SYMPTOMS:
My 2003 Excursion (in sig) has been slowly showing increasing signs of running a little rough, but only during deceleration with my foot off the pedal. Yesterday, the Ex made what she says was a strong "wheezing" sound when she let off the acceleartor... no stumble, no roughness, no skipping... just the wheezing sound. With my leg the way it is, I haven't been able to take the Ex for a spin yet to see for myself, but I have personally experienced the skipping during deceleration, so I know there is something to it.

RECENT CHANGES (mods / maintenance / repairs):
Nothing, really. The oil, oil filter, fuel filter, and air filter were changed a couple thousand miles ago. I added my bypass filtration system at the same time. Shortly after that, maybe 1500 miles ago, I installed my HPX line. Fuel is always purchased at the same station as my F250, and the F250 is having no trouble.

THIS MORNING's INSPECTION (by my son):
A little oil in the valley and down the back of the engine, and a few drips down the frame. Been that way since I bought the truck. Doesn't seem major.
Oil level only down one quart.
No drips/puddles on the ground.
Fuel drain valve and drain line were both dry.
Bypass filter line connections were all clean and leak-free.
Full flow filter and bypass filters were both clean and leak-free.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I have AE, but the OBD2 port is not working on the Ex right now, and I can't manuever myself into position at the moment to diagnose or fix that issue.

MY SUSPICIONS:
I am thinking there ar actually two problems...
1) EBPV line plugged, and
2) either CPS going out, ICP sensor going bad, fuel pump going bad, UVCH needing attention, etc.

What has me confused is that the symptoms I've seen were only during deceleration (aside from the noise my wife heard yesterday).



THEREFORE... I would appreciate any insights you guys can offer. I have already searched FTE for deceleration problems and only came across TPS or CPS solutions. My own experience with TPS issues though didn't reveal symptoms during deceleration... only during acceleration.


THANKS.

 

Don't know, but I do know that the ODB port is on the same fuse as the cigarette lighter and if that dose not work, you've got a bad fuse.

 

Well, I know that the cigarette lighter socket is working because that's where I keep my cell phone charger plugged in, and the blue light on it is always on.

I've read somewhere, I think it's on the AE website, that there are a few rather common solutions to the OBD2 port not working, one of them being the fuse you mention. When I can take the time to actually try to work on it, I'll dig that info up again.

In the meantime, I really need to make sure that the Ex is dependable for week after next when I'm supposed to be in St. Louis for a week of training. Can't leave my wife and kids without a dependable vehicle.

 

does it feel like the ebpv is opening and closing, just a thought. Or is the moter actually cutting out? I am no guerue so just thought i would through that out there

 

When I have experienced the skipping on decel, it's almost like it's missing a cylinder, but again only on decel. What my wife experienced yesterday, I have not observed myself, so I can't speak to those symptoms beyond what I've already described.

Regardless, I think I've just found some breathing room on my time frame for getting this situation resolved. I've just discovered that the mileage reimbursement for me driving to St. Louis is small enough that it doesn't even cover my fuel expense, but that the company will also cover airfare if I choose that travel method. Guess what I did... yep, I just bought a ticket and the "Cancel my trip for any reason" insurance just in case my ankle surgery either goes awry or gets delayed for some reason. Worst case, I'll be out the cost of the insurance policy which is less than the amount of fuel expense I would not get reimbursed for.

Anyway, now I can at least know that my wife will have my truck (F250) if I don't get the Ex's issue(s) resolved before I leave.

I'm still open for guidance and suggestions, though, so please keep them coming.

 

Are we dealing with Benjamin or one of your numerous other kids

I too would start with trying to get the OBDII plug to work. Don't forget to plug the AE into the 250 to rule out the AE side of things. Also unplug and plug back in relays to be on the safe side.

Next, I'd try to duplicate the sound under decel under different conditions. As in, torque converter locked and unlocked. With the TC locked, the injectors should go quiet when you let off the skinny pedal, unlocked they will still make the diesel noise.

A little rough and wheezing is hard to diagnose over the internet. Codes will help, and have someone do some test drives under different conditions to see if we can narrow things down.

