Well That Was Weird

"Denver Is Stuck In The 90s" (denver80222)
05/27/2015 at 13:43 • Filed to: weird

I was just driving to school and my truck shut off while doing 35 MPH in downtown traffic. I pulled over and tried to start it... Nothin. So I popped the hood, checked the oil (It was fine, I fixed my oil leak at the last change), checked the plug wires I just put on (they were still connected) and I looked under the truck for leaks (no leaks). I then realized there was no reason for my truck not to start, so I got back in and turned the key.... It fired right up. What could have caused this strange phenomenon? Im at a loss here, and I dont want it to happen again.

DISCUSSION (35)

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:45

A friend of mine had an Explorer of similar vintage, and it started doing this. They were never able to track it down. Probably a short somewhere.

TheDude without a car > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:45

Maybe it stalled out?

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:46

Sounds haunted to me. Find a priest or fill the rad overflow with holy water.

CB > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:46

Air bubble in the gas line, maybe. A similar thing happened to us, once.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:46

IGNITION SWITCH RECALL

Jonathan Harper > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:47

Loose electrical thing.

My sister had a Ford Escort wagon of this vintage for a very short amount of time. She hit a huge bump on the Taconic Parkway and the car shutoff, apparently it was some kind of fuel cutoff that was loose and sensitive. She junked the car after that.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:48

Battery terminal?

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:48

Electrical probably. Our Micra did this once and only once. Never happened again and we never found out why.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:49

Loose battery terminal? I’ve had that issue before.

DrScientist > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:50

need to know more symptoms.

were the accessories still working? like did the radio shut off?

did any warning lights turn on on the dash?

also... glad you made it safely to the side of the road. similar events are what prompted the GM ignition switch recall. some of those drivers werent as lucky as you... as their steering wheels locked up and they could not steer to avoid obstacles.

yamahog > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:50

SPIDERS IN THE KILLSWITCH. BURN IT DOWN.

/ flashback

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:51

Ford columns from that era are know to have short wiring in them and pulling on the column when getting in or out of the truck can stretch them. Also tilting the column a lot.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > DrScientist
05/27/2015 at 13:53

No warning lights, the radio stayed on (which is why it took me a second to realize why my gas pedal wasnt working) and I lost power steering, but the steering lock didnt engage (it only engages when the ignition is in the lock position)

My fuel pump has been whining off and on so maybe CB is on to something with his air in the fuel line scenario

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Jonathan Harper
05/27/2015 at 13:54

Damn, your sister is harsh!

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
05/27/2015 at 13:55

BAHAHAHAHA!!

whoarder is tellurium > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:55

Might be cam or crank sensor.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:55

Maybe you weren't paying enough attention to her... She got moody.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > CB
05/27/2015 at 13:55

Possibly.... My fuel pump has been whining off and on as of late.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > whoarder is tellurium
05/27/2015 at 13:56

Colognes dont have a cam position sensor, thats a Vulcan thing

whoarder is tellurium > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 13:57

Fine. It’s your cardinal grameter refractory device.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
05/27/2015 at 13:58

That explains the problems my friend had with her Explorer. It only did it during turns.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > whoarder is tellurium
05/27/2015 at 14:01

My turbo encabulator is modulating modial fluxes against my panametric fan just fine thank you very much

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/27/2015 at 14:17

Yea it was a common issue with them in the 90’s with the column they put in everything. the wire would pull out just a little bit and cause a short in the ignition system. Essentially like you were turning the key off

HammerheadFistpunch > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 14:27

2nd a loose electrical thing or improperly sealed electrical thing. Likely a cracked distributor or no dielectric grease on fitting lets moisture in and it temporarily shorts. My cruiser would do that when it was humid out raining and it was a fitting on the distributor cps that wasn’t sealed. Popped it off, sealed with grease and it works great

Nibbles > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 14:27

Fuel pump cutoff switch
Fuel pump
Fuel Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Fuel filter
Fuellin’ yer needs
Fuel line
Fuel injectors
Fuel / Fire / That Which I Desire (Gib plox)
Fuel for the soul
Body Fuel
Body Filler
Body by Fisher
Fisher Price
Vincent Price
Vin Diesel
Diesel Particulate Filter
Particle Man
Triangle Man
Triangle Man

DrScientist > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 14:27

yes... sounds like temporary loss of fuel.

check/change the fuel filter (they’re only like $10). clogged filter could be the reason for the whine.

check the connections on the fuel pump relays and on the pump itself. grab some sandpaper, clean of the contacts, add some copper grease if you have it. put it back together.

if the pump continues whining. get it replaced. no idea what kind of pump yours would take, but my guess it wouldnt be more than 50-80.

also... before you go doing any of this stuff. disconnect the battery.

Jonathan Harper > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
05/27/2015 at 14:31

She’s not car people like us. Needed something reliable. She actually junked it after the second time it happened and had to be pushed down the taconic some 6 miles by a state trooper.

If you’ve ever driven the Taconic, you’d know it’s not the kind of road you want to break down on, ever. Lots of really narrow bits with no shoulders and blind crests. Some doctor was killed a few years ago when his Lexus died and he stopped in the right lane at night, went to pop the hood but the car was rear ended and he died.

Rainbow > Nibbles
05/27/2015 at 14:36

I love you for those last three lines.

Nibbles > Rainbow
05/27/2015 at 14:39

D’awww

Kinja'd!!!

I love me too

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Jonathan Harper
05/27/2015 at 15:12

Damn. I’m not familiar with that specific road, but here in the Appalachian Mountains, we have many of the like.

Jonathan Harper > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
05/27/2015 at 15:23

Should be emphasized more (along with a lot of other stuff) how important getting your self off the road in an emergency situation is. Leave the car. Forget the car. Go stand in the woods. You’re much more likely to survive.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Jonathan Harper
05/27/2015 at 16:01

Couldn’t agree more. That should be up there along with don’t bicycle on roads with blind corners or without lights/reflectors at night as the most common sense rules most people ignore.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 16:12

I agree with jbh. It’s something electrical. Check the main electrical box under the hood (should be on the driver’s side close to the hood hinge). Mine has an intermittent problem with the fuel pump relay connection. I haven’t had it drop out while driving, but some mornings I have to pull the relay and reinstall it before the fuel pump will kick on. Cleaning everything didn’t help. A new relay didn’t fix it. Someday I will disassemble that black box and fiddle with the wires....

Kinja'd!!!

MM54 > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/27/2015 at 22:30

My car recently did something similar, except instead of stalling it would just randomly (about 40% of the time) decide not to start, no cranking, nothing. Once I even lost power to everything - no lights, dings, etc. Every time I fixed it by banging on the wiring harness. I once took a dirt road at 50 and the shaking from that actually kept it working for a couple weeks.

I ended up spraying contact cleaner into most of the connections, replacing my battery terminals, and giving the whole harness a good shake. It hasn’t done it since. Not sure what, if any of that, actually fixed it, but maybe you’ll get some idea.

Rico > Jonathan Harper
05/30/2015 at 01:01

Makes me wonder why a lot of other car manufacturers that aren't European put fuel doors on the driver side. Standing on the side of traffic to refuel if your car suddenly ran out of gas on the highway can be a death sentence.