99 SE 4 Cylinder Code P1383 Rough Idle Low Power

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

I've seen some posts about this before, but it seems that the possibilities for the P1383 code are many. I'm a newbie and have just started to get under the hood of my car.

99 SE 4 Cylinder

Here's what happened. I added some oil, and out of curiousity, unhooked the sensor on top of the engine to the left of the row of spark plugs, and hooked it back up. I nosed around a little more, and realized that the place that changed my oil last did not clamp down my air filter on one side, and air was rushing past it. I clamped it down, after looking at the filter and seeing that it was pretty clean.

When I got in the car, I had no pick-up. "Moosing" is what I thinks it's called. When it idles the RPMs modulate up and down, up and down. I changed the oil and the oil filter, and cleaned the MAF sensor.

THEN I noticed a hose that comes to the left of the battery, from something under the battery. It doesn't connect to anything from there. Not sure if it supposed to.

That's as much background as I can come up with. Any recommendations?

stevehwms@msn.com

VCT cam overretarded.....P1383. Did you plug the VCT solenoid back in?

Yes, i plugged it back in immediately after un plugging it, and I've checked it a few times just to make sure since then. I wonder if it's a bad connection somewhere.

UPDATE - This morning the car won't start. The starter is just making a racheting sound and the engine is not turning over... That just doesn't sound good.

Sounds like the battery doesn't have enough jucie to get the car going, or your starter is slipping. In regards to the air filter thing... why did you pay someone to change your air filter? That is the easiest thing in the world to do. Anyways, if air was getting in, it means it was unfiltered. A full intake cleaning might be necessary. Sounds like you sucked a lot of crap into the intake. How long was it like for?

Paid someone to do a quick oil change before going out of town, and the air filter change was part of it.

It's probably been that way for 4,000 miles.

Going to try to jump start tonight after work. Still wonder of my unplugging the sensor and plugging it back in may have screwed something up.

Jumpstarted it just now, and it started. It's probably time for a new battery. Still running badly though.

Originally posted by NoDisplayName:
Going to try to jump start tonight after work. Still wonder of my unplugging the sensor and plugging it back in may have screwed something up.

Was it running when you unplugged it? If not, you should be okay. However, those wires get pretty crispy over time, so you may have caused an open circuit. I would suspect that to throw a different code, though.

Did you mess with the cam position sensor? Maybe you bumped it loose. It reads from the exhaust cam, BTW.

Just read two old posts that both mentioned adding oil, over filling it, and having this problem. Could it be that I overfilled the oil, and that damaged the solenoid? Would over filling the oil increase pressure enough to damage the solenoid?

I will check the exhaust cam sensor.

I'm leaning towards it being a timing belt problem based on what I've read here.

Not adding the wrong grade of oil might do this.

And I don't know what the breather tube is for either.

If you were just topping off the oil (say, .25 quart, maybe) then no, that wouldn't damage anything. Now if you added 4 quarts or so you may have a problem.

If it was all good, then went south and all you did was add oil and nose around some electrical connections, then I'd bank on something electrical failing: whether it be bad wires or a sensor that gave out coincidentally at the same time.

I'm still trying to figure out what it was you found near the battery that wasn't connected to anything.

Originally posted by D Davis:

I'm still trying to figure out what it was you found near the battery that wasn't connected to anything.

No idea.. I don't have a Ford CD yet..lol

Looks like a vacuum hose, but I can't find anywhere for it to go. No suction coming from it.

I added 10W-30, but its possible that there was another grade in the engine already. There was not sticker anwhere (I'll be changing my own oil from now on needless to say).

Would that ruin the solenoid?

Originally posted by NoDisplayName:
I added 10W-30, but its possible that there was another grade in the engine already. There was not sticker anwhere (I'll be changing my own oil from now on needless to say).

Would that ruin the solenoid?

Because it's a 99 you don't have an EGR. They replaced it with a VCT (variable cam timing) and this uses oil to retard or advance the cams.

You did use 30 weight oil and your car might be 5W-30. At least you used the the same weight oil. The kinematic viscosities are extremely close. Therefore, whether you use the 0W-30, 5W-30 or the 10W-30 is strictly a matter of choice. The W=Winter and 5W vs 10W would only change how things work in the winter, but once the engine warms up this should not be a problem.

