Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting plug wires??

Did you do the easy obvious check - are the secondaries closing or are they stuck open ???

O-k...went home last night. Unplugged MAF lead. Started car...ran fine!! Restarted car 4-5 times...still ran fine. So I reset PCM, and unplugged MAF before initiating the relearning process. Allowed car to idle for 5 minutes with unplugged MAF to insure switch back to default settings. Then did the following (per another thread):

1. Start car
2. Let it idle to warm up (~5 minutes)
3. Take it for a leisurely drive at various rpms accelerating & decerating (3-5 minutes)
4. Get on the car hard at various rpms accelerating & decerating (3-5 minutes)
5. Stop the car & let it idle
6. Turn on the A/C (2 minutes or until idle settles down)
7. Repeat step 3 (A/C is cut off at WOT so step 4 in unnecessary)
8. Stop car and let idle a minute or so
9. Shut off

The result? Car runs waaaay better. Still has slight stumble, but a lot less and only under heavy load (say 1500rpm in 3rd). I'm going to do the spark-plug hunt thing this weekend, and will replace the SP Wires next week (I was going to anyways). But actually going thru the procedures for the PCM to relearn properly gave me a car that runs great!! Except for the intermittant stumble, she pulls harder now.


Great advice!

Thanks for all the details mcgainer. That is excellent that it worked for you. I didn't get a chance to do mine yet, but will this weekend. Did you clean out the MAF?

these all sound like great ideas and I'll try them asap...the only concern is that I already tried resetting the computer, with no discernable change (even in the short term). Still, the MAF sounds like the next thing to check out. Thanks all!

I didn't...but probably should. I did about 4 months ago, but running an oiled filter (AFE) I probably should again. Next weekend I'm going to clean the UIM/LIM, and since it'll be apart, I'll probably do the TB and MAF (as well as the th fix!).

I would highly advise everyone to follow those procedures for PCM relearning...very happy "free" gains!

mcgainer--did you plug the MAF back in before starting the numbered steps or did you do those without the MAF?

Thanks,
Steve

Originally posted by mcgainer:

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O-k...went home last night. Unplugged MAF lead. Started car...ran fine!! Restarted car 4-5 times...still ran fine. So I reset PCM, and unplugged MAF before initiating the relearning process. Allowed car to idle for 5 minutes with unplugged MAF to insure switch back to default settings. Then did the following (per another thread):

1. Start car
2. Let it idle to warm up (~5 minutes)
3. Take it for a leisurely drive at various rpms accelerating & decerating (3-5 minutes)
4. Get on the car hard at various rpms accelerating & decerating (3-5 minutes)
5. Stop the car & let it idle
6. Turn on the A/C (2 minutes or until idle settles down)
7. Repeat step 3 (A/C is cut off at WOT so step 4 in unnecessary)
8. Stop car and let idle a minute or so
9. Shut off

The result? Car runs waaaay better. Still has slight stumble, but a lot less and only under heavy load (say 1500rpm in 3rd). I'm going to do the spark-plug hunt thing this weekend, and will replace the SP Wires next week (I was going to anyways). But actually going thru the procedures for the PCM to relearn properly gave me a car that runs great!! Except for the intermittant stumble, she pulls harder now.


Great advice!

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I unplugged MAF and did steps 1&2. Plugged it in and started all over again at 1. Did this to insure MAF was running default prior to learning.

And, of course, let us know if it comes back after a week or two.

I have tried all of the above (except removing my upper and lower intakes) over the last seven months and nothing has worked except for going to different plugs.

I sometimes got 2 weeks of great driving after a change, but it always has come back.

- Randall

Where can I get Security Star screwdrivers?? Ugh...Sears doesn't have 'em. Any ideas?

Thx,
Steve

Originally posted by radioactive:

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Thanks for the info D Davis.

I have found some info on the MAF I figured we could use:
(Found this for an Explorer, but it should be very much the same).

When your engine is cool, remove the wiring clip from the side of the black plastic sensor part of the MAF aluminum body. To remove the MAF interior sensor wire, you will need a Security Star (Size T15 or T20) screwdriver or screwdriver bit for a power screwdriver. Remove the two security star-head screws and carefully remove the sensor. You will see the two sensor filaments…they look almost like the filaments on a light bulb. Carefully spray the filaments with an O2 safe carburetor cleaner, such as Gumout. Let it dry thoroughly. I help mine along with a careful blast or two of canned dry air. While it is drying carefully wipe the aluminum mount surface of the MAF body if there is any dust there, but be careful not to get dust in the mount hole. When the sensor is dry, replace the sensor back in the MAF body and secure with the security star-head screws. These don't need to be torqued down, just simply hand tight. Replace the wiring clip. Then start up your engine. You should have solved any bogging or missing problems. My flat idle spot is ancient history

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Originally posted by engineerpaulson:

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Where can I get Security Star screwdrivers?? Ugh...Sears doesn't have 'em. Any ideas?

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Sears does carry them. If you go the their web page (http://www.sears.com), you can find them if you search for the word "Torx".