Bit of a tricky one - car cutting out whist driving

[misscleo1]

Hi everyone,

I'm totally new here and I have come to shamelessly beg for help with my Puma (sorry for the essay).

My car is cutting out whilst driving and nobody can find the issue. I have taken it to 3 of the best garages in my area and we are all stumped.

90% of the time the car works perfectly but occasionally when I am breaking and put my clutch down the car cuts out. It's not even like it stalls...there is no jerking or struggling like a car normally does, it just stops just like when you turn the ignition off. The first light that comes on is the battery light... then eventually the oil can light also comes on.

This has happened in some precarious places (once whilst going round a roundabout and once on busy slip road) so naturally I am worried. It happens on an almost daily basis (although typically never at the mechanic's ).

I have been trying to get to the bottom of this for over a year now and here is what I have had done in the past 10 months but still the issue persists:

Clutch replaced.
Spark plugs and full service.
Mpg sensor cleaned.
Fuel tank replaced.
Fuel pump replaced.
Fuel filter replaced.
2 fuel pump fuses replaced (twice when the car has cut out the fuel pump fuse has blown).
Shock absorbers and bushes replaced.
Engine additive to clean any sludge (added by mechanic).
The car has been on a diagnostic machine for the whole day following it's last blown fuse and the only issue was the fuel pump which has now been replaced.

I usually use the bp ultimate petrol, and rarely let the fuel run too low.

I check the oil / water regularly as it's an old car and has done 144k miles.

The engine occasionally rough idles and when this happens there is no power when accelerating. Also, sometimes when I start it up and go to drive off it kangaroo's to the point I have to pull over turn the car off and start it up again. Car is also having some challenges making it up hills that it used to be able to do with ease.

I occasionally can hear a whirring noise coming from under the car when started up from cold (I assume that is the fuel stop)

Also I have noticed the problem seems to happen more when the car does not do it's abs check at 12 mph.

This is my second Puma (first was wiped out by an artic). I have owned a 1.7 since 2007 so I am sure this isn't driver error.

Any help you could give which I can suggest to the garage would be very much appreciated, I love my little car

Kind regards
Di.

 

[DOH]

Hi Di

There doesn't appear to be any mention of your garages having removed and cleaned the idle control valve. If you or they use the search facility at the top RHS of the page it will reveal more details also I think there is a How to article .
That maybe the cause of cut out , along with possibly split vaccum hoses on the RHS of the inlet manifold .

With regard to lack of power , that sounds like fouled /oiled spark plugs and possibly requiring a set of ignition leads(they typically last 10 years max)
The coil packs are known to break down , but start with Spark Plugs and a new set of leads

 

[mmc757]

Agree with all of that .
This is either a bad idle air valve, a vacuum leak, or both.

As far as the plugs go, this era Ford ignition systems can be finicky and its best to replace wires and plugs at the same time. Coil too if you can justify it, just to be sure. Coils tend to show degradation first when they are hot, so if your car is running better in the first five minutes then getting worse once warmed up, that would be an indication of a tired coil pack.

But to be clear, I believe your primary symptoms are an air problem.

 

[misscleo1]

Thank you both so much! I will ask the garage next time I book it in!

It's a lovely car (aside from a bit of rust) I don't want to give up on it!.

Thanks again

Kind regards
Di

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

Check the clutch switch (it tells PCM you have applied the clutch). It could be either the switch is acting, or the wiring (read connector) problem. It is just on top of the pedal assembly, same as the brake light switch.
Also, with hestitant throttle response clean MAF with some brake cleaner (the wire must be shiney, do NOT touch it, apply the cleaner from a distance, not to break the wire)

 

[misscleo1]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for the advice.

I have a bit of an update. Since posting I have had the following replaced
battery,
ht leads
idle control valve
the clutch switch
another fuel filter replacement.

I have also had the throttle body cleaned out.

Unfortunately the car is still cutting out. I have noticed that it mainly happens during breaking when the clutch is applied (not just the clutch on it's own).... i've also noticed that it is worse when it is wet outside.


I think I have spend nearly £2000 on repair over the space of a year so I really don't want to give up on the car, but I really don't know what to suggest anymore.

Is so sad.... I love my puma . Does anyone have any other suggestions. I'm totally at a loss. I've even bought a replacement throttle body just in case.