 

Chris... no, Benjamin is stuck at Auburn University right now waiting on his car to be returned from the body shop after a little "bump", and he's also down in bed with mono at the moment. Timothy is the one I've been referring to... he's my 17yo.

Thanks for the tips on checking with the TC locked and unlocked (and checking the relays, too). I'll hopefully be able to get down in the garage tomorrow for a short time to try to get the OBD2 port working. I have to completely reinitiate my AE all over again since I turned in my old company laptop after being laid off. I've already installed the software on ym new laptop, but haven't made the time to get it working. When I bought the Excursion, the port was not working, and at the same time I could hook up on the truck and have the AE work fine, so I'm pretty sure that it's definitely a port issue.

As long as I pump a good load of Tylenol and Advil together, I can get around a bit without my ankle hurting much at all. The only problem is that I have so much shape that it flat wears me out to bop around on my crutches for very long. I know I'll get a lot stronger ove rthe next several months of using them, but i'm still in the "wuss" phase at the moment.

 

That's too bad. I was hoping it was Ben so I could PM him and help him work through this behind your back so you didn't become too stubborn and try to do this yourself. (that's what I would do, so I assumed you'd be the same way.)

Since Timothy isn't a member here, I'll have to rely on your honesty and integrity when I say I expect you to let your boy do the leg work and test drives on this while you keep your leg elevated. You're better off using your engineers mind coming up with the proper testing protocols. Timothy is probably just looking for an excuse to get away from a Dad who is going stir crazy. I see this as a win - win situation.

 

Have Timothy sign in and we will get him his 25 posts in a thread then I can make the 'OT" thread dissapear. That will give him his pm capabilities

 

Now that the cat's out of the bag, I don't think the PM's are that improtant. Timothy could just sign up and we could continue on in this thread. If it was Benjamin, I was going to PM him and walk him through what to check and how to check it without his dad knowing so that Pete stayed inside with his leg elevated instead of trying to help.

Now that my secret is out, if Pete tries to do too much, I'll get a hold of Brandon and have him go sit in Pete's lap so he can't get up to help.

 

I just spit my beer out reading that. If it happens we need pictures

 

OK guys... I get the picture, and I'm grateful for your concern and willingness to help so much. However, Timothy's working 12 hours today at Chick-fil-A, so if anything gets done today, it will be a test drive only so I can try to repeat the symptoms my wife heard the other day. The pressure really is off at the moment, though, given that I'll be flying to MO instead of driving.

Timothy stays pretty busy himself, too. School, running his small lawn business, working PT at Chick-fil-A, going to the Fencing Club two nights per week, woodturning, etc. He actually wants to join up with a local MMA club for some boxing/self-defense courses, but I've put my foot down and told him he's already doing too much... maybe later after Christmas. He's even offered to spend a couple days/week on the road making sales calls with me to help me manage the demonstrations after I start back up after Thanksgiving.

Also, I had thought of calling Brandon for some assistance, but there's no rush at the moment now. I'll just take it out for a little spin so I can tell if it's the EBPV acting up... or something else. Then I'll at least have a starting point.

I promise... I won't spend much time on it myself. I had a "not so good" night last night, and am working hard to keep my foot elevated and iced to help the swelling go down enough for surgery on Monday at noon. If they postpone surgery again, I believe it would be better to cancel my trip to MO for training.

 

Pete,

Maybe this will help, or maybe not, but it was an easy copy and paste.

Take it easy and stay off your feet. I know, easy for me to say.

 

Thanks, Robin. I'll hold on to that little gem for sure.

I just snooped through the AE FAQ's to see if that's where I had seen some relativ einfo before, and it is. The snapshot below is their take on the OBDII port issue.

 

After reading a post about someone not being able to connect to the DLC/OBD port curiosity got the best of me so I broke out the Fluke and started probing the port pins. Then I found the port pinout diagram and with PhotoShop5 I came up with my own little cheat sheet. I flipped the connector pin portion 180° to match the orientation of the port in the truck.