I have just bought an 88 E150 conversion van with an EFI 302 in it... drove it home 500 miles yesterday no problems although we had problems starting it initially.

What happens is this:

Van starts fine, but the idle is all over the place, runs high, goes low, and constantly hunts.

When it's put in gear and give it a little gas, it dies & won't restart- floods it. I have to hold the accelerator pedal to the floor, crank, then eventually it'll start for a second with a huge cloud of smoke out the tailpipe. I might have to do that 6 or 7 times before it'll start to splutter & catch. When it runs, I can gas it gently or hard & it'll respond. If it's in any gear, as soon as I give it any gas at all (either very very gently or mash it to the floor, and all points in between, it'll die.) I've had to jump it 4 times today already (with wife & 3 kids in van- talk about pulling your hair out!!- at least it did it in Burger King!). I believe that holding the accelerator pedal to the floor cuts off the injectors, and the huge cloud of smoke (is actually pretty spectacular) seems to confirm that.

I discovered that if I just put it in Drive & let it start to build up a little momentum by itself, I can then gas it, she'll try to die & then catch and keep on going- was really hairy coming back, but we made it!

I've read pages & pages of posts before posting this, and admit to being a little confused. Sounds like the MAP sensor from some of the posts I've read. It has brand new plugs & an O2 sensor. If someone can tell me where the MAP sensor is, I'll throw some carb cleaner all over it & see if it helps (or even disconnect the damn thing if it'll run.) It's not the gas tanks, cos it does it on both. And, no, I've not had the time to read the codes or get a Haynes Joke Book for it yet.

In the meantime, I'll have to stick to my trusty ol 84 2.0 Ranger (3 1/2 cylinders, 207K on original motor, no valve seals, no compression, quart of oil every 2 weeks, no smog pump, horrendous crankcase blowback throws oil smoke out of the filler, so I stuck it in the hose to the manifold *grins*) but at least she runs & gets me to work n back every day.

I've spent all of my spare cash on this van, and can't afford to take it in to the shop, or replace a bunch of components till I find the culprit. Most of you guys seem to know your onions, so any & all help in tracing it will be most appreciated.

Thanks for your time to read this!

 

It's gonna be hard to pin point it without going through a bunch of common problems.
First thing i would do is check for a vacume leak (intake,plenume,hoses egr valve pvc hoses) Spray some carb cleaner in those areas while it's running and see if the idle rises or drops.
Check your timing and your air filter and go from there.
we'll get to the bottom of this...it's gonna take alittle trial and error.

Jerry D.

 

Well, I can rule out the MAP sensor too- I bought the Haynes manual today, and has virtually nothing in it at all about the EEC-IV system. The only mention of the MAP sensor is in the wiring diagrams in the supplement *grrr* However, my old Taurus manual did, so that made finding the MAP sensor easy. Unplugged it (not the vac line tho), and the idle dropped like a stone and went really lumpy. Check Engine light came on too with it unplugged.
Problem was still there, so I plugged the sensor back up.

My idle speed is still up way too high, but now I can pull away (slowly) and wait for it to gain momentum, then I can drive it fine.
I just can't touch the gas pedal at all until it does get some speed up.

I'll have to wait until the weekend to really get into it- I'll check all the vac lines and clean the TPS too. I couldn't find the diagnostic connector so I could read the codes... anyone know where it's at? Once again the Haynes manual let me down there.

 

I have a 96 E150, and I found the Haynes manual lacking in emission and electronic controls and sensors. i picked up a Chilton manual for about 15 bucks, and it has much info about sensors, testing and code reading. I have it here in front of me, but it is the Chilton Full Size Vans Manual. Unfortunately this one covers 89 to 96. I called auto parts stores till I found one that had the chilton. If you can afford it I would get both of them. In this manual, the older systems like yours call for a hook up to the diagnostic link connector which is in the engine compartment on the passenger side. On 96 and newer the connector is under the dash and needs fairly complicated stuff to interface with the OBD11. Good luck!

 

I forgot to mention that your symtoms sound like it could be a stale gas problem. This is common in campers and conversion vans that sit alot.

