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car stalling in reverse.

B

BOMBdig

CEG'er
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
482
Location
Springfield-all of them
I have a '96 contour zetec ATX and i've been having a problem with it stalling almost EVERY time i go into reverse. It usually starts immediately back up so it hasn't been too much of a problem, but today it stalled and it took me about five tries to get it to start back up. Any clue why it's doing this?
 
not sure because of the atx, but maybe the possition sensor, the MLPS sensor I believe?

is there a CEL? anyother known issues?
 
It happened a few times while stopped in drive. It's MUCH more frequent in reverse. Brian do you think that maybe sometime soon we can run a live diagnostic? I know we ran one already and it seemed ok, but maybe we can turn something else up? :shrug: :(
 
zorrex said:
It happened a few times while stopped in drive. It's MUCH more frequent in reverse. Brian do you think that maybe sometime soon we can run a live diagnostic? I know we ran one already and it seemed ok, but maybe we can turn something else up? :shrug: :(
Click to expand...


sure I can do some data logging to see whats going on. now I don't know much about the atx but it almost sounds like a torque converter issue, like its staying locked up and stalls the car maybe?

if you haven't change the fluid it should be done anyway
 
MLPS has to be my guess, IAC valves on Zetecs dont normally gunk up because there isnt as much carbon buildup that happens inside the intake of this motor.

Plus it wouldn't just do it in reverse, it would stall every time she let off the gas and tried to let the motor idle if the IAC were the culprit
 
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Eh I did some talking with AliasJerk and think it could be an ignition problem. This car had misfire issues in the past. They were resolved with a changing of the spark plugs which had oil on them. The valve cover gasket is leaking a little bit I think so that might be the problem. I'll keep it updated.
 
I had a similar issue with my '98 2.5L ATX. After I installed the trans-go shift kit, it wanted to stall every time I put her in reverse. Changed out the MLPS and now she works fine again.

Chris
 
We did some minor experimenting today. Checked the plugs and they were relatively clean and gap was correct to .050 inches. It seems at VERY light throttle it sputters, and when you let off throttle it will sputter. This is why it seems to stall a lot in reverse, because while backing out, it is natural to lightly tap the throttle. There is a small exhaust leak it seems, but we speculated maybe the exhaust could be plugged a bit? Would the car lose power at higher RPM's if the cat was clogged? It got too late to try the unplug-the-O2-sensor test today so we didn't get a chance to try that...
 
having looked at the car yesterday I have a feeling its an ignition issue. with very light throttle the car will sputter, almost stalling and then smooth out. you can also notice it alittle on decel.


Ian I would try different plut wires and maybe a coil to see if that makes a difference.

As indicated plugs looked good, the tips where clean, little oil at the top of the threads but the car needs a valve cover gasket.
 
Don't worry the valve cover gasket is easy. I'll pick up a gasket and we can switch that out very easily. It is literally a 15 minute job. The coil pack is a little bit more expensive but I figure it might be necessary as it could be dying...
 
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