Car Losing Power

[Tdh24]

I was driving home from school today and my 98 zetec contour engine died. I was stopped at a red light and when i applied power to go the engine died. I restarted the engine and limped home with the car. The car does not have a lot of power now and just doesnt get up and go. Any ideas on what the problem could be. I just had the oil changed in it and new brakes put on. The car has 62,000 on it.

[dyaballikl]

could be a million things. how is it running, any smoke? is it rough, is it loud? what's the temp gauge reading? do you get a check engine light? sorry, but we always need details.

[jamesmason1]

it could be:
coil pack
sparkplugs
sparkplug wires
TBPS
vacuum leak
battery
alternator
fuses
fuel pump
fuel injectors
etc.
etc.
etc.

Need more exacts on the symptoms.

[Tdh24]

no check engine light, no smoke, no noise. Just when you give it some gas its just held back

[dyaballikl]

how does it idle? if it's a rough idle, you most likely had a vacuum hose pop off. the fact that you're not getting a cel is probably a good thing, meaning it's most likely something simple. take some time, do a little looking around under the hood. things i'd do: check your alternator and battery with a voltmeter, find a compression tester (you can rent one from just about any autoparts store for very cheap), and run that test (ask if you need help); pull each spark plug wire, test that you're getting a spark on all 4 by sticking a screw driver in each one, then resting it just above your valve cover to see if a spark jumps (make sure all 4 are d/c'd when you try this); with the car off, pull the hose off the top of the fuel filter to make sure you still have fuel pressure, then put it back on; finally, i'd check the air filter, but it's probably not that, since no cel. anyway, just look around like that, it's most likely something simple.