Morning Chaos... Odometer Dashes of death?

[Am3ricanInfid3L]

Well, driving to work today was no fun at all.
I'm on the interstate, and suddenly I feel a "kick" from my expy.
RPM's flutter, and it feels like I dropped my tranny for a second...
Nothing happens after that, so I continue on.
About 5 minutes later, the same thing happens; only this time, I lose power.
Check engine light comes on, and odometer only shows "------" instead of numbers.
It wouldn't start back up immediatey, so I shut it off and waited about 30 seconds before trying again. After the 2nd try, it finally started, and I took off.
When I would accelerate, it would kick a couple more times, but I eventually made it to work. It's sitting in the parking lot now, and I plan on limping it home on a back road...
I figure I'd post about it and get your guys's input on what it might be. My Co-worker thinks it's the computer, but I won't be able to fully diagnose until I get it in the shop...
FYI: Radiator was replaced a couple months ago, and the heater doesn't blow hot air. (just a little extra info on the car).
Thanks again guys!!

 

[Bowesmobile]

See if you can pull codes. If it is the computer it will send a code out for that.

 

[Am3ricanInfid3L]

I'll have to check for codes when I get it back home (I'm at work right now).
But I did a little digging around on Google, and found that dashes in the odometer are fairly common with Fords. It could be the PCM, Computer, or just a bad fuse. Either way, I've found that everything points to an electrical problem, not mechanical. A few posts on some F150 forums are related to mine. The only differences I've found though, are that most people are unable to restart their vehicles after the problem happens. Lucky for me though, I can try to limp it too the shop. I'll keep this post updated in case anyone else has these problems.

 

[Am3ricanInfid3L]

It's been a while, but I'll try to bring this post back to maybe get some responses...
I ended up driving around a bit to diagnose what might be wrong, and narrowed it down to a possible fuel problem.
I replaced the fuel filter and the fuel pump (pain in the a$$ without a garage). After that, everything seemed to be normal. I drove it as my daily driver for a couple weeks, so I could see if the problem comes back... Low and behold, my truck had a hiccup driving back home last night. ****** acceleration, and low power.
My thoughts are it's either:
1, a fuel injector problem
2, spark plugs
3, possibly O2 sensor?
What do you guys think? It's not throwing any codes, but I can take it to a shop and have a computer diagnoses done if that's the case.
Beats spending more money at Autozone for nothing.

 

[stamp11127]

I doubt a fuel problem would cause dashes in the display. I would expect the vehicle to die and not restart quickly or at all.

Since the CEL came on ask for the codes to be read, you are looking for historic codes if the CEL is no longer on.

There have been issues with the electrical systems causing the ecm/pcm to wig out (redneck speak for going stupid), if there is a battery problem.

You can listen to the fuel injectors with a mechanics stethoscope or redneck stethoscope(stick). If you have a bad one you will be able to hear the difference.

 

[Am3ricanInfid3L]

Thanks for the reply. I did end up learning the hard way that it wasn't the fuel pump or filter... As for the dashes in the odometer, I have never seen them come back. Maybe when the truck died, it made the computer wig out? Anyways...
The truck takes a while to start when its cold, so I dropped the truck off at a friends house today before leaving to work. He bet me a six pack, the spark plugs would probably be the problem. Turns out, he found a bit of oil in a couple of the chambers after popping some out (can't remember which ones though). I definitely need some new spark plugs and boots. Exposure to oil took a toll on them... I'm not sure how oil could get in there. (cylinder head gasket maybe?) When I get the time, and I'm able to work on it, my next moves will be to find the source of the oil leak, and then replace the sparkplugs. I'll keep this post updated though.

 

[stamp11127]

Only way to get oil in the chambers after sitting is valve seals and guides. There are other points of entry but they will have additional symptoms.

 

[Duane Wong]

I have a 1999 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 5.4L that shuts down intermittently when driving and shows '-------' when it does.

The dealer changed the TPS which was throwing a code, but it happened again after that.

