’94 ford explorer –the engine dies while driving

Even though the Fuel pump relay has been replaced, sometimes the car won?t start. So we do the ?take the relay out to cool off? stuff, and then it will start.

The bigger problem is that at times the engine will die while I?m driving. The battery light comes on and the rpm goes to zero as the engine cuts out completely. I?ve been fortunate to be able to manuever it safely to the side of the road although the power steering won?t work at that point.

It can be very dangerous and happens without warning. It happened last week when I was driving on a highway at a constant 55mph and was

60 miles into the trip?. then it happened twice in one day. The first time I was doing 40mph and only 8 miles from home, got it restarted and to my destination where the car sat for 3 hours. I was on the way home and it died when slowing down for a stop sign and only 3 miles into my return trip.

I usually let it sit for a minute or two and try to restart. If that doesn?t work, I do the relay thing mentioned above.

The mechanics are mystified. They cannot pinpoint the problem. I?m afraid to drive it any distance unless my husband is with me.

I looked through a lot of the postings, but didn?t see anything specific about this. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Reply to
redcat
Loading thread data ...

My '94 did that too. I did the whole thing with the fuel pump relay as well as the relay supplying power to the whole car. Turned out to be the battery. A new battery cured the problem.

dickm

Reply to
dicko

From your description of the symptoms, it would seem that he electrical system is, at times, simply not working. How old is the battery? Sometimes, when they are at their service life, they will short from junk (I'm sure there's a name for it other than sediment) in the bottom of the battery. I'd have the battery checked. I'd also check the positive battery cable; peel back some of the insulation at the battery end. If there's any corrosion, the cable needs to be replaced.

Reply to
Big Bill

Reply to
Happy Father

I can?t thank you all enough for your input!! We bought the car last April and don?t know how old the battery is, but we will be buying a new one this week (and having the cables checked). Thanks again from this mechanically challenged couple!

Reply to
redcat

Could it be a fuel filter? I think there's one on the '94s... (I'm mechanically challenged as well) But it sure sounds like the same symptoms as my parent's old '82 Ford van. It died on the freeway while I had the pedal down. I was able to quickly throw it into neutral and restart the engine and pop it back into drive. We didn't have a problem for the rest of the drive. But a friend suggested the fuel filter. We had it changed a few days later and never saw the problem again.

My '94 Explorer factory battery lasted 10 years! I couldn't believe it, so I checked all my records and couldn't find any new battery purchase. There is a chance that I lost it, but I don't think so. I guess it has to do with Seattle's mild winters and pleasant summers. Life has been hectic, and I just never thought about it. It always fired right up. Last year on what turned out to be the coldest day of the winter, it still cranked but had a hard time. Got the battery replaced the next day. I wonder how much more "borrowed time" I could have sqeezed out of that thing!

Richard Minami

2005 Explorer XLT Sport 4x4 1997 Coleman Yukon

formatting link
Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse:
formatting link

Reply to
Richard Minami

formatting link
> > Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report > abuse: >
formatting link
Well, now......that could be another possibility. We did have a new battery installed and had the cables checked (mechanic said they didn?t need to be replaced). The car ran fine and then, on Saturday, it died again. Same drill, take the relay out for a few minutes and then put it back in and the car starts. We are going to take it back and get the cables replaced after all. Will also have them check the fuel filter. Thanks for the input!

Reply to
redcat

replying to redcat, edward Viens wrote: the fuel rail heats the fuel to vapor.instal cooler thermostat.shield fuel line near exhaust.

Reply to
edward Viens

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.