NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #26/NN_1992_26.iso/spool/rec/autos/tech/15189

Text File | 1992-11-09 | 1.8 KB | 40 lines

Organization: Doctoral student, History, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Path: sparky!uunet!walter!att-out!pacbell.com!sgiblab!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.edu!news.sei.cmu.edu!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!dh3q+
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon,  9 Nov 1992 21:11:22 -0500
From: "Daniel U. Holbrook" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Taurus engine out of control
Lines: 30

Hello -

I have a peculiar problem, or rather my car does.  It is a 1986 Taurus,
with the 2.5 l 4-cylinder engine.  It has about 110,000 miles on it now,
and despite the bad rep this drivetrain has, has been a really good car.
 Now, the problem:

Recently (last few months now), without warning, and according to no
particular pattern, the engine will rev itself up to 4000 rpm or so and
stay there.  Sometimes it does this on starting, whether warm or cold,
sometimes (thankfully less often) when underway.  Sometimes turning it
off and restarting cures it, sometimes not.  It is not the cruise
control, and I have checked all vacuum hoses, sensor wires, and checked
for air leaks in the intake system.  The local Ford service guy told me
that they had a problem like this some time ago with this engine, and
that the problem was some multiple relay box that sits on top of the
radiator. I checked it, and there was nothing outwardly wrong, like
loose connections.  He explained nothing further, other than suggesting
that I bring it in for a test of the ECU.  My questions:

Does anyone have any other ideas?  My impression is if it is something
electrical, like a relay, wouldn't it be unlikely to be an intermittent
problem?  Sometimes the car goes weeks without acting up.  Maybe an
exorcist would help?  Just another case of the innate perversity of
inanimate objects?

Thanks,

Dan