Many thanks
Diane

 

[748]

The coil packs are known to break down , but start with Spark Plugs and a new set of leads

Coil pack replacement appears to be missing from the list of things which have been done.
This would be my next step. On the overall scheme of things the cost of a new coil pack is not a lot and is an easy job to change.
And even if that's not the cause of your issues you will have a spare.
Paul

Edit. I am also a bit puzzled why one of the best 3 garages in your area hasn't already changed it.

 

[DOH]

Hi Diane
Reading again your original post

The engine occasionally rough idles and when this happens there is no power when accelerating. Also, sometimes when I start it up and go to drive off it kangaroo's to the point I have to pull over turn the car off and start it up again. Car is also having some challenges making it up hills that it used to be able to do with ease.

Is it possible that this has occurred if you have overfilled it with oil ? because it is then possible that the oil goes down the valve stem seals that are by now no longer elastic due to age and hardening up. To ascertain this, So on start up from cold do you get any blue smoke from the exhaust?

Adding a tin of Wynns "stop smoke" from Halfords for £6/7 will help reduce your oil consumption and seal of some leaks, it will take 250 miles to work though.

With regard to oil on the plugs , these will then need to be removed even if they are recent and cleaned up with carb cleaner.
I would also get them to ensure that the gap is 1.3mm for the coil pack that has clip on leads. If you have the coil pack with push on leads the gap is 1.0mm. It really does make a difference and most garages put them into the engine straight from the box without checking!

The best petrol I have found for many vehicles at the moment is Shell , so try their standard unleaded Petrol . It is vastly better than BP and also supermarket fuels and the throttle response with Shell low down is better , The MPG is better too , that offsets the cost difference. I have found my Puma runs best on Shell.

Get your mechanic to check the speedo connector and spray with electrical contact cleaner. It's on the RHS of the engine bay under the large rubber flexi hose going from the MAF to the Throttle Body.

If there is a corroded connection there it can also cause the engine to cut out when dipping the clutch and returning to idle.

 

[misscleo1]

Thank you everyone,

I will give the coils a try. I have to say I am guilty of over filling it with oil. I have an oil leak and once or twice I have ended up putting too much in... that could be a good shout.

Mechanic also said a purge valve fault came up once but he wasn't concerned.

The latest that I have been told is a possible electric fault. I have noticed that things seem worse after rain. It's so strange. It also acts up more upon failing to do the 13 mph abs check.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[the old gimmer]

Hi Dianne
Sorry to hear you’ve had so much trouble with car. Can I share a similar problem I had with my Race Puma, for a couple of weeks the idle on the car was very rough, it would stall at light and braking down to stop. Anyway the MOT was due, it failed on the emissions , they were sky high. I took it to the Puma Guru who fitted a new Lamdba sensor bingo smooth running and a MOT.
I’m really concerned that dispite going to several garages no one seems to have sorted it .
I’m not sure if your are any where near Nottingham , but the leading expert on all things Puma is Chris Allison at Allison Automotive he is highly regarded on this Forum.
Good Luck

 

[DOH]

Hi Diane
1) There is an evap valve on the bulkhead , that is ecu controlled to vent fumes from the fuel tank . It does have a vacuum hose going to it and it would be well worth inspecting that for a split causing a leak or at the inlet manifold end as that could cause the car to stall.
2) After you had a replacement idle control valve fitted did your garage ensure that they did the following:
Ensured that the gasket was fitted between the new ICV and the inlet manifold?
Did the garage do an ecu reset by disconnecting the battery for an hour and then start the car up and leave it to idle from cold through the warm up cold cycle?(unlikely, as they probably don't know how to do this!)

3) Which part of the country are you located in?

 

[DOH]

Anyway the MOT was due, it failed on the emissions , they were sky high. I took it to the Puma Guru who fitted a new Lamdba sensor bingo smooth running and a MOT.

OBD Fault code readers will show if the heater element within the Lambda is faulty for the Puma. However interestingly, if the lambda (O2) function itself is faulty it won't flag up an OBD code on a Puma possibly due to it not having the necessary software installed to do so . In any event, the only way to establish if the Lambda is faulty is to measure the emissions using a 4 gas anyliser as used during the MOT .From that establish if the Lambda reading is within the 2 values.

There hasn't been any mention in Diane's previous post that her car has failed the mot on emissions and therefore provided the emission readings were ok it is unlikely the cause in this instance , but agreed not impossible.

Overfilling with oil in this case is the most likely cause in this instance along with the other items in my previous post.

 

[misscleo1]

Hi everyone,

Just an update. Car is still faulty but part of the issue turned out to be a brake servo leak.

Car still loses power intermittently :-/