Engine Cutting Off

Michael Regina 2 · Jan 3, 2006

Over the past month my '02 ST was surging at start-up but would eventually smooth out after a minute or so. It became progressively worse to the point whwre I had to tap the gas for awhile to keep it running then it would be O.K. Then came the check engine light. A friend put his code reader on and it revealed a problem with fuel (I forgot exactly what it said). The friend changed the fuel filter for me (he found symtoms of water in the fuel while changing the filter) and now it will start great but won't stay running after a couple of minutes. This didn't happen prior to the fuel filter change. Also, he reset the code so I'm not getting a check engine light and it hasn't come on yet to read the new symptom. Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks.

Gary DiPietroSr · Jan 3, 2006

Do a search on the cleaning of the IAC motor.

Bill Ellis · Jan 3, 2006

Take it to a good mechanic or a dealer and get it fixed right. Might be fuel pump which is inside gas tank [after running a few minutes, slows down when worn bearings get warm]. Also, would help if you can remember exactly what the error code was. There is no code for a problem with fuel. There is a code for fuel pressure. There are codes for too rich, too lean and knocking.

Kevin Palmer · Jan 3, 2006

It you leave your foot on the gas pedal and press it down very slightly does it keep running and run smooth???

If so, you need to clean or replace your IAC Motor. There is a project on how to do it. It could also be a vacuum leak issue. One place to look for the vacuum issue is a elbow that goes bad often on the Trac, here is a picture of that. I'll post the link to the Cleaning of the IAC motor as well....

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EddieS'04 · Jan 3, 2006

Did you ever add any additive to the fuel tank to dry up the water in the fuel ???

You didnt say if you did...

V Ro · Jan 5, 2006

check the fuel cut off reset switch by the foot of the passenger seat(check owners manual) this solved my problem. my winter mat was hitting the wires and causing the reset switch to go out intermitently. also if the switch doesn't come up, hit it with somethinig til it does and then push it down.

hope that helps