Register Log In

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Hesitation Problem

Print Thread

Hesitation Problem #939013 04/25/04 08:45 PM
Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 56 Ontario, Canada B B6T OP CEG\'er
OP B6T CEG\'er B Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 56 Ontario, Canada	This isn't my car, but I thought I'd ask here because you guys obviously know these cars a lot better then I would. My mom just got a 1995 Contour V6 Auto with about 172,000 kms on the odometer. When first starting the car up, it idles fine, around 600rpm. It goes into gear fine and doesn't die or anything. When accelerating between 1000 and 3000rpm, there is a severe hesitation, to the point that the car almost doesn't accelerate anymore. After 3000rpm the car accelerates normally. The problem becomes less severe once the car has reached the proper operating temperature, although the hesitating is still present. The check engine light is on, which leads me to believe its an ignition problem. Do you guys have any thoughts? I noticed that this car uses coil-packs, do these have a certain life time? What about spark plugs? And more importantly, do I need to remove the upper intake manifold to change the spark plugs? Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help 1990 Festiva - 13.3 @ 102mph with a 1.9 60' and 155whp. 1995 Contour GL 2.5L ATX 1998 Contour SE 2.5L ATX 1998 Contour SE 2.0L MTX

Re: Hesitation Problem #939014 04/25/04 09:53 PM
Joined: Sep 2003 Posts: 2,725 Grand Rapids, Michigan - Chica... H HITMANinMI Hard-core CEG\'er
HITMANinMI Hard-core CEG\'er H Joined: Sep 2003 Posts: 2,725 Grand Rapids, Michigan - Chica...	Originally posted by B6T: This isn't my car, but I thought I'd ask here because you guys obviously know these cars a lot better then I would. My mom just got a 1995 Contour V6 Auto with about 172,000 kms on the odometer. When first starting the car up, it idles fine, around 600rpm. It goes into gear fine and doesn't die or anything. When accelerating between 1000 and 3000rpm, there is a severe hesitation, to the point that the car almost doesn't accelerate anymore. After 3000rpm the car accelerates normally. The problem becomes less severe once the car has reached the proper operating temperature, although the hesitating is still present. The check engine light is on, which leads me to believe its an ignition problem. Do you guys have any thoughts? I noticed that this car uses coil-packs, do these have a certain life time? What about spark plugs? And more importantly, do I need to remove the upper intake manifold to change the spark plugs? Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help My car hesitated back in May, Check Engine came on, I had the upstream O2 replaced. That fixed the hesitation problem. It came on again this year, PO171 - system to lean, the car was also hesitating, I cleaned the MAF and replaced the downstream O2 sensor, fixed the hesitation. You should first clean the MAF sensor.

Re: Hesitation Problem #939015 04/26/04 01:01 AM
Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 56 Ontario, Canada B B6T OP CEG\'er
OP B6T CEG\'er B Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 56 Ontario, Canada	Is it a heated wire type MAF sensor? How do I clean it without destroying it? I know those things are really sensitive. 1990 Festiva - 13.3 @ 102mph with a 1.9 60' and 155whp. 1995 Contour GL 2.5L ATX 1998 Contour SE 2.5L ATX 1998 Contour SE 2.0L MTX

Re: Hesitation Problem #939016 04/26/04 01:24 AM
Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 2,382 Kansas City,MO,USA,Earth, Terr... N Nate'sTour Hard-core CEG\'er
Nate'sTour Hard-core CEG\'er N Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 2,382 Kansas City,MO,USA,Earth, Terr...	First thing with a CEL is to get the codes read so you can perhaps narrow it down to a single problem. Autozone or Advanced Auto will read them for you and then come on back here and we'll get you outta this jam "Fear is the little death." Muadib.

Re: Hesitation Problem #939017 04/27/04 07:45 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 6 G garry Newbie
garry Newbie G Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 6	I am having the exact same problem! Cruising along at about 1600 RPM in overdrive(auto tranny) and give it a little acceleration and it hesitates. CEL came on and I retrieved code po302 cyl #2 misfire. Cleared code and a couple of days got code po303 #3 cyl misfire.My code reader hooks up to my laptop. Changed leads and plugs but it's back again. I'm thinking it's the coil pack but want to make sure as it is EXPENSIVE. Any of you guys know of a link (tech tips)that describe how this system works. I believe it's a wasted spark system. Any help would be appreciated. Is there an after market coil pack out there?

Re: Hesitation Problem #939018 04/30/04 01:30 AM
Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 2 Ontario Canada J JGoody Newbie
JGoody Newbie J Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 2 Ontario Canada	I have a 95 Ford Contour and have had hesitation problems about a week ago and it sounds like the same exact problem that you are having. I took my car to the ford dealership and they replaced the MAF and it still had the same problem. The ended up finally figuring out that it was the intake manifold running control(IMRC) and now it runs fine and doesn't hestitate in the mornings. The Mass Air flow(MAF) is very expensive($350 canadian) so i recommend having the IMRC replaced first which costs about $45 for the part.. Hope this helps you out...

Re: Hesitation Problem #939019 05/05/04 01:26 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 6 G garry Newbie
garry Newbie G Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 6	I found out what the problem was on my Contour! I checked the gaps (set them at 0.052") and she came back to life! I did some reserch and found that the Contour uses the "WASTED SPARK SYSTEM" and it basically means that two plugs fire at the same time. One of the plugs is the return path for the high voltage, so if your plug gaps are too big you will get slight misfires which may not be bad enough to bring on the CEL but will cause hesitation or stuttering. I also found out that with this system it is not a good idea to use those new long life platinum plugs with the four tips.

Re: Hesitation Problem #939020 05/08/04 10:59 AM
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 9 E eagle98_dup1 Newbie
eagle98_dup1 Newbie E Joined: May 2003 Posts: 9	If you use non-Autolite/Motorcraft plugs that have a "fat" center electrode, you'll also get the stutter.

Moderated by horseydug_dup1, Ray_dup1

Link Copied to Clipboard

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5