Randomly stalling AU VCT. Help!!

[MickyB]

I know I should probably post this in the tech section, but I thought this would get a lot more views from AU owners. My fathers AU XR6 VCT has had an intermittent problem for the last few months in that it randomly just stops when you are driving along, luckily it has always been at low speeds, but it makes it difficult to have any faith when driving the car anywhere.

Has anyone had any similar problems to this? Initially we thought it was the aftermarket alarm/immobilizer, so we had that disconnected, after that we checked fuses and replaced what we thought was a faulty relay, all to no avail. It has been connected to a Ford service computer which showed no faults, although I am beginning to think that it may be a problem with the body control module.

We are getting desperate and I would love some ideas.
Thanks in advance people.

[XR6-VCT-2000]

do a search on these forums for reseting the ECU , its pretty easy , it might fix ya problem , for a while anyways . gl

[MickyB]

Thanks mate, tried that one already. LOL What a nightmare this is

[XR6-VCT-2000]

sorry to hear , gee it could be heaps of things causing the problems though - dodgy fuel , blocked injectors , dodgy fuel pump/sender, fuel filter (which i'de maybe check next), water in the tank.... check everything to do with the fuel supply first then at least maybe. Sometimes it can be the smallest of things non electrical related ! .

[MickyB]

Alright, we will check those items tomorrow. Wouldn't be dodgy fuel because it's been going on for ages, pump/sender and filter sound like the next places to look.

[Rob]

Electrical gremlins are a b@stard to find.........

My VP used to do that, random cut outs at low speed. Figured out it was the fuel pump though, after much sodding about.

Maybe that helps?

[mik]

battery leads tight earths etc, connectors and electrical plugs tight, fuel filter under the car,coil packs,leads, just a few might be worth a look, check easy stuff first

[FRDGAL]

I reckon the fuel pump is on it's way out. I had the same problem. It would drive for a while then shut down. Then start it up, drive for a while, and then it stop again. In my case it was the fuel pump.

Hope you sort it out.

[MickyB]

Thanks guys, I spoke to Dad and he doesn't think fuel pump because the car won't even turn over, which seems more like an electrical problem than a fuel one. If fuel was a problem then you would expect it to turn over but not fire. Coil packs will be the next place we check, although would failure of them also be indicated by poor idle and missing, because it doesn't do that.
Could it possibly be a faulty ignition switch?
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, hopefully we will get to the bottom of this by the end of the weekend, if anyone has an idea please don't be afraid to fire away!

[FRDGAL]

Sorry, I just read that it was stopping while driving - that's why I thought fuel pump. Didn't read that it wasn't kicking over.

[xd5.8l]

sounds like a crank angle sensor. Any sensor on the block or particularly hot part of the engine should be carefully checked with a multimeter. Also check wiring for fraying and contact.

[Axle-F]

Originally Posted by MickyB

Thanks mate, tried that one already. LOL What a nightmare this is

Hi Micky,

Sounds to me like it's definately the ECU program. I've had this problem occur three times on my VCT, and many trips to the auto electrician and mechanic and neither could figure it out.

Try the reprogram again- it can take several times to work. Time the process exactly and remember to run it for a while (at least 20kms afterwards). I've seen this problem so many times on this thread and it's been solved most times...

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Originally Posted by FRDGAL_AU6

Sorry, I just read that it was stopping while driving - that's why I thought fuel pump. Didn't read that it wasn't kicking over.

thats all i saw too ...sorry

[MickyB]

Not your fault guys, I didn't give enough information. Thanks for the help though, keep it coming!

[AWD Chaser]

Have you tried a new Batt?
Might be simple, but easily overlooked. lol. If you unplug the VCT, will the car start? I doubt that this probem has anything to do with VCT though.

[XR6-VCT-2000]

If the car won't even turn over then it could be the starter motor , do you hear like a click sound when u turn the ignition over ? ( while trying to start the car ) ? if so then it could be the battery is half dead , sometimes a dead battery can show charged even with a multimeter but might not have enough initial crank amps left in it to start the car ). If the battery is fine then i'de check the starter-motor next if it wont even turn over or even attempt to start ( no noise at all while turning it over ) - sometimes u can get a click noise too from the solenoid on the starter motor if the starter motor is jammed - sometimes no noise at all !!. Sometimes a good whack or few with a lump of 4x2 wood on the starter motor can get a dodgy 1 going again for a while ! true - anyone who ever had an old car or old school mechanics would confirm this ;) . consider all options before you go wacking ya starter motor though ! . ;), if a mate has a car like yours see if you can swap a few small parts like that to test be4 you start going out spending a fortune . As someone else stated above earlier , gremlins can be a real pain to track down and can cost you a fortune if you don't have some spare parts to test with first . gl

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Oh it reminds me - i also had a gremlin years ago in my XE , car just died and wouldn't start> i went through hell and to various auto elecs trying to sort it out , in the end it ended up being just a dead earth lead running from the battery to the engine block ! . This lead was tested heaps of times earlier with a multimeter by heaps of people including myself - it was checked for continuosy ( check for no breaks and that a current passed through it ) .. wasn't till 10 auto elecs later and an empty wallet that 1 smart chap tested the conductivity of the earth lead !- it was almost dead !- the conductivity of the copper wire in the earth lead had died off from engine heat and electrical current heat over the years ! . (the copper wire inside the earth lead once cut open also looked like it was corroding / green copper dust covering the copper strands of wire under the wires black plastic sleeve - everywhere. Could be something as simple as that ! .

[MickyB]

The hard part with this particular car is that sometimes it will run fine, then 10kms down the road, it's dead as a door nail and won't turn over. Then leave it for 20 mins and it will run fine for 3 or 4 days, before happening all over again. I think thats why it has been so hard for us to diagnose, because it's not something happening all the time, just randomly and then appearing to be fine. We have checked things like the battery leads and terminals, and they are fine. I don't think it would be the starter motor because it does turn over when the electrics feel like letting it, and it usually turns off while you are driving. We are going to test the crank angle sensor, and then the coilpack, so hopefullly this will yield an answer.

[XR6-VCT-2000]

yeah what you are descibing now sounds more like it could be the coilpack then !

[GK]

Originally Posted by MickyB

The hard part with this particular car is that sometimes it will run fine, then 10kms down the road, it's dead as a door nail and won't turn over. Then leave it for 20 mins and it will run fine for 3 or 4 days, before happening all over again. I think thats why it has been so hard for us to diagnose, because it's not something happening all the time, just randomly and then appearing to be fine. We have checked things like the battery leads and terminals, and they are fine. I don't think it would be the starter motor because it does turn over when the electrics feel like letting it, and it usually turns off while you are driving. We are going to test the crank angle sensor, and then the coilpack, so hopefullly this will yield an answer.

My uncle had a gremlin like this, on his XE Ghia. Was an earth lead on the coil, took some finding too. I know AU's have a much different coil pack set up but that's my 2 bob worth.

All the best with it. Keep us posted (KUP)!

GK

[buy_holdens]

hi my au had same problem for a while i had cracked head and water was leaking in to cylinder and motor would not turn over.
take all your plugs out and crank it if any water comes out your plug hole theres your problem

[bodes-sh]

holy thread mining. surely he has it fixed by now, after all it was 3 and a half years ago