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SUVs Ford Explorer Ford Explorer Maintenance and Repair
6126 messages, Last post on Oct 08, 2008 at 8:52 AM
You are in the Ford Explorer Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
| I am now on my 4th Explorer, a 2005 with 22000 miles on it and just wanted to say that I have been extremely pleased with all of them and the support that Ford extends. My only concern with the current 2005 model is that on occasion I get a very musty order from the AC and then it goes away. Dealership gets rid of it but it returns approx 10000 miles later. Still, I am a very happy Explorer owner. I believe it is still the best value out there. | |
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Replying to: electricdesign (Nov 28, 2006 7:02 pm) 
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Replying to: 30speedy (Nov 29, 2006 6:47 pm) |
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don't always run your a/c in recirculate. You need to run in vent mode regularly to help keep the system clean. Mark. |
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Help! I've had my Explorer in to the shop 4 times in 8 weeks. 1999, SOHC, V6. Maintenance up to date. 71K miles 1. 1st issue was a wire that shorted out the wiring harness. It died at an intersection. It was fixed and regular maintenance of Intake Cleaning and Oil Change was done. 2. 2 weeks later, I'd get to an intersection (3-4 blocks after starting) and it wanted to quit / check engine came on once. I'd have to give it gas, but once I got going it was fine. The O2 sensor was replaced. 3. Thermostat went bad. Replaced. Nice and warm again. 3.5. Radio flickers. Did not take it in, but seems to be ok now that I turn in the interior light dial up. Thanks for that tip! 4. Tried to start on Monday. Would crank but not get any gas. When I finally gave it a lot of gas it would rev, but the instant I back off the gas (I'm still in Park at this point) it quit. Did it twice, then had it towed. It's been at the mechanic now for 4 days and "it starts every time for us". ARGH. They are guessing it is a bad Air Intake Control Valve, but want to Explorer to act up so they can be 100% sure. Any thought of what else it might be? I'm ready to sell it. OR am I just having a string of bad luck?
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Replying to: chandyk (Nov 30, 2006 1:38 pm) #1 Shorted wiring harness. That could have a lot of effect on the rest of the vehicle, depending on what damage was caused and how it was fixed. How did the short occur? What caused it? Are they certain it is properly fixed and that nothing else was affected? #2 Engine tries to stall & check engine light, what was DTC number when they checked it? Always ask them to write down the codes for you, for future reference. This probably is not related to anything else, unless the wiring in the harness for this sensor was damaged. #3 Thermostat, they just happen to go bad sometimes, probably not related to anything else. The Best cure is to be sure to replace it with a quality Thermostat, no place to cheap out here. #3.5 Radio And Dash Light flickering is not uncommon. My 2000 XLT 5.0L V8 Automatic does it too. I move the knob all the way up, if they ever flicker, I wiggle the knob, it's not worth fooling with for me, unless it gets really bad. #4 No Start, this might relate back to the electric wiring problem. It could be quite a number of things. Did it throw a Code (illuminate the Check Engine Light)? It could be damaged wiring to the fuel injectors or to the computer, or to the fuel pump, or to the MAF, or most any computer input or output device, or a problem at the intake throttle body or the IAC (Intake Air Control Valve/Solenoid). The IAC is easy to clean or replace, it sits at the top of the throttle body, has a 2 wire connector. Otherwise this may take some diagnostics by a trained mechanic. Good Luck, E.D. ISF
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Replying to: trevorclayton (Nov 26, 2006 1:15 pm) |
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Replying to: electricdesign (Nov 30, 2006 9:34 pm) Subjective-This started with a rough idle when cold that smoothed out once hot. I sought online paid help and was advised to check out the coolant temp sensor, other educated advice was to check fuel pump pressure cold then hot. I was talked out of the fuel pressure idea since"fuel pump does not know hot from cold.(I have since found support that maybe it does...I'll get back to this) Objective- 265000 mile van...new EGR valve, clean IAC valve, new plugs wires, spark plugs, rotor, radiator. Temperature sensor checked out ala Haynes manual as OK electrically and coolant level is fine. The van seemed to idle less rough and took less time to smooth out after topping up a minimal amount of coolant.