The dealer suggested an $18 Relay for the PCM, but that would not explain why the vehicle starts up immediately and has numbers on the odometer and runs fine for miles until it shuts down, again.

I bought a lifetime warranted remanufactured PCM from Flagship One for about $171-$5 online discount=$166.

Hopefully that will repair the problem.

All the previous forums say the pcm Relay or grounds could cause the problem, but have read four or five posts saying they tried that and the problem returned.

Getting the dealer to replicate the problem has been difficult and time consuming.

Duane Wong

 

[Yupster Dog]

Duane Wong

Need to start your own thread, here's how,
https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/correct-way-to-start-a-thread.47954/

Welcome to the forum

 

[Duane Wong]

Well, driving to work today was no fun at all.
I'm on the interstate, and suddenly I feel a "kick" from my expy.
RPM's flutter, and it feels like I dropped my tranny for a second...
Nothing happens after that, so I continue on.
About 5 minutes later, the same thing happens; only this time, I lose power.
Check engine light comes on, and odometer only shows "------" instead of numbers.
It wouldn't start back up immediatey, so I shut it off and waited about 30 seconds before trying again. After the 2nd try, it finally started, and I took off.
When I would accelerate, it would kick a couple more times, but I eventually made it to work. It's sitting in the parking lot now, and I plan on limping it home on a back road...
I figure I'd post about it and get your guys's input on what it might be. My Co-worker thinks it's the computer, but I won't be able to fully diagnose until I get it in the shop...
FYI: Radiator was replaced a couple months ago, and the heater doesn't blow hot air. (just a little extra info on the car).
Thanks again guys!!

I replaced the PCM with a known good one, but investigated why the '-------' still came up intermittently.

I found that complete removal of 304 PCM relay caused the '-------' to appear when ignition switched on.

I pulled the 304 PCM relay out and noticed one of the 5 receptacle connections where the spades of the relay connect was darkened in color.

I also noticed that the 304 re

 

[Duane Wong]

I replaced the PCM with a known good one, but investigated why the '-------' still came up intermittently.

I found that complete removal of 304 PCM relay caused the '-------' to appear when ignition switched on.

I pulled the 304 PCM relay out and noticed one of the 5 receptacle connections where the spades of the relay connect was darkened in color.

I also noticed that the 304 re

Well, driving to work today was no fun at all.
I'm on the interstate, and suddenly I feel a "kick" from my expy.
RPM's flutter, and it feels like I dropped my tranny for a second...
Nothing happens after that, so I continue on.
About 5 minutes later, the same thing happens; only this time, I lose power.
Check engine light comes on, and odometer only shows "------" instead of numbers.
It wouldn't start back up immediatey, so I shut it off and waited about 30 seconds before trying again. After the 2nd try, it finally started, and I took off.
When I would accelerate, it would kick a couple more times, but I eventually made it to work. It's sitting in the parking lot now, and I plan on limping it home on a back road...
I figure I'd post about it and get your guys's input on what it might be. My Co-worker thinks it's the computer, but I won't be able to fully diagnose until I get it in the shop...
FYI: Radiator was replaced a couple months ago, and the heater doesn't blow hot air. (just a little extra info on the car).
Thanks again guys!!

 

[Duane Wong]

The relay receptacle seems to be a problem area connection wise to the wire harness. I tried to switch the 301 and 304 relays, but what really helped was wiggling the 304 relay while seated in a circular motion. I believe the relay connection at this spot is susceptible to road grime contamination.
A break in continuity causes the known good pcm to shut off, causing a no engine run condition with sudden shutdown, which is dangerous.

 

[Duane Wong]

I noted in several forums that the PCM Relay may be the problem. That is half right. It is a faulty connection between the wire harness and the receptacle connections and the pcm Relay that causes intermittent breaks in the connection through a good wire harness to a good PCM.

 

[Duane Wong]

So, a good Relay, good Wire Harness, and good PCM can still result in a no run condition because of the receptacle not having good electrical connection to the PCM.