do think it's likely that you will end up doing both anyway.

LMHmedchem

 

[SETexasRasied]

About an issue that may not be related, whenever you have your battery disconnected for a long time, it is a good idea to reset your computer when you start up again. Here is the procedure,

Ford PCM Software Reflash Procedure

It is a simple procedure and may help to avoid some issues. You can try this and see if it changes anything but I don't think it's likely.

You have a few things that you need to figure out.

1. why won't the engine turn over?
2. why was the instrument panel showing low oil pressure after your repairs?
3. what was the cause of the low idle rpms?

I think that the first things to check are the wiring harness and whether or not your engine is seized. You can do that in either order but on the chance that repairing the wiring fixes other issues you may want to try that first.

It wouldn't hurt to measure the voltage on your battery just to make sure.

This is what I would do first,

1. disconnect the battery
2. rear wheel chocks, jack and jack stands under the front cross-member
3. disconnect the wire harness from the starter, this is 2 hex nuts (different sizes)
4. remove the wire harness from the metal bracket by the starter by prying it open
- there is another clip near the same area to disconnect
5. disconnect the wire harness from the AC clutch
- it may be necessary to disconnect the hose from the air filter box to the throttle body to get to this
- use a long screwdriver in from the back side to release the clip
6. remove the wire harness from the metal bracket that connects by the harmonic balancer by prying it open.
7. remove the oil filter drip tray
- there are 3 bolts, 2 are on the front of the cross-member and 1 is inside on the drivers side where the cross-member turns upwards
- I think these take a 13mm socket
8. look in with a light and see the connection to the oil pressure sensor
9. reach in and disconnect the sensor
- if your truck is RWD then you can do this easily from underneath
10. pull the harness out from under the front and examine it for broken or worn wires
- you can also pull the harness out the drivers wheel well
11. make any repairs to the harness and replace it
12. reconnect the battery
13. do the PCM reset procedure and try to start the engine

Post if you have questions about how to repair the wires and replace the plastic shielding.

If the engine starts, check the oil pressure. Do not run the engine for long if there pressure is still at 0 or very low. If the pressure is good, run the engine for a while and make sure that the pressure holds and that the temperature is normal.

If the engine doesn't start then you will need to follow one of the procedures I posted to see if the engine is seized, and try to free it if that is what you find.

The above method for fixing the wire harness would be easier if you first did the check to see if the engine is seized. This is because that will involve removing the fan and fan shroud. With those out, you can just pull the wire up into the engine bay. The engine bay is a much easier place to work on the wire. If you have to tools to remove the fan and such, you may want to try that first, it's up to you.

I do think it's likely that you will end up doing both anyway.

LMHmedchem

I’m pretty sure the starter isn’t suppose to look like that, right?

 

[SETexasRasied]

View attachment 427307
I’m pretty sure the starter isn’t suppose to look like that, right?

Also, I used a friends BlueDriver OBD-II to run codes and almost all codes are saying “Low voltage” or “Voltage out of range”

 

[SETexasRasied]

View attachment 427308
Also, I used a friends BlueDriver OBD-II to run codes and almost all codes are saying “Low voltage” or “Voltage out of range”

These were the codes from last night:

 

[LMHmedchem]

Also, I used a friends BlueDriver OBD-II to run codes and almost all codes are saying “Low voltage” or “Voltage out of range”

In all of my lengthy writing I have several times forgotten to say that it would be helpful if you could hook up to ODB-II and see if the truck knows anything about what is happening. Fortunately, your friend is better at helping than writing.

Have you tested the voltage on the battery? Obviously, if you battery voltage is low, get it on a charger.

I do think you should work on the wiring harness. You have 2 systems that are connected to that harness that are giving you issues. Even if the harness is not the direct cause, I don't think you will make progress until you can at least rule that out.

Once you know your battery is good and the wire to the starter is good, you can evaluate if the starter is still working or not. You can't check if a light bulb is working if the lamp cord is broken and you can't plug it in. Fix one thing and move on to the next, otherwise you end up chasing your tail.

I would also have a good look at your new S-belt. If for some reason it's not tight enough, that would explain allot of your issues. Your alternator will not put out enough voltage and your oil pump will not generate enough flow. You would get low oil pressure warnings and eventually your battery would get drained and it won't start. Maybe the new belt you got was a bit too long or to flexible, etc. Was it a Motorcraft belt? Do you still have the old belt to compare? Make sure that the new tensioner is pushed all the way up up and re-check the belt path over the idlers, etc.

I can't really think of any one other thing that would cause everything you describe.

LMHmedchem