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Where do I start?

MDewell

Active Member
Joined
April 11, 2008
Messages
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City, State
Oklahoma
Year, Model & Trim Level
1992 Explorer 4X4
I've only had the x a few weeks, and the first thing I noticed was an intermittant cut out while driving down the road. Once the car got warm, it seemed to quit doing so...

Tonite driving back from callin a couple little league games, I noticed that it did it the entire trip home (15 miles)..

Before you say "check the cat"....no need to. It was removed several years ago and replaced with a glass pack and an echo tip (long story there..LOL)

Regardless....I'm not sure where to start in checking this out. I know that air/fuel/fire are the 3 things needed, but the loss/gain of power I'm experiencing seems to make me believe it's an electrical issue.

Tomorrow, I'm going to tighten up my #3 plug wire (it's on, but not snapped on per say" and see how that affects it..

I'm also stuck at the shop tomorrow, so I'm going to attempt to clean my MAF Sensor...

Other than that...any other ideas?

Hope I described the issue enough..lol
 



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whats kinda cut out, like it surges? only at sertain rpms/miles perhour? does it do it more so on exeleration, like up hils take offs ect.
 












well the plug wire u described,#3, could be the issue, seeing as the cylinder wont get the spark needed to propperly fire, could be ur coil pack, it could be cracked or something, could be bad wires in general, the porsilin on one of the plugs could be cracked or chipped, happend to a buddys escort, could also be ur TPS(throttle position sensor) that was bad on mine, cheep and did the trick.

u can get some cheap plugs at walyworld for a few bucks, plug taht wire in all they way and see waht happens, my guess is it is ur plugs,wires, or coil pack, sounds like the best bet to me.
 






Alright...I adjusted the spark plug boot and it snapped right in...right after I re-tightened the spark plug. Seems the guy that had it changed plugs but didn't get it tight enough...I had it out with my bare hands!

Anyways...it's starting to get worse...did it pretty bad this morning, and today driving home from work it was cuttin out pretty bad..I pulled in the driveway, put it in park and played with the throttle a little and you can definitely tell something's goin on..

If I take it to Auto-hell...can they give me a readout with codes or something? I'm hopin I can take it up there and a code will tell me what's goin on.
 






Its probally the MAF sensor, Ever since I changed mine, it (explorer) has'nt done the symptoms your talking about, cleaning it wont help, it prob. makes it worse.You can prob get one at youz local picknpull junkyard, point blank
 






When you have this cut out thing, to engine RPMs go up or down? Does engine noise change in tone/volume? Do you get any abnormal vibration? I'm just trying to get a better idea of what you're experiencing.
 






Here's a basic simulation of it stuttering when I'm trying to accelerate..excuse the text description...LOL

gas...cough cough...gas...cough...gas...cough..

Honestly, there's really no change in the sound of the engine...it just hiccups more or less. I guess I'm not quite sure about the RPM's because I feel it and don't really think to look at where the tachs goin, so I'll check that out tomorrow and let you know. And there's no vibration...other than the hesitation of it cutting out, or hiccuping.
 






Try installing a new fuel filter. It's cheap, and if it isn't the problem, your truck more than likely needed a new one anyway.
 






check your fuel pressure. your fuel pump may be failing. had similar issue on my mustang and took a while to find it but ended up being a fuel pump. also, check the voltage going to the pump. make sure its constant. check fuel pressure, 35 psi in idle.
also, TPS may be misleading your ECU. Look up what the voltage should be for TPS in idle and then in 1k rpm and in 2krpm that will give you an idea if your TPS is ok.
Last but not least-Fuel injectors. Get a fuel injector cleaner. Your fuel line feed to the injectors may be clogged or injectors themselves are screwed.

PS: Best of luck!
 






I've never had success with any kind of fuel injector cleaner, but I'll throw in a bottle this weekend and see what happens..cross my fingers!

How do I go about checkin the fuel pressure? I read on here that there's something along the lines of a valve (like a bicycle tire) that I can hook some gauge up to? That sound right? I'll have to do that this weekend just to be sure I'm getting the correct pressure.

