Stuu... stuuuut... stutter

[Marccus]

In my '89, the relay module is located under the plastic fan shroud on the driver's side. Stand in front of the car facing the windshield, look down, and see the fan shroud, which has the emissions and fan belt diagram (if the diagram is still there!). Remove the four or five body bolts (12-13mm combo wrench, I think), and the relay module will be attached to a bracket. Two nuts (10mm?) hold the bracket to the body via two bolts and two small bolts (8mm?) hold the module to the bracket.

The connector is huge - like the size of the one for the EEC-IV computer on the firewall. The module has inside several different relays and suppies signal and power (and vice versa) to/from the EEC-IV. The 11x17" wiring diagrams will help you tremendously. You have to undo a screw that attaches the male connector to the IRCM just like the connector to the EEC-IV. The module is sealed, but you can probably take it apart and see if it can be repaired.

My Ford dealership gave me the names of several dealerships across the country that still had several in inventory. Since it is a discontinued item, my local dealership didn't have any. I think it cost something like $180.

Hope this helps.

 

[SteedaSVT]

I took the one off my 94 just now and seem to have the problem still. Hmm injectors and o2 sensor and fuel pump are next

 

[Marccus]

Well, looks like you are on the right track as far as targetting the areas to look at. One area many posts say to look at is the plugs if there is oil in the wells. The posts say this can be the cause for the stuttering, loss of power, etc.

But I never had much of an oil problem there and the problem never went away when I put in new plugs and wires. I placed RTV under the plug boot that seals the oil plug wells to prevent any oil leaking from the valve cover bolts from seeping into the plug wells. And I put RTV under the plug well gaskets that sit against the underside of the the valve covers to prevent oil leaking into the wells when it splashes against the underside of the valve covers.

The stuttering, loss of power always manifested itself (for me anyway) most of the time when I was starting from 1st gear from a stop. But once I goosed the throttle so the RPM was above 2500 or so, I could take off smoothly. This would seem to indicate a problem that depends on engine speed. But the fuel pump in the fuel injected engine puts out constant flow with the excess that doesn't go through the injectors returning to the tank. So the fuel pump would seem to be OK, and the injectors would be more likely the problem. Any "misbehaving" injector may only be noticed when it is delivering a low amount of fuel to the cylinder. So well balanced and clean injectors may solve the problem.

I dump a bottle of Red Line Fuel Injector cleaner into my tank once a month and I'm still on the original injectors in my '89 (289,000 miles). I also use a can of Lubri-Moly Ventil Sauber (Valve Cleaner) every month or so also.

Some thought anways. Good luck.

 

[masho95]

Thanks for all the suggestions.. I'm sure the fuel pressure is fine. There's no reason it would act up only when the engine is cold. The fuel pump really isn't that old so I'm ruling that out. I'm almost positive it's the plugs in there. I ran two more 75hp shots through the car and it's still the same. Was thinking about picking up some Iridium plugs to try in there. We'll see if I decide to go that route.