service engine light

[JSIL1]

I have 54K on my 99 and the service engine light came on today. 2ndaries still open at 3400, and what a sound they make. I no the car doesnt have to be serviced unil 100K. also every now and then she starts up then chokes a lot and dies. Any thoughts?

 

[98shotoy]

You might have bad CO2 Censors. My car does that too and thats what my problem is. You can take your car to Autozone and they will check the engine code for ya. They might not tell you what the problem is so if they dont then let us know what the code number is and we can let ya know thumb

 

[SHOZ123]

I've found that the plugs should be changed around 50k. Also a good time to clean the secondaries and intake. Insulate the wire harness over the back valve cover and weld the cams in not already done. Probably a good idea to buy 4 new coils and mount them in the back too.

 

[JSIL1]

How do i go about clening the intake and secondaries? What plugs would you recommend? Also, what should i look for in coils? Is there a chance that you could give me an estimate as to what this should run me?\


thank you so much

 

[SHOZ123]

It is very hard to find a bad coil. Sometimes there is a small crack on them, others say the boot breaks down. seeing as you are going to have the intake off it is the time to do this and plugs.

Use OEM plugs, the coils are cheapest at a Murray's auto pasts stores around $60 each. Just buy 4 and replace all the ones in the back. Then if you have problems with the front ones you can swap out with the used ones. The rears also get hotter than the front.

You have to remove the secondaries and the intake to clean them. Use non-chlorinated brake cleaner or Berryman's B-12. About 6 or 8 cans will do.

 

[98shotoy]

Now that was very well said Paul hail I had mine cleaned when I had my IMRC box replaced at a dealership......DO NOT...and I repeat DO NOT take it to the dealership to get it replaced if you ever need to!!! It cost me over 400.00 to get that fixed and my secondaries cleaned. Needless to say it was not covered under warranty because it is an electronic component.

If you need anymore help with other things here is a good place to get it too.....

v8sho.com
You can also get the codes there too....meaning if you have your codes read you can find out what it is.

 

[JSIL1]

Thank you both for your help. I have a warranty that cavers just about everything on/in the car. Would you suggest going to the dealership for warranty/quality reasons?

 

[JSIL1]

Went to Autozone. The code is P1518 - Intake Manifold Runner Control (stuck open). I am takingit in mon or tues. how severe is this, and should i not really drive until i get it fixed?

thanks

 

[98shotoy]

Josh that means your IMRC is not working. Your best bet is to but the IMRC box and install it yourself!!!! I took mine in to get it replaced and I got ripped off big time!!!!! Its not hard at all to replace it yourself. The part is not expensive at all and its WELL worth it to do the repair yourself. You cans till drive your car with the secondaries stuck open or closed. I drove mine about 6 months before I got mine replaced. So.....if anything you can drive it until you replace the IMRC box.

 

[ricky]

98SHO, I got the same code once last year. no damage to the IMRC. in fact the code probably shows its working. fix; pull and clean butterflys and intake. you've got carbon build up problem. I've started running a can of intake cleaner thru the car at each oil change [motor running] hasn't gotten a code since. may not help but I like to think it has.

 

[wild01ride]

Or, the IMRC may indeed be messed up. The cable inside mine was messed up bad enough to trigger (short out) the limit indicator so that it flagged a MIL. I could operate the butterly linkage flawlessly with my hand- no sticking.

On the matter of the intake cleaner, you are probably helping your primary intake tract by using the cleaner, but the path of air will not encounter your secondary butterflies while you are doing this. The only way that you could get the cleaner to work while the engine is running is to activate the butterflies (chances are you wouldn't want to be winding up your engine, but maybe actuate the secondary butterflies by hand- the car will run like crap at idle, but it should help clean the intake system!)

 

[98shotoy]

You can always just replace the cable too from what I have been told.

 

[SHOZ123]

If it is under warranty then I would have them do it, they will probably replace the IRM and IRMC with a new ones. Tell them to change the plugs too while they are in there.

 

[98shotoy]

The warranty does NOT cover the IMRC Box!!! I know this for a fact. I had to have mine replaced alst year and I still have a warranty on my car too. Thats why I said previously to do it yourself. I ended up paying oer 400.00 to have them replace the box and clean the valves. So PLEASE dont count on the warrante for that job

 

[JSIL1]

it is an aftermarket warranty by RepairMaster. I have the Ultimatecoverage. check it out at www.warrantech.com. I have everything covered that you can think of. even the seat motors, windsheild wiper motors, mirror motors. EVERYTHING and it only cost me $1500.

 

[98shotoy]

The aftermarket warranties are great but the hard part with those is finding a dealer or repair shop that accepts that kinda warranty. The best thing to do is call around before you take it somewhere. If you live near a big city that would be a good place to start. I bought my Sho as a certified pre-owned vehicle so that explains my warranty.

 

[JSIL1]

I am out in denver for school. Called about 5 ford dealerships, they all accept a warranty if it pays by credit card. Warrantech does. So i should be straight.

 

[98shotoy]

Thats good!!!! Im glad that you wont have problms as far warranties. Now ya might want to also look into cleaning the secondaries. They do get quite dirty with carbon build up cuz they do not open as much as the primaries do. Also check your TB too. It may not need cleaned but look into it since you will be cleaning the secondaries. Here is that link again for maintaining your car. Its help me alot too and I still go back to look.
V8sho.com

 

[ricky]

double check you warranty,just in case they call intake cleaning a maintaince item and deny coverage leaving you stuck with the bill.

 

[spragers]

I also have a Warrantech ultimate coverage warranty. It will outlast my loan by a full year Up to 100,000 miles and coverage up to the amount I paid for my car - $11,500. They have covered one minor repair so far (Ford replaced an 02 sensor, which did nothing to fix the problem... Perfformance Plus thinks it's a vacuum leak, local independant shop says as long as it runs well don't bother with it - except I can't get more than 20mpg and the negine runs rich all the time - been struggling with this one for a year now... anyhoo)

So, you should have no problem swith the warranty coverage - BUT - you may have to pay for the repair, and then get reimbursed by the warranty company. That's how it worked for me.

Good luck!