Have the oil flushed.. Put the right oil in and clear the codes. If that does not work then have someone fix your VCT because they do go bad.

If it makes you feel any better I need to have my VCT fixed because of a P1381.

My daughter just had the same problem with her 98 Zetec.
Got her oil changed and the car started running like sh**. Low idle and no power when she stepped on the gas.
She also had the same issues that you did when trying to start the car. It threw the same CEL, 1383. We thought it was the VCT selenoid but it turned out to be her timing belt/tensioner.
Check out the condition of the timing belt.

The very first problem I had to fix on my 98 Zetec was the tensioner pulley. Very common.

Originally posted by LUCA:
My daughter just had the same problem with her 98 Zetec.
Got her oil changed and the car started running like sh**. Low idle and no power when she stepped on the gas.
She also had the same issues that you did when trying to start the car. It threw the same CEL, 1383. We thought it was the VCT selenoid but it turned out to be her timing belt/tensioner.
Check out the condition of the timing belt.

Any ideas if this would cause a P1381?

I've got over 100K and have yet to replace my belt. Dam. thjis is going to bite me in the ars one day.

Any idea how I can check this tensioner without removing any parts other than the belt cover?

Yep, because the timing belt and tensioner were shot, that was the reason that she was getting CEL #1383.

Her car runs great now. She says it runs like a new car, the idle is nice and smooth.

Since you've got over 100,000, now might be a good time to have your belt/tensioner changed before it does bite you in the arse.

Thanks for the info everyone. Sounds like this happens a lot after oil changes. I'm taking it in to get the VCT checked, timing belt, tensioner, or whatever else it needs.
This board rocks! Thanks again.

None of those problems are cheap to fix. The VCT, should it need to be replaced is a costly part. The Timing belt and parts are cheap, but the labor makes up for the costs.

Well I hate to hear that! Got a ball park amount that I should expect to pay?

IIRC, the VCT seleniod costs between $300-400 + labor.
To have the belt/tensioner and idler pulleys replaced it was $300 for labor. $600 total.

I asked them to do the pulleys since the car has 95,000 on it. I knew it would cost a bit more but I figured it would be easier to do them now rather than rip everything apart again later.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

Go to an auto parts store and buy the Haynes or Chilton's manual for the contour. The tensioner is not that hard to change your self. You can visually inspect it by pulling off the passenger's side front wheel and then the plastic slpash guard. Simply follow the serp belt down to the lower left of the assembly. There you will find the tensioner pulley.

The Haynes manual will walk you through what you need to do. You don't even need a lot of tools. Its more time consuming than dificult. You can do it.

I'll give that a shot. What kind of socket set should I have? Metric? The 11 pc. SAE set that I have now doesn't fit anything on the car...

One more important question. Why is this guy getting hit on the head with a fish?

That's just wrong.

I took a look at my timing belt, and it is chewed up on the edge that is away from the engine. I also found a hole in the hose that goes from the PCV filter down to the intake manifold. The breather filter inside the air filter chamber looked like it had never been touched. It disintigrated in my hand when I took it out. The breather hose from the valve cover also has a soft spot on it that feels like it is going to become a hole.

The P1382 was probably cause by the timing belt, but it did cause me to get under the car and find these other problems. I'm going to fix them and then take it in for a new timing belt.

Originally posted by NoDisplayName:
Looks like a vacuum hose, but I can't find anywhere for it to go. No suction coming from it.

It sounds like you found the transmission vent.

Ah! I was wondering about that. There are a couple of little brackets for that hose built into the battery holder I think. It's amazing how much ISN'T in the Haynes manual, especially when it comes to hoses.

I just got it all fixed at a shop. New timing belt AND new VCT solenoid plus a tune-up. Needless to say, it was VERY expensive. Solenoid part: $350. Timing belt and Tensioner: $225 plus plugs, plus LOTS of labor...

PLEASE! Be very careful not to ever overfill your oil, and keep your oil clean. It's extremely important, especially when you have a VCT engine.

Just wanted to pass that on. I think that may be what cause the solenoid to go bad, because it happened immediately after I added oil. I think I added too much.

Thanks!