Rough Idle/Gas Smell/CEL Codes

[Jake Oleszak]

Hello all,

I have a 2005 Expedition 5.4 3v 4x4 Eddie Bauer.

My issues started about a week ago. I drove the car to work with no problems. After work when I started driving home the problems started. I began by replacing fuel filter, air filter, and cleaned the throttle body because I did not have access to scanner. My buddy came over the next day with one and got codes P0302 (misfire in cylinder 2) and P2196 (O2 Sensor reading rich conditions). Naturally I had the battery checked, which checked out good, and I replaced the cylinder 2 plug and coil. Then the truck would not start. I replaced the starter (because it just clicked and tested bad at AutoZone) and it still wouldn't start. I removed the belt to check the pulleys and cranked the engine at least one full turn by hand, then it finally started verrrrrry slowly. It smoked pretty bad with white smoke for a while and smelled like straigt gasoline but went away once the engince warmed up and hasn't smoked since. I performed an oil change but the engine was still idling rough.

I took it to a dealership because I didn't know what else I should do. They read codes P1000 (OBDII Monitor Testing Not Complete), P0113 (IAT Sensor – High Input Problem), P2196 (O2 Sensor Signal Stuck Rich (Bank 1 Sensor 1)), and P2198 (O2 Sensor Signal Stuck Rich (Bank 2, Sensor 1)) and said the MAF was bad (specifically the IAT sensor which is attached to the MAF on my truck). I replaced the MAF with no changes in idle. It still smells like gas, mostly on the driver's side of the engine bay.

I inspected the MAF sensor harness and traced the wires down to the larger cluster of wires but did not find anything unusual.

Looking for advice on what I should do next. I don't have access to full on diagnostic tools but I do have a multimeter. The dealership suggested replacing the O2 sensors if the MAF didn't do the trick. I couldn't justify having the dealership charge me large sums of money to just throw parts at it since I am capable of doing that myself.

I've scoured the forum to find anything similiar but found posts with similar issues but not the same codes.

Thank you.

 

[Yupster Dog]

I had a problem with the harness of the MAF. (part that you plug the sensor into itself) got another one from junk yard and solder spliced it in and sealed with weatherproof heat shrink. might not be your problem but worth checking.

Welcome fellow Virginian to the forum by the way, we got enough Virginia boys in here to take over

 

[Jake Oleszak]

I almost wanted to do this while I was at the junk yard the other day. I thought “nahhh it should be fine!” That’s a good cheap route to go as well. How can I test the MAF/IAT with a multimeter? Mine are combined, but there should be a way to test the power at the harness/sensor, yeah?

And thank you. I’m only here temporarily for military reasons. But I like it here so far and sure hope to come back here someday!

 

[Yupster Dog]

Well welcome to VA if you get some time off explore while you are here. We have it all from Beach to mountains.

 

[Jake Oleszak]

what About testing the IAT sensor? It’s connected with the MAF sensor, so is there a separate way to test? Or if one is bad both is bad and can be tested the same way as the video?

 

[Yupster Dog]

so are there 6 wires in the MAF wire harness or 4?

 

[Jake Oleszak]

There are 6.

 

[Yupster Dog]

there is a scan tool you can buy for $20-$30 that you hook into the ODB port and it turns your smart phone into a scan tool and you could check IAC and MAF on your phone.

here is something that addresses the gas smell

 

[Jake Oleszak]

Alright I’ll definitely be pulling plugs tomorrow to check that one out. Thank you.

Just a little update as well: I replaced both B1S1 and B2S1 O2 sensors today. No change in idle or fuel smell. I scanned codes a bit ago and now only have the P2196 (O2 stuck rich B1S1). IAT and Bank 2 codes gone. I threw some Seafoam in (thinking if an injector is stuck open, MAYBE it can help lol).

I do plan to replace the plugs tomorrow, which still scares the crap out of me doing in fear I’ll break them lol.

Any other thoughts??


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[John Stephan]

I vote stuck open injector. Especially when you tried cranking by hand and then it turned over slowly. I'd suspect the injector is hung and is hydro locking the engine. Drain the oil and smell it. There's a TSB for 2005 regarding this issue. What is your build date?

