96 850 Car stalls after 5 minutes - RESOLVED, bad MAF

devangelisti · Post by **devangelisti** » 03 Aug 2013, 16:08

Hi all, strange problem here. My 96 850 will not stay running for more than 5 or so minutes. It just stops.. no warning or CEL. I need to wait about 20min.. then she will start up again.

It idles good till it stops. no sputtering or missing...

Darryl

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 03 Aug 2013, 16:40

I think I would start with the battery cables since it isn't posting any codes. The secondary cables, the ones that are attached to the main battery terminal on the stud, can get loose or corroded and cause your problem.

What else dies when the engine quits?

Does the radio quit working or do the lights go out?

...Lee

Post by **abscate** » 03 Aug 2013, 17:34

Adding to Lees post -

If you have other electrical stuff going dead - battery, cables, grounds, etc

If not, I would suspect a dying fuel pump relay - you can eliminate that by jumping the relay with a test lead.

devangelisti · Post by **devangelisti** » 03 Aug 2013, 17:42

Thanks guys.. checked and cleaned cables, MAF, idle control and replaced the fuel pump relay. But upon further examination I saw a vacuum hose that is shot and collapses when running..I will replace that hose and maybe the vacuum tree also.. I hear a slight leak (hissing) noise near the tree..

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Darryl

devangelisti · Post by **devangelisti** » 04 Aug 2013, 10:24

OK.. I replaced the hose and still stalling after about 10 min. Not sure where to look next.. the fuel pressure seems to be ok..there is plenty of fuel at the valve when is stalls. Could it be a clogged converter?

Darryl

Post by **abscate** » 04 Aug 2013, 14:28

So it stalls, and all the usual lights on the dash light up and stay lit after stalling?

Still trying to decide if we want to take the electrical or fuel branch on this one...

devangelisti · Post by **devangelisti** » 04 Aug 2013, 15:46

Yes, when it stalls ( just stops.. no sputtering or warning)..the usual dash lights come on..the radio plays..etc...

No codes displayed on my OBDII reader. But that may be because the battery died and wiped out any codes. The reader goes thru its cycle and returns a "E".. which is odd..

Darryl

devangelisti · Post by **devangelisti** » 04 Aug 2013, 16:01

I just noticed that the CEL does not come on at all. I mean, when you turn the key and all the lights display.. the CEL does not come on.. I would think that it should light and then go out once the engine has started..

Thoughts?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 04 Aug 2013, 16:08

This doesn't happen often but I have seen the edge connector on the ECU get tarnished and the electrical connections get flaky. Remove the ECU and spray the connector and the socket with electrical contact cleaner. It may or may not solve the problem but it will be one other thing we have eliminated. The error on the OBD-II reader is a clue to me that the ECU itself is having trouble. The ECU itself hardly ever goes bad and when they do go bad they tend to stay bad, not the intermittent behavior you describe.

If you want to be really cautious, disconnect the battery before you pull the ECU.

The CEL light has likely either burned out or been removed it it doesn't come on with the key in position II but the car not started. That said, the CEL gets its "on" signal from the ECU.

...Lee

devangelisti · Post by **devangelisti** » 04 Aug 2013, 16:09

ok.. Thanks.. I will keep you posted..