(Maybe my imagination?) It still did not seem "right" I keep re-visiting the fuel pump idea with my online advisor yet he never gave any response just directed me to "free parts store advise". Meanwhile van did not start not start, engine won't turn over...it tried for a second the first time yet failed after that. The fuel pump can be heard at the gas tank working. I pulled the starter and took it in and it worked on two benches. I was directed to a possible bad fusible link or some other wiring. I checked all wires from the battery to ground; to the starter and all are passing at least 12V even the one with the fusible link that connects to the generator/alternator. Initially with this little cheap battery alternator tester I got 5V when connecting the positive cable from the battery to the other two wires that connect to the started solenoid from the alternator. Since the alternator connects to ground it appears a circuit is being made here. I decided to double check with my UEI multimeter and it registered 12V at this point which I trust more. So it appears the wiring to the starter is OK? Why won't the van start?? Is the idle problem and the starting problem related or just coincedence. Can anyone shed some light because I am about to replace the starter and hook everything back up but I wanted to make sure I did not miss anything diagnostically Well I am back to trying to get this van to start. All wiring to starter checked out and engine is starting, belts are turning, fan is turning but the "engine won't rotate" as this appears to be the symptom. I tested and replaced ignition coil. Turn on key and hear the fuel pump working but can't test pressure(not running) except when car is off no gas spits out of the relief valve but when the pump is energized(key on) gas spits out so it appears the pump is working just can't tell how well. The engine now makes a puttering ("plop..plop") sound. Someone said I didn't have enough gas fumes so I filled the tank up and the plop got very loud and smoke came out of the engine compartment. AAt this point I don't want to have it towed in...I need to start this van. Any help is appreciated? |
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| I have traced best I know how and cannot find the reason for the Top middle tailgate stop light to keep flickering when the ignition is off. Thank goodness it appears to be an array of LED's as it does not seem to drain the battery overnight, but I am afraid of a short somewhere that may cause a fire. Any Suggestions? | |
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Replying to: fixitrod (Dec 03, 2006 9:04 pm) First, give us all the information on this vehicle, Year, Make, Model, Engine, Transmission, miles, etc. There is no discussion forum for the Pontiac Safari or Grand Safari, so I suppose we can pursue it here unless Steve or Tidester wants to start another forum on it, or move it to another forum. I am not familiar with this particular vehicle, but I can supply a lot of good general information that may help. I'm not sure about the rough idle yet, let's try to make some headway on the "No Start" condition first. I need to picture just exactly what it is doing now, as there appeared to be some conflicting information, You said "van did not start not start, engine won't turn over", then you said "engine is starting, belts are turning, fan is turning but the "engine won't rotate" as this appears to be the symptom", and "I tested and replaced ignition coil". You also said You removed the starter and it worked on two test benches, so the starter must work OK? My questions are: When you turn the key to start, does the engine turn over normally? If that is true, does the engine not start when it is cranking and turning normally? If that is true then I would look the the no start causes as being the fuel or electrical systems or possibly even a valve train problem, as this engine has HIGH MILES. Is the engine in good general condition, good compression in all cylinders, and valve timing is good? Check valve timing, chains/belts, and compression. Check the fuel pressure with a fuel pressure gauge with ignition on, engine off, don't know how much it should be be would guess at least 30 to maybe 60, check the specs on your vehicle. If you have good fuel pressure, check to be sure you have good ignition to all spark plugs. If ignition seems ok, go back to fuel system, remove fuel filter, check for any contamination and put on new filter. If you find comtamination, there may be trash, dirt or water in the gas tank that may need to be cleaned out. Put some fuel system cleaner in the gas tank at least every oil change or more often to keep the fuel injectors clean. Check that all out that I've mentioned and respond back to us, and we'll go from there. Good Luck, E.D. ISF
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