PS. What the heck is up with the MAFS? I checked out prices on these things....you've gotta be kiddin me! LOL
 






I've never had success with any kind of fuel injector cleaner, but I'll throw in a bottle this weekend and see what happens..cross my fingers!

How do I go about checkin the fuel pressure? I read on here that there's something along the lines of a valve (like a bicycle tire) that I can hook some gauge up to? That sound right? I'll have to do that this weekend just to be sure I'm getting the correct pressure.

PS. What the heck is up with the MAFS? I checked out prices on these things....you've gotta be kiddin me! LOL

MAFS- Mass Air Flow Senson.

Look where your injectors are, follow that fuel line, you will come to a "Tire Valve" thats where you want to put a fuel press gauge on. Auto parts stores sell these gauges for about $40. this is not the permanent one, this would be a hand held unit.
 






The same thing happened to my with my x. It just kept cutting out. I found out it was one of the relays. It was the fuel pump relay I believe. Check it out. It only ended up costing me $25.
 






I was talkin to the guy that I bought it from and he tells me that he replaced the positive cable before we got it...

Also, I noticed that when it does cut out, it really doesn't loose anything on the tach..

We're thinkin somethin electrical...either the positive cable isn't tightened, or that pesky #3 wire needs to be replaced...so we're gonna go over it this weekend..

I'm also going to have the fuel pressure checked and see if I can get any codes...I'd hate to shell out money for a damned MAF sensor if there's nothin wrong with mine..
 






It could be lots of things. Have Autozone read it with a hand held computer. If it throws no codes, my guess from what you described is the coil pack, IMO.
 






I'm going out to Autozone today to pick up some heet for the fuel lines, a fuel filter..and some contact cleaner for the MAF sensor.

-What kind of adapter do I need to unhook that MAF sensor? It looks like a star head with a dot in the middle, but I'm not sure on the name of it?

-Is there a particular kind or name of contact cleaner I need to get for that sensor?

We're pickin up and replacin the fuel filter and cleanin the lines because apparently the gas station had water in their gas, and a friend of ours was havin the same problem with her car that we had with the explorer...and since the fuel filter is cheap...can't hurt..lol

I'm also gonna have them read the codes so I can get an idea of where I stand with it...I'm sure it's loaded up with codes...
 






The MAF is held in with 2 T-20 TORX security screws, you can get a set from Harbor Freight or some store like that, a set will cost less than $20$

For contact cleaner, choose a zero-residue electrical contact cleaner, make sure you let it dry completely before reassembly
 






So i went to Auto-hell...picked up a can of MAF Cleaner and the t-20 security sets..

Came home, cleaned the sensor (which didn't look bad honestly), let her completely dry...hooked it back up..unhooked the positive cable for a couple of minutes...hooked it back up and went for a drive..

There's been no change.

Came back, replaced the fuel filter...ran her...same. No change.

I think next on my list is to replace the plug wires.

On another note...Autozone or Oreilly's no longer read codes on anything older than 96 or 98...something about they don't have the reader anymore for something 'that old'...all they have are the OMC-II readers?...yeah you can purchase one I suppose, but sheesh...so I have no idea what codes it may be kickin out.
 






So i went to Auto-hell...picked up a can of MAF Cleaner and the t-20 security sets..

Came home, cleaned the sensor (which didn't look bad honestly), let her completely dry...hooked it back up..unhooked the positive cable for a couple of minutes...hooked it back up and went for a drive..

There's been no change.

Came back, replaced the fuel filter...ran her...same. No change.

I think next on my list is to replace the plug wires.

On another note...Autozone or Oreilly's no longer read codes on anything older than 96 or 98...something about they don't have the reader anymore for something 'that old'...all they have are the OMC-II readers?...yeah you can purchase one I suppose, but sheesh...so I have no idea what codes it may be kickin out.

Relavent thread: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=147734
 



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still sounds like ur TPS to me, i replaced wires, plugs fuel filter, new maf, differant junkyard computer, new fuel pump relays, checked the fuel pump it was pretty much new! took a multimeter and tapped into my TPS wires and noticed taht it had a drop in volts when i would throtle, so i got a new one, didnt work for the first few days, i think the computer was in safe mode, but after a couple days the problem jsut wasnt there, and have yet to have another problem!
 






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