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94 Weird Problem

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Old Jan 9, 2012 | 01:28 AM
  #1  
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94 Weird Problem

Hey....I have a 1994 F150 4x4. It has the 5.0L and has a very weird problem. The truck will be running great then out of no ware, the check engine light will come on and the truck will run terrible and sometimes die and refuse to start for about 5 minutes, but as soon as the light goes of, the truck runs fine again....I am at a loss for ideas and any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Devon
 
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Old Jan 9, 2012 | 02:54 AM
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94BigRed
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Just got done with a similar problem on my 94 F-250. It would run sometimes all day, sometimes die after 10 minutes and restart after 20, or some days it decided to stay home. It turned out to be the pick-up sensor in the distributor. A Carquest lifetime warranty replacement has had it running problem free ever since.

Yours sounds a bit more regular tho. It could be as simple as a fuel filter. Try and find out when the last time was that it was changed. Depending on where you drive and how much, 40-60k could be enough to warrant a new filter.

A good start would be going to a shop and finding out what code is throwing the CEL on. That should at least point you in the right direction.
 
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Old Jan 9, 2012 | 07:10 AM
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I agree with the last post. Napa, O'Reillys or any auto store will scan it for you for free. At least you will know where to start looking. Good luck!
 
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Old Jan 9, 2012 | 07:46 AM
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And a OBDI ford scanner in~$30. You can bring it anywhere you go! (thats what I do)
-Mike
 
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Old Jan 13, 2012 | 01:10 PM
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I think I am going to buy a scanner because all of my local parts stores say they can not read it. I also just noticed that ontop of what the truck was doing, it is now blowing a bit of black smoke and is running rough. Any new idead????
 
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Old Jan 13, 2012 | 01:56 PM
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Ooh. This could actually be the ECU then. My 94 went through a phase where it started off fine, includung CEL being ON because it doesn't have an EGR valve. Every one in a while the CEL would kick OFF and the the thing would skip and start missing occasionally. It got worse and worse and nothing could fix it. We tried spark plugs, fuel filter, pressure regulator, and yelling. Lots of yelling. Eventually I had to limp it down interstate at about 45 MPH to a specialty shop. They ran some tests and figured out that it was running way too rich and the timing was off. They replaced the computer and distributor. (For those keeping track at home, this is the same distributor that needed replaced 3 months later) Fixed it right up.

And I'm no scanner expert, but I've been told that when the computer is bad, it will throw a code saying something else is bad, it can't tell on itself.

Its an expensive fix tho, mine was $600. I'd ask a local guru and see if they know any tips, but the ECU is a definite possibly.
 
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Old Jan 13, 2012 | 02:51 PM
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Sounds like you're tripping into limp home. Without the code reader, testing every circuit or blindly replacing parts are your only options. Buy the reader and then we can go from there. If you have a friend with the same truck you could swap computers, but your issue sounds like a sensor/sensor wiring issue, not ECU.
-Mike
 
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Old Jan 13, 2012 | 09:13 PM
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Midnite1987
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No need for a code reader unless you really want one.

You can check it without one, the link below explains it

http://www.oldfuelinjection.com/?p=13
 
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Old Jan 15, 2012 | 10:11 PM
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Thanks for that link, it helped alot...I pulled the codes and got


33-something to do with EGR i think
72
56
15
17
23
32
55
 
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Old Jan 16, 2012 | 09:07 AM
  #10  
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Originally Posted by 94BigRed
Ooh. This could actually be the ECU then.
A concur (now). Find a friend with the same truck (or try a jy) and swap ECU's to check. It may be as simple as a bad connection (except the memory code, which may just be a hiccup) Some of those codes mean different things depending or if they were KOEO, CM, or KOER. It is important to know/mark what was from where. Also are these codes from a reader or paperclip? I have seen many a miscount lead to expensive 'repairs'.
-Mike
 
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Old Jan 16, 2012 | 10:23 AM
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33 is a KOEO
the rest are CM
 
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