has anyone ever heard of this problem!?

[Mike1245]

so i'll drive about a half hour, and the stop at a red light, or stop sign. then i'll step on the gas again and the truck loses it's pickup (gradually, each time i stop) and shakes badly. after a while, or about 30 miles of highway driving, it'll eventually get to the point where it sounds like a lawnmower, and really doesn't accelerate at all. i was pulling into my cousins driveway, and it made a sound like a boat, and shut off. other times, i'll drive 15 minutes home, get there and shut the car off. 10 minutes later, i'll get in, start it and the rpm won't even reach 1000, then gradually drops until the engine shuts off.
i had a fuel filter replaced around the time this started happening. could this cause that problem? could it be spark plugs? a clogged fuel injector?

when i used a diagnostic scanner on my truck, i got the codes 116 ect (obviously not the problem), 332 (egr, i already replaced), 538 - cylinder balance test fail, 536 - brake on off switch ckt failure, 214 - "cyl id" i've read that code 214 is..
Open or shorted harness.
Damaged Camshaft Position (CMP) sensor.
Damaged Crankshaft Position (CKP) sensor.
Damaged Ignition Control Module (ICM).
Damaged Powertrain Control Module (PCM)

could any of these be the reason why my truck loses pickup, shakes, and eventually shuts off? i'm sure that it's 214 that's causing my problem, but which one of those 5 things could it be?

someone PLEEEEASE help!!!

 

[cculter]

Welcome to the forum! I don't really know for sure but I would suspect the cam or crank sensor. I had a Dodge intrepid that would do something similar to what you describe, only mine died completly. A $60 camshaft postiton sensor later and everything was fine.

 

[fusc1]

How many miles do you have on it? Have you ever replaced the Catalytic converter? I had a Jeep CJ7 that only had 60000 miles on it and the Cat got clogged and it did what you are experiencing, it finally fixed itself when the back pressure blew out the exhaust pipe. It could also be fuel injectors, clogged fuel line, bad plugs, bad wires.

sorry it couldn't be more helpful.

Anthony

 

[Mike1245]

thank you both! i really appreciate it!
i'll look into spark plugs, clogged fuel lines and things like that before i get into cam sensors. i looked it up and its about $350. YIKES
anyways, thank you guys! please keep 'em comin!

by the way.. its at 200,800 miles

 

[glfredrick]

I'd suspect the cats, which could back-load almost all of the other fault codes into the PCM as it tries to compensate for them.

Mine would do that sometimes when idling all day on the trails. Get it on the highway, where it could burn out good, and it would run fine.

 

[fusc1]

Depending on where you live, if you have the ability and won't get jammed up with the neighbors, try disconnecting the pipe at the inlet to the cat. See if the engine runs better. or you could check compression on a cylinder.

 

[manaen]

Geesh these things come in pairs I just answered two other questions like this, run a vacuum test on the motor to see if there is extraordinary back pressure at 3000rpms that will tell you if the cats are clogged.

to run the test just use the brake booster vacuum hose and hookup your gauge. Check vacuum at idle should be somwhere around 19 to 22 hg then rev the motor to 3000 rpms(hold it there) and the reading should settle to about the same as the idle number. If it is much lower (say 10hg or less) then you have a high back pressure issue with your exhaust. If it settles to around the same your exhaust is not the problem.

 

[studd469]

weak or failing fule pump? Check your fuel pressure before you go for a drive then again after.

 

[manaen]

weak or failing fule pump? Check your fuel pressure before you go for a drive then again after.

along those lines it could also be a clogged fuel filter, which would explain why when he drives it it gets worse. When the truck sits the dirt in the filter settles. Then when you start it up the dirt gets pushed around by fue pressure until it eventually completely clogs the filter again then the truck stops running. This happened on my dads ranger about 15 years ago he had a bad rust problem in his tank and had to keep replacing filters every month or so until the problem finally went away. I think he had hurt himself and his truck sat for a few months, so the tank rusted up.

 

[Mike1245]

thanks for giving me so many options guys!!
i'm going to check the fuel filter. i bought the truck last september, and we didn't drive it til about january because it wasn't registered or anything, and then we drove it a little bit til august when i finally got my license. it drove fine for about the first 2 weeks, then my problems started after getting the fuel filter replaced. maybe it wasn't put in right? i dont know, but i'm gonna check it out. i can't check compression, because i don't have the gauges or any tools to do it. i'll bring it to the gas station down the street and have them check it out.

but what's the deal with the 214 - cylinder id failure code?
i'm still getting the 332 - egr valve not opening too.
any suggestions?

 

[manaen]

on the 332 EGR valve those codes are thrown by the DPFE sensor, could be a bad vacuum line on the sensor or just a bad DPFE.

214 I will have to lookup.

 

[Mike1245]

thanks manaen, you've been very helpful! greatly appreciated
thanks to everyone else too!

 

[manaen]

here is a good writeup on the 214, interesting I didn't realize pre 95 ODB1 computers could utilize a ODBII scanner to read P codes.

CHECK THIS OUT

 

[Mike1245]

how in the world could you use an obd 2 scanner on obd 1!?!
i have access to one. but how does that work? there's a special ford adapter that we use for the scanner, and the obd 2 plug wouldnt work. ahhhhh!

 

[manaen]

well I know I used one on my 95 ranger, but I thought the systems were different in 95. If you have a scanner port under your dash below the steering wheel then you should be able to hook directly up to that port with an odbII scanner. Since I've never scanner a 94 truck.

 

[cculter]

well I know I used one on my 95 ranger, but I thought the systems were different in 95. If you have a scanner port under your dash below the steering wheel then you should be able to hook directly up to that port with an odbII scanner. Since I've never scanner a 94 truck.

95 and up have OBDII. There is no way to hook up a scanner to a 94. You have to use the diagnostic port with a test light or the check engine light flashes. There is a thread on the site that correctly shows this procedure.

 

[glfredrick]

Of course a scanner can be hooked up to pre-OBDII vehicles. You just have to have the right one!

Any Snap On scanner can do this with ease. You just need the correct plug to tap into the diagnostic port, and the right software in the scanner to talk to the computer. I do it all the time...

 

[Mike1245]

whats the chance of my ecu crapping out and causing these problems?
every time i scan, i get dtc 214, and 568 or whatever that cylinder id one is. but sometimes 332 comes up, sometimes it doesnt, sometimes the code for ect comes up, and sometimes it doesn't. maybe the computer in my car is nuts? i found an ebay store that sells 'em used for $25. should i go for it?

 

[glfredrick]

It is always possible that your ECU has burned out. For $25, I'd try another. It would be worth it.

I'd also be checking grounds and rubbed through wires.

 

[Mike1245]

okay, here's an update on my problem...
tonight i drove a different route to the highway, where i didn't have to stop at all, drove about 15 miles on the highway with NO problems. a few hours later i went back the same way, and still had no problems.
then i stopped at a drive up atm and put the car in park.
when i finished, i put it in drive and stepped on the gas, and it started shaking.
could this narrow anything down? why does it drive fine if i don't have to stop at all, but once i stop with the engine running for about a minute, i have problems when i start driving again?

please help!
the replacement ecu is on the way.. and i checked out my spark plugs. looks like they haven't been replaced in ages, so i'm going to grab some new ones.
any suggestions?
thanks everyone!