Hey,

I have a 2013 F150 with a 3.5 Ecoboost. I was pulling my 16' aluminum boat on a two lane road and pulled out to pass another truck. I stomped on the accelerator and the motor lost power. I limped back into my lane and noticed the engine light blinking. If I had to describe it, it seemed like the motor was running in some sort of "limp mode."

After about a minute or so, I let up on the accelerator and the light stopped blinking where the motor began to run normally. Although I only "stomped" on accelerator once since I had the issue, I haven't had the problem since.

I did not bring the truck in for service..Any thoughts what this could be and any suggestions would be appreciated. The truck has 44k on it..

Tx,

448AA

 

Welcome!

Howe many miles are on the truck? This sounds very much like a spark plug misfire. The ecoboost engines are hard on plugs. Mine had to be changed at 62K miles for the same reason. Later on the #2 coil went out out, no issues since and I'm now at 76K miles on the clock.

 

Could also be the condensation in the intercooler issue. What were the ambient temperatures? Very humid? Raining? Those are the typical signs.

 

I have a 2011 EB with 42,000 and the same thing happened to me yesterday. It happened once before about 12,000 miles ago (almost 2 years) and that was the condensation issue in the CAC. I just had the plugs and boots replaced a week ago and the dealer is hinting that it might be a plug issue. The plugs are the recommended Motorcraft gapped at .030 as per Ford recommendation. I'm betting it's the condensation issue because it happened under virtually the same exact conditions: wet roads with lots of tire spray. I was pulling my 18 ft. boat and had changed lanes to pass a semi travelling slower. Traffic was coming up behind me so I punched and it started to accelerate and with no warning, lost power and went into limp mode, bucking and missing with the flashing check engine light. I had to drop back into the right lane and slow. As I was thinking I might have to pull it over and try re-booting it, the power started coming back and after a bit I could accelerate moderately back into the traffic flow again but i was afraid to accelerate too hard for fear of making it worse. I took it to my dealer this morning and it will be going in Monday for a diagnostic check. A reader showed cylinder 5 & 6 misfires. Later this afternoon, the check engine light went out and all the power is back and there was no moisture on the roads. So I'm really suspicious of the CAC condensation problem again. It seems like rain really increases the possibility of that issue. It has had the original TSB performed the first time it happened. Frankly, this is a pretty dangerous problem. I don't get on it every day but I do once in a while. I don't have the hole drilled either. I'm not certain the hole is the answer but would appreciate any ideas.

 

^^^^^^^

If you have a drill bit case full of bits, get the 1/16th bit and see just how small the hole would actually be. It's nothing more than a weep hole.

I drilled mine about 10K miles ago after I replaced the plugs and boots and the #2 coil went out. In my mind I needed to be able to mitigate and rule out any further misfire type of issues. No issues with boost loss, nothing of any real value came out of the hole but I can see a small oil stain on the back side of my air dam. Obviously something is coming out, at least intermittently but it's not going into my intake, that's for sure.

For those who are spooked about drilling the hole and fear boost loss or something getting in (which is impossible) then turn a screw into the hole or add a petcock. This will allow you to control when you open the hole and drain the CAC.

Or, just do nothing and run it hard periodically to keep it cleaned out.

 

I actually think this is very feasible. My ScanGauge II shows there is a negative pressure in the intake under light throttle. If something thick like water and oil can seep out under boost, then unfiltered air is being pulled in when there isn't a positive pressure difference.

I agree no one having done the weep hole has reported any noticeable drop in performance. There is even a YouTube video that shows a minimal drop in boost. And that small hole won't suck up anything substantial. But it will pull in a small amount of dirty air. I personally wouldn't do the weep hole if I was regularly around dirt roads.

 

Thanks Tim! That's the idea...keep the crud out of the intake. That's why I put in a competition grade catch can. Everyone would be amazed how much crud goes back into the engine through the PCV system in these boosted engines but the can doesn't do anything for the CAC. Because of the identified misfires on #5 & #6, I'm wondering if there are possible coil issues.