My brother finally got the van delivered to his house. There are a few issues with the 87 E150, 5.0 I just bought. Mileage is either 98,000 or 198,000. Hopefully someone will have some ideas what to look for.
First issue, The van starts fine. It will run for about 5 minutes and
then it will just die. It will start back up but then idle rough.

Following things are new from previous owner: Timing chain, water pump,
fuel pump in front tank, fuel pump on rail, EGR Valve, Distributor module.

Second issue, when my brother was checking out the lights and fan he
noticed when he turned on the lights the dash lights the were bright and
then when he turned on the Heater blower they went real dim. Maybe not
grounded? There is no stereo in it.

third issue, I don't know if this is correct or not, with the key in the
Accessory position the Turn signals work. Is this right? I have never
seen them work in that position. Is this a bad Ignition switch? Wiring
problem of some sort?

Thanks briank

 

hiya. me 87 302fi also. got sum books. might be able to help.

my turn signals work in acc.

my dash lights dim abit when switching to heater but not real dim. the only ground near the dash i know. is underneath to the left of the wheel. 2 or 3 wires will be attched to a "clip" the black is the ground. its usually a bit loose but still will work.

i think the dash grounds thru some splice i can check on that. the other grounds are off the batttery to the inside fender. then you can follow the wires down to one connected near the alt i think towards the bottom pass side front of engine.

you might wanna seach tps here for info on cleaning and replacing if that is your stall idle issue.

also. the "sunpro" code reader for our vans are on ebay for under ten bucks if u wait. also the "electical and vacuum troubleshooting manual" from ford can be found there also. next to the full shop manual this is the most handy. i'm afraind haynes and such are more about carbed models.

also i highly recommened checking out " fordfuelinjection.com " they will explain how the fi works and show u how to pull codes without a reader. also code glossary.

good luck. keep us informed

rob

 

racinrob,

Thanks for the info. I will see what I can find out.

brian

 

My brother was able to check out some of the wiring today. When he was looking at the fuse box he noticed that the Buzzer/chime was not working he tapped on it a couple of times and it started working but sounded like crap. He unplugged it. Then when he checked out the lights they all worked correctly. And when he turned on the Blower switch it worked on all speeds and the lights did not go out. So far that part of the electrical is working correctly. the next thing is put some gas in the tank and check out the fuel gauge and the switch for the dual system.

Can he leave out the Buzzer/chime module?

He started the van and it seemed to run alot better but than it ran out of fuel. I will let you know what he finds out after he puts fuel in it.

Brian

 

> It will run for about 5 minutes and then it will just die.

First thing I change when there is an engine problem on a newly purchased vehicle is the fuel filter. Since many people NEVER change it.

 

Rebocardo,

Thanks. We are going to do that and also put in a new set of plugs. Someone put in AC Delco plugs. I have never had a ford run very well with them. Plus the wires on the right side look old.

 

My '87 E150 had the same stalling problem after 5 mins initially - then it progressed to hard start and waiting 10-15 mins after stalling before it'd start again. I suspected it was my ignition module because I had replaced it less than a year earlier with an Advance unit (sorenson)

Just fixed it yesterday with a new ignition module and coil, starts up perfect, runs like a champ! FYI: the techs at the Ford dealership informed me EEC-IV ignition modules and coils should be replaced at the same time regardless which one went bad.

Good luck, ~Rich

p.s., I had a dirty TPS on a Jeep Grand Cherokee before and it caused a lot of stalling while driving around town - everytime I stopped for a light it would die.

 

Update on 87 E150 running problem. My brother is in the process of tuning up the van before we go any farther, new wires, plugs, cap and rotor.
When he pulled all the plugs out, the back 2 on the right side were badly fouled. All were Autolites but one which is located behind the Alternator, that one was a plug for a 350 chevy and it was cleanest plug out of all of them. Go figure.
Before we go any farther we are going to change out the base gasket on the pletnum. It shows to be leaking. Plus we are going to buy a new ECM. The ignition module was replaced by the previous owner. Do you think I should buy a new ignition module as well?

Thanks,

 

hiya. the passenger side is tight on these vans so alotta folks never change the front two plugs. glad ur bro gottem out. the far one can be gotten to from the right wheel well.

might be late but i use motorcraft parts. just dont buy any cheap wires since they can melt in the hot compartment and cause crossfire.

while he's working on the right side have him check the hard plastic vacuum line that runs on that side for cracks or just replace it. it gets damaged from the heat and sloppy plug changes. might as well check all the vac lines too.

i would give her a run after the tune-up. you be surprised how much diffence it can make. might solve any other issues. i hate to replace good parts since a van this age will need other stuff like brake lines and such. see how she goes after the tuning.

good luck, motorcraft parts can be found online for a fraction of dealer prices.

 

racinrob,

Thanks for all the advice.
Motorcraft parts is all my brother and I like to run. The dealer said that Motorcraft and Autolite plugs are one and the same since they are made by the same company but wtih different names.
He is slowly working on it.

 

Why would you buy a new ecm? That's gotta be EXPENSIVE... I would definitely replace the ignition module and coil first for $40 than buy a new ECM for $$$. My experience with car computers is once they go bad, they're dead - no running, no nothing.

You should also check into a diagnostic tester. They can be had on ebay for cheap. ~rich

 

Sorry it has been so long since I posted on this. The van is up and running. Turned out to be the warning chime/buzzer controller. My brother said he could barely hear it buzzing/chiming. So once he unplugged it all the electrical started working properly. The last thing that he done before starting it was put in a new set of plugs (since those were fouled), new thermastat and coil.

Thanks for all the replys and help.

brian