There's a fairly new product on the market that not only stabilises fuel like stabil does, but is supposed to refresh older gas. the product is PRI gas additive. They have a website I believe is pri.com. It might be worth a try.

 

Hi guys,

Thanks for the info- have found out the van has sat for 3 years, and the first trip it did was me bringing it from Maryland to NC.
Have ran through about 2 or 3 tankfuls so far- put HEET & injector cleaner in both tanks 1st time I filled her up.

Radiator blew today, so I gritted my teeth & bought a new one (first new radiator I've ever bought in my life).
While I had that pulled off, I took the opportunity to clean out the 2 throttle bodies, and pulled & cleaned every connector I could find. I also tried a MAP sensor that I found in a Taurus, just to see- no difference.

After I finished that, I brought it home again. Initially the idle was all over the place, but she never stalled out on me. Acted like it twice, but didn't. I pulled the codes and all I got was that it's keep-alive had failed.

I drove it some more, just to see then tried again. KOEO codes came as 11, 11. Tried the KOER test, and got 21 13 12.
Any ideas on them?

(I just realized I've told a lie- this was before I replaced the rad.)
After the rad was replaced, she idles really nicely. I've just finished doing all this (started at 9EST this morning- is now 6:30), and she's been idling outside for about 40 minutes.
No water leaks *hurrah!*, and she seems to have totally lost that hesitation. Just re-checked the codes as I write this, and am still getting 11,11 & 12,21,13. Have noticed that she usually runs right on the bottom of the N in normal... but I really cannot be bothered pulling the stat right now.

She's slowly getting better, thanks to y'all

 

If you don't have the code meanings that are in the manual that comes with the scanner. I have the manual and can type out the codes. For what its worth 11 is a system pass or an ok code. The other codes have to do with idle speed and temp voltage. Sometimes they are stored codes and will clear themselves after so many starts. Good luck, and if you'll excuse me...it's MILLER TIME!!!

 

Disconnect the battery and leave it off for aprox. 30 min. That will reset the computer so it has to learn all over how to run properly.
I do it everytime i do a engine mod to my truck.
Give it a shot!

 

Actually, I cleared the codes by pulling my jumper wire while reading the codes so it wouldn't lose all of it's settings.

Man, that White Zombie is one hell of a truck!

 

Thanks man!
I have a lot of blood and seat in her.

Don't worry we'll figure this crap out with your truck. It's just gonna take some trial and error.

Jerry

 

is getting up into the "normal" range, the thermostat should be fine . I have 4 F150's (89/91/93/93 with 300/sixes and one
302), and all operate in the low end of the "normal" range. Also since the van had set for a while I would pull the heater hoses off the engine and backflush the core. What I did was buy two female water hose fittings and a couple of clamps. Leave the hoses on the core and attach the fittings. Run water one way then the next. Youll be surprised what comes out. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the help- I appreciate it.

I'm going to backflush the core this weekend- I would have thought that if the core was blocked, I just wouldn't get much heat in the van. I've seen other posts where it's worked for them, so I'm gonna give it a try too!

If gas keeps going up, it won't be a problem anymore!

 

I was kinda bored today at work, so I pulled the throttle body off, as I couldn't get access to the throttle position sensor due to metal heater lines in the way.

Rear of the throttle body & the intake manifold was covered in about 1/8" thick black goop. Disassembled IAC & TPS, and threw them in the ultrasonic cleaner along with the throttle body itself, and cleaned out the intake. Took me 2 cans of electronic degreaser (ethanol based, not triche) & about an hour of scrubbing to de-gunk it. I'm wondering why it was so filthy in there, and what that gunk was.

Took the battery off to reset the computer at the same time.
When I finally started her, the idle went sky-high, but I let her sit anyways and she evened out. She still hunts a lot on idle right now tho, and sometimes refuses to start unless I hold it in WOT to stop the injectors. She seems to drive a lot smoother tho, although that could just be wishful thinking! *grins*

I'm going to let her run for a few days & see what transpires. Also, I need to fit a new voltage regulator- I was checking the coolant level & it was sitting there clicking away to itself with the key off Both my local AutoZones are out of stock too.