Recently bought a 1993 E-150 conversion van for trips. Had it gone through and thought all was good to go. Got as far as next state got gas it wouldn't start. After a few min it started, got back on hwy van lost power and died. Waited a couple of min, started got off next exit found a ford dealer they replaced fuel filter and pump thought it was good to go again. Got 350 mi into my trip, stopped for the night it died. Just like before the fix. Headed for home didn't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. Made it the next day , no problems thought I should have finished the trip not headed for home. Made it maybe 50 miles van lost power, died. After a few min. it starts we go 5 mi looses power dies, this happens maybe 8 times then some how goes until we get home. Take it to a dealer in town they find nothing wrong. There is definitely something wrong! Help! Any ideas?

 

Need more details on the van. What engine? What Transmission? How many miles? More description of how it dies and loses power.

Assuming you have a supercharged 460 big block I would say the supercharger pully is slipping.

 

Engine 5.0 liter 302. automatic transmission I believe to be E4OD. 94761. miles

 

Any codes and check engine light coming on ? That should be an OBD-1 system in that truck. Going thru what you are going thru, it should be throwing a code.

 

Maybe check the electrical connector from the fuel pump to the chassis wiring----those have been known to fail and/or give intermittant operation similar to your condition.

 

The check engine only comes on after it stops before I turn the key off. It might be a OBD-1 system because my gear shift column shows P R N (D) D 1 , which is not illustrated in the owner guide. That shows P R N D 2 1. I assume D and 2 are the same function. There are no codes that come on. You are going along fine and then you notice the engine isn't getting any fuel and then it shuts off.

 

Thanks for the info I will have a mechanic check this out. I need this fixed as I need to get around with out getting stranded. Van is perfect for trips when running right.

 

The engine needs a few things to run. Air, Fuel and Spark.

We generally assume air,especially if it runs for a while then stops.

Fuel and spark can be more intermittent. I've used an inductive timing light to check for weak or erratic spark on an engine a time or two. Sometimes they are even good for checking timing. Starter fluid can be used to check for lack of fuel. If you provide starter fluid and the engine runs and then dies, we know pretty well it isn't spark and its fuel related.

 

ALL 1993 cars and light trucks sold in the US by all manufacturers were OBDI systems.

 

90s model fords that die intermittently & can't be reproduced for a mechanic are common. If you can open the door, lean out, turn the key to "on" but not "crank" & you hear a bzzzzzzzzz for about 2 seconds, chances are the pumps are OK. To be absolutely sure, a pressure gauge screwed to the "schrader valve" (looks like a tire valve) on the fuel rail will tell if pressure is present. If not, checking for corrosion on the relays that power the pump is the next step.

The next most common problem is the ignition module. It may live on the side of your distributor or be mounted remotely on the fender. (No idea about your 93) It gets hot then shuts down for a while till it cools & the engine runs again.

The next culprit would be the PIP module (profile ignition pickup) that lives inside the distributor. It is the electronic system that replaces the points to fire the sparkplugs. It too will fail for progressively longer times before failing comlpetely. One of its functions as well as firing the plugs is to send the computer a signal that the engine is running & if the computer does not see this signal it will shut off/not allow the fuel pumps to run.

This is not meant to be a complete list. It could be a loose wire on the coil or any number of other things. You might want to visit the 87-96 F-150 & larger forum & do some searching/reading since many things are common & the population is larger.

Do not depend on a Ford dealership. Sadly most have dumped their diagnostic equipment/documentation for this vintage of vehicles & will simply throw parts at it with low chances of sucessful repair.

Good luck & welcome to FTE.

 

Thanks for the info! I will pass it along to my mechanic. I just dropped it off today. (And no it's not a dealership.) I'll let you know the outcome.