engine dies

werewolf · Nov 6, 2018

I have a 1999 3.0 manual five speed ranger. the last few weeks for two or three times a week when i stop at a light or stop sigh the rpm drops real low and dies. it starts right back up. It doesn't do it all the time, it idles good at around 700 rpm. it runs good going down the road. any input would be helpful. it's been a good little truck, 3.0 is down on horse power compared to my 02 - 4.0 but with the manual five speed it's a fun little truck. thanks in advance.

Bgunner · Nov 7, 2018

Has the check engine light come on? if so please pull the codes as these will help with diagnosis.

91stranger · Nov 7, 2018

How often does it die when at a stop? If it isn't consistent then I would check the battery cables and make sure they are clean and tight, then I would replace the IAC and clean the MAF sensor. If it still dies then I would check fuel pressure (when it dies) and make sure you are getting enough fuel pressure. Mine would do the same thing. Starts right up, drives good down the road but as soon as I let off the gas to come to a stop it would die. Sometimes it would start right up and other times it would take 10-15 minutes. I ended up replacing the IAC, ignition coil, plugs, (wires looked ok and clean) cleaned the MAF sensor, cleaned the throttle body, cleaned any plug connector I could reach, replaced the ECT sensor and sender only to have the same issue happen again. Ended up being a bad fuel pump. Replaced fuel pump and haven't had an issue since. So I would start with the basics and see if there are any codes.

werewolf · Nov 7, 2018

3.0 dies

Bgunner i have not seen the check engine light come on. My son has a OBD II tester i will get with tonight and see if there is a code. about a month ago the check gauge came on and the oil pressure gauge was jumping up and down. i replaced the oil pressure sensor. it's been ok after that.

Bgunner · Nov 7, 2018

If this is a 93 engine and has not been swapped to a 95 or newer model then it is OBD I and the OBD II scanner will not work.

Have a watch of this video on how to manually pull the codes on OBD I Ranger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVbDHOiuKpQ

55trucker · Nov 7, 2018

werewolf said:
I have a 1999 3.0 manual five speed ranger. the last few weeks for two or three times a week when i stop at a light or stop sigh the rpm drops real low and dies. it starts right back up. It doesn't do it all the time, it idles good at around 700 rpm. it runs good going down the road. any input would be helpful. it's been a good little truck, 3.0 is down on horse power compared to my 02 - 4.0 but with the manual five speed it's a fun little truck. thanks in advance.

doesn't this sound familiar to me.....

humour me, try this

remove the A/C harness plug from the A/C compressor, when driving select any other setting other than *floor* & *off*for the HVAC knob, do you still experience this same stalling anomaly? .....or does the PCM command a proper throttle overrun allowing the idle to drop to approx 1000 & then return to idle without stalling?

My 98 experiences (auto trans) this very same issue, it's in the PCM, when *floor* is selected the PCM will allow the rpm's to fall to near 0 when the truck comes to a halt & the gearshift is put in park, start the truck again & the rpm will return to idle, the next time I'm out and go thru the same process the PCM does the very same thing, BUT it won't do this when any other setting on the HVAC knob is chosen. For now i've disconnected the A/C compressor (don't need it this time of year) and the idle management is fine, I stay away from *floor*.

I will have a closer look at this in the spring. It is very peculiar.

pjtoledo · Nov 7, 2018

werewolf said:
Bgunner i have not seen the check engine light come on. My son has a OBD II tester i will get with tonight and see if there is a code. about a month ago the check gauge came on and the oil pressure gauge was jumping up and down. i replaced the oil pressure sensor. it's been ok after that.

my 2000 has had the oil pressure jumping for over 12 years. once warmed up it stops jumping.
still runs great (for a 3.0)

werewolf · Nov 10, 2018

OBDll Test

Ok Mr. Bgunner i hooked up my obd ll and i have no present fault codes. i checked the stored codes and found po455, po401, po136, po141. But there old codes. i bought this about a little over a year ago. been good little truck had some vacuum leaks at first went to manual hubs took out that part of vacuum system. but if one of these fault codes is still there wound't the check engine be on.

ratdude747 · Nov 10, 2018

You might have a bad IAC valve or bad IAC valve wiring. It's sticking closed intermittently, causing a no-idle, but as soon as you re-start, if memory serves, the IAC gets a wide-open command, which is breaking it loose from the stuck spot. When this happened to me in my 4.0 (which uses the same IAC valve system), not even the wide-open command at startup would move it (it was completely frozen), but have seen these fail intermittently (like on my wife's Escape, similar valve, would only fail when the ambient air was hot and PO thought it was an evap issue) so your symptoms could indicate an IAC issue. In all cases, I never saw a CEL associated with such. Not saying this is for sure the issue, but it's another possibility to explore.

If this is the case, you need a new IAC valve. At least for me, cleaning them never helped and if anything made it worse. What ever you do, do not move the valve piston manually- that, in my experience (3 used valves) breaks them internally and makes them never move again.

Bgunner · Nov 10, 2018

PO455 : Evap system gross leak detected <-- Possibly a loose gas cap?
PO401 : EGR insufficient flow detected

PO136 : refers to the second oxygen sensor on Bank 1
PO141 : O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1, Sensor 2)

Before condemning the O2 sensor make sure that the evap system and EGR systems are sealed properly as the EGR system can cause the O2 sensors to be off causing the code.

as mentioned before your IAC can also cause idle issues as well.

EDIT: No, just because there is code a stored dose not mean that the CEL would be on. The system will turn the light off if after a predetermined amount of cycles have passed and the circuit did not fail more than the acceptable amount of times in that time frame. This suggests intermittent issues, hard to find some times.

werewolf · Nov 17, 2018

dang PO141

I cleaned the ICA valve and it has helped it has only died twice. I deleted all fault codes. The only one the comes back is PO141 i ordered a new down strime 02 sensor and put it on still comes back. But only in pending codes and does not make the check engine light come on. I have also ordered a new IAC valve to see if stops the dieing. also i don't run a muffler at all, from the cats back straight pipe. would this be a problem with no back pressure. it runs ok and sounds ok just dies every ones in a while.

Bgunner · Nov 18, 2018

Not running a muffler, although loud, will not cause the CEL to come on.

Craig0320 · Nov 19, 2018

I ran straights of the cat with no muffler on my 99 3.0. I never had a problem with it.

engine dies

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