Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Car stalls and won't run after emissions test

I got my emissions tested today using the ODB method and I noticed that it sounded different accelerating afterwards. Then on the way home the car stalled, and when it hesitantly restarted, it sputtered out and stalled as soon as i put it into drive. I managed to get it home, but it does the same thing and when it idles, it does a slow vroom, vrooom, vroom, and then it slows to stop if I give it any gas. Any ideas?

Anybody?

Sounds like your IAC valve. I think your emission testing was just a coincidence unless they pulled a vacuum hose. I assume you have already checked for any unplugged hoses, etc. And the usual have you changed your fuel filter in the last two years, water in the gas (use HEET), air filter clogged.

I'd suggest cleaning out the throttle body and IAC with carb cleaner, then disconnecting the battery to reset the computer and let it relearn its idle strategy. I know on other Fords (5.0s especially) the bouncy idle+stalling thing is quite common and primarily caused by a dirty, sticking IAC.

They did an OBD method? Well that said, reset the computer first. Something might have gone screwy.

I reset the battery, and that didn't work. I took it into firestone and they spend a day working on it and they said the engine timing was screwed up, like it was backwards. They said it could possibly be that a timing belt came off the track or the timing module is screwed up. They are going to spend another day looking at it.