1997 850 died while driving, no start LAWNMOWER SYN Topic is solved

FL850_1997 · Post by **FL850_1997** » 19 Jan 2016, 08:24

Hi everyone -

First post here, so if my etiquette is bad, I apologize.

I got off of work at 7am, the morning was cold (~40F). It started up fine. Within 2 minutes the "up arrow" indicator (automatic gear box indicator) started flashing. Another 5 minutes and the engine dies while going about 40mph. All the dash indicator lights lit up when it died. The car would not restart. Here's what I have checked:

1. I have fuel at the valve on the fuel rail and the engine would not start with starting fluid.
2. I have spark at every cylinder.
3. The crank position sensor is OK, checked with a multimeter (resistance was 290 Ohms).
4. The cam position sensor is less than a month old and assume its ok because I have fuel and spark?
5. The timing belt is intact and I watched it turn the cam gears.
6. For what it's worth, I did a (dry) compression check on a very cold engine (~40F) with a stressed battery (10.5V under load) and got 50-60 psi on all cylinders. I did hold throttle plate open for test.

I might add that there was no noise when the engine died ; it was like the key turned off the engine.

Oh, I also scanned the engine codes and here was the output:

P0172 (1 of 7) System Too Rich (Bank 1)
P0102 (2 of 7) Mass or Volume Air Flow Circuit Low Input
P0305 (3 of 7) Cylinder 5 Misfire Detected
P0300 (4 of 7) Random Misfire Detected
P0304 (5 of 7) Cylinder 4 Misfire Detected
P0303 (6 of 7) Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected
P0301 (7 of 7) Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected

Since I got the P0102 code, I disconnected the MAF and tried to start the engine but no luck.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This is our only vehicle and we need to get it running ASAP if possible.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 19 Jan 2016, 09:43

At 50 to 60 psi compression it will never run. Have you popped off the cover to look at the timing belt? The belt should be taught and the marks should all line up properly.

I have not heard of an engine that suddenly drops to 1/3 compression on all cylinders while it is running short of a timing belt breaking but then the compression drops to zero after the valves get smashed. Lawnmower Syndrome only happens on startup and with that they all suddenly drop to about zero.

...Lee

FL850_1997 · Post by **FL850_1997** » 19 Jan 2016, 14:32

Lee -

Thank you! If you hadn't mentioned the lawnmower syndrome, my car would not be running right now. You have helped my family get out of a desperate situation. My daughter can now get to classes again and my wife and I can get to work again without bumming rides from co-workers. I went and purchased new plugs and a quart of 20W-50. I poured a teaspoon of oil down each spark plug hole, waited 15 minutes, installed the new plugs, and she started right up (throttle depressed 1/4 while cranking). Sure, it ran a little rough the first couple of minutes, but it smoothed out nicely. I am still in shock. Thank you again! If you have any advice as to what I should do following this event (oil change, etc.), please let me know.

Mike

Sommerfeldt · Post by **Sommerfeldt** » 19 Jan 2016, 14:47

Excellent result.

FWIW, my first car was a '74 Ford Escort MK I that my grandfather bought new in '74. One of the main things about those old engines was what my dad called "flooding", which wasn't really flooding so much as a situation that would leave the cylinder walls wet with fuel even after firing.

It would mostly happen after short drives on cold days (and we get some freezing mornings up here in Norway

), and according to the old guys, that made the compression go down so the engine lost all power. Only fix was cranking with WOT, then let the fuel burn off when it eventually caught again.
Either that, or take the plugs out and let it dry off. I never put any oil in there, but I suspect that oil breaks up that unburned film of fuel, and lets you burn both the excess fuel and oil.

Letting the engine get nice and hot on every drive and keeping up with maintenance usually staves off the lawnmower syndrome.

There's nothing special you need to do in terms of maintenance because of it. Just keep the ride up to stage 0.

- S

FL850_1997 · Post by **FL850_1997** » 19 Jan 2016, 15:29

Thank you Sommerfeldt for your comment. I will definitely follow your advice on letting the engine get nice and hot and keeping up on the maintenance.