As far as removing the plugs. Use an impact to zip them out on a warm engine.

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[Jake Oleszak]

Build date is December 2004. Should I pull injectors and test the spray pattern?

Also, how easy are the injectors to remove? Do I need to unbolt the rail or can I just remove each injector individually?


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[John Stephan]

I'd just replace the injector. It's not worth the hassle of removing, trying to clean or even paying someone. New stock OEM's can be had for $35ea.

The hard part is getting fuel out of the rail and not making a mess. It's a return less system so the rail always has fuel and most times it's at 30psi.

I think there's a connection in the passenger footwell that you can pull to kill power to the fuel pump while it's running. The truck will die around 20psi. The problem still exists that you have 20psi in the system.

I ended up getting a yogurt cup to put under the injector to catch most of the fuel. That and a bunch of rags so the fuel doesnt seep into the spark well and cause a misFIRE.

Remove the PCV lines and all of the electrical connectors. Doing bank 1 might be tougher, you may need to remove the ECU to really get in there, but if you're only changing #2 you may be okay.

There are 2 8mm (I think) bolts on each side holding the rail to the manifold. Remove the 2 on bank 1, leave the other side alone. Use compressed air to get all the dirt off the top of the engine. Spritz some WD or other lube at the point the injectors go into the manifold. Gently pry up on the entire rail for bank 1 and all 4 injectors will come out with the rail. Remove the metal retaining clip and pull the injector out. Fuel will go everywhere. Lube the new orings on the new injector and pop it on. Pop injectors with the metal clip in place, it should click. Now for the fun part. You need to remove all the lower orings for the other injectors and replace or you will probably get a new misfire. Or just replace all 4 injectors for piece of mind. Make sure the manifold holes are clean and lubed and reinstall.

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[Jake Oleszak]

So essentially pull power to the fuel pump and run car until it dies (to depressurization the fuel system), pull the rail and then each injector.

Seems “easy” enough lol. I may recruit a buddy to help.

But if I’m gonna test for proper operation of each injector, when would I replace the fuse for the fuel pump to test?


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[John Stephan]

You'd need to build an apparatus to bench test them. There's lots of info on YouTube.



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[Jake Oleszak]

I mean if the dealership did their job, couldn’t their scanner determine if an injector was dumping too much fuel?

Also, I was seeing the catalytic converters could be bad. Sounds weird cuz the O2 sensor before the cat is the one reading high. Can I pull the O2 sensor and start it to see if this helps any?


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[John Stephan]

Fords IDS software is magical. Unfortunately only Ford or specialty shops have it. They can run an injector balance test. If you want to pay them to run the test, you can go that route.

Pulling the O2 probably wont tell you anything. Draining the oil and smelling it would tell you more.

I bought an OBD2 bluetooth adapter for my car and bought a $5 app called Torque Pro. It allows you to look at all kinds of data such as fuel trims and O2 voltages. I even set one up to check live misfire data.

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[John Stephan]

When the truck runs is it really low on power? Check that there is no air restrictions.

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[Jake Oleszak]

I pulled the oil and didn’t smell anything too far out of the ordinary. I was long overdue for an oil change, but other than that it wasn’t sludgy, maybe a little diluted.

And I took the truck to a FORD dealership for diagnosis thinking they would run these tests. They definitely just read the codes with a normal ass scanner and recommended throwing parts at it. They said the MAF followed by the O2 sensors. They didn’t check any kind of live data. I’m pretty pissed off about that too cuz they charged me $160 for “diagnosis”.

I might have to look into that tool you’re talking about. You have a link to it??


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[Jake Oleszak]

When the truck runs is it really low on power? Check that there is no air restrictions.

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Power as in the electric components? No. Power as in acceleration? Only from a dead stop it hesitated a little but is fine when I accelerate while already moving.


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[John Stephan]

It's just an OBD2 Bluetooth device. I picked up a cheap $20 option off of Amazon. The refresh rate isn't great but it was cheap. The best one on the market is OBDLink MX, it runs about $70.

I found a bunch of useful info on how to use the app from the F150 forums. It's the same engine, just different accessory configurations. I looked on f150forum.com.

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