2002 Ford Thunderbird - 3.9L Starts & Dies FIXED

[Mike Considine]

Vehicle starts and dies immediately.

Ford calls for 30-65psi fuel pressure. Vehicle has 45psi, when starting it drops to 40psi when it dies. Vehicle will not stay running for more than 2 seconds.

Any suggestions on what might cause this?

[brianp87]

Does it lose spark when it stalls? If you add auxilary fuel will it stay running?

[steven kiser]

does it start and die as soon as you release the key? i've seen bad crank sensors do this. i believe this ignition system will fire on the crank position and when key is released require a sensor reading to continue to run. if p.c.m. doesn't read a signal it will shut down spark. another issue is it could be the security system. with a scanner watch the sensor readings. if there are readings during initial crank it may be the security system.

[mopwrforme]

unplug the mass air flow if it starts and stays running replace it,that or security issues on a start and die. ive had k/n air filters take out the maf due to excessive oil on the filter. good luck

[steven kiser]

GREAT POINT. FORGOT ABOUT THE MAF

[Mike Considine]

thank you mopwrforme. I did what u suggested and it work. The mass air flow was bad. Once again thank you very much!!!

[liljoe]

Oh, forgot to welcome you to the forum; Welcome to the group, come on in and have a seat, relax, take a load off and enjoy.....

[fortknoxx]

thanx for posting the fix. thats a biggie for this place.

[MCONROY90]

I HAVE A 02 THUNDERBIRD 3.9L V8. I START THE CAR AND PUT IT IN DRIVE AND IT STARTS RUNNING ROUGH AND STALLS OUT.
ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE CAUSE COULD BE?

[brianp87]

Whe it stalles does it lose spark or fuel pressure?

[MCONROY90]

YES IT HAS BOTH. IT ONLY STALLS IN DRIVE NOT IN REVERSE OR NEUTRAL.

[Jeff @ Able Auto]

I've had a lot of luck using my solus scanner in graph mode for this kind of problem. Hit capture when it stalls then scroll back to the stall point. Look for the first component to drop out and procede with diagnosis.

[steven kiser]

is the tranny locking up?

[MCONROY90]

IT SEEMS LIKE IT MIGHT BE BUT I CAN GO IN REVERSE FINE WITH NO PROBLEM JUST WHEN I PUT IT IN DRIVE IT STALLS RIGHT AWAY.

[brianp87]

there it is

[steven kiser]

they'll do that. reverse may be a bit harsh but it will not stall. when you put it drive does it kind of stall with a bang?

[brianp87]

I usually run them in the air and can tell when braking the vehicle

[ricmorin]

Reminds of the old 125's with the bad lockup solenoid. Felt like you left the clutch out when coming to a stop.

[brianp87]

Exactly just did a lock up in an older grand prix last month for stalling took us a bit to find it. Once got it to do it knew almost right off the bat but took a while to duplicate