how long till stalling stops after computer reset?

Aussie Falcon · 20-05-2007, 08:16 PM

I have a AU1.5 Fairmont 6cyl auto which had a battery die during the week. I got it replaced but it now stalls at traffic lights and round abouts. The Radio also asked for a code.

My local garage hooked it up to their computer and couldn't see the fault codes due to it being a Fairmont.

They suggested it may take up to 300km and if it's still a problem take it to a Ford dealer.

I searched here and followed recommendations such as http://www.fordforums.com.au/showpos...42&postcount=6

It has now been 100km of driving in a variety of conditions: traffic and highway and it's still stalling. I have to left foot brake and use neutral to keep revs up.

I had no other problems prior to replacing the battery. The car currently drives normally while it has about 1000+ revs.

Is it normal for it take this long to relearn?

nikos · 20-05-2007, 09:07 PM

My forte has been reset twice, never stalled, and didn't ever come close. Maybe your idle needs adjusting? ISC valve may need cleaning?

ratter · 20-05-2007, 09:23 PM

Being fairmont makes no difference to reading the codes.

If your car stalls after the battery change, you have other issues. The issues may have been masked by the computer learning which you have now wiped by disconnecting the power to the computer. The computer may relearn over a period of a couple of hundred klms, but the base problem is still there and will probably return when the computer can no longer mask it.

The problems may only be small, but should be sorted out.

burnz · 20-05-2007, 10:00 PM

this might sound left field but how high is you oil pressure?@ idol

xr8ute · 20-05-2007, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratter

If your car stalls after the battery change, you have other issues.

x2

Check all the consumables... i.e. leads, plugs

And find a better garage. To say they cant check codes because its a Fairmont is garbage.

GK · 21-05-2007, 11:08 AM

Never had issues with my AU after computer resetting. Was it stalling before the reset?

Your mechanic needs replacing though!

I would clean the ISC valve. It's a 5 minute job, depending on how much junk is in there. Get some carby cleaner and use it liberally, spaying until it's full, cover the holes and shake lots. Repeat 2 times and see how much gunk has been displaced. It should be alloy colour if it's clean. You can use a little rag in there as well, but make sure no threads get left behind.

BTW, did your mechanic take off the ISC by any chance? If so, he may not have plugged it back in correctly. Check the electrical connector, if you haven't already done so.

If all that makes no difference, then plugs, leads etc need going over. Perhaps change the plugs anyway, it's a cheap and simple job if you buy the $4 stock items.

Hope that helps.

All the best with it,

GK

Black S · 21-05-2007, 02:45 PM

My car took around the 300km mark before she stopped stalling. It will be all good after that.

FGII-XR6 · 21-05-2007, 04:15 PM

at the risk of being told this is a waste of time this is the correct procedure outlined by ford to get the ECU back to a reasonable state it work well
you need to reset the ECU
dissconnect the battery for about 45 min after you reflash it then do the following
1 start engine then turn the A/C on & idle 2 min
2 turn A/C off idle 2 Min
3 put in Drive with A/C on, idle 2 min
4 Turn A/C off, idle 2 min
drive for 5 minutes changing speeds and throtle positions as much as possible
ECU is now reset but will learn further from your driving

xr8ute · 21-05-2007, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by au3xr6

at the risk of being told this is a waste of time

Its not exactly a waste of time, but I disagree strongly that it is the procedure required to get back to a "reasonable state". As soon as the battery is plugged back in it should be in a "reasonable state", after following that procedure it should be idleing almost perfect.

A car that continually stalls on the base map (i.e. after KAM has been reset on EEC), has a problem that needs to be fixed.

Continual stalling at idle is bit of a safety issue IMO, and should be fixed properly sooner rather than later.

FGII-XR6 · 21-05-2007, 04:57 PM

i have seen this procedure sort out a bad mannered car that was stalling and generally running like s*** so it is worth at least trying

frd_crzer · 21-05-2007, 09:57 PM

if the code in the radio comes on them there must be a faulty warth but not sure about the stalling

ReVd_uP · 21-05-2007, 10:15 PM

The easiest thing to do is simply clean the throttle body, we get this all the time at work when ever the battery is diconnect for a little while or replaced, clean the throttle body and all will be good... also for the radio security code, just drop into your friendly ford dealer and they'll look it up on our syestem, the code is just there as a security measure, not an indication of a fault, people if you dont know what your talking about dont give the guy a bum steer

FGII-XR6 · 21-05-2007, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReVd_uP

The easiest thing to do is simply clean the throttle body, we get this all the time at work when ever the battery is diconnect for a little while or replaced, clean the throttle body and all will be good... also for the radio security code, just drop into your friendly ford dealer and they'll look it up on our syestem, the code is just there as a security measure, not an indication of a fault, people if you dont know what your talking about dont give the guy a bum steer

can't for the life of me understand this! car is running fine, you dissconnect the battery and the throttle body becomes dirty ? because the battery was dissconnected?

: if it was stalling before the battery was dissconnected sure this may be the cause but i find it hard to understand how dissconnecting the battery can cause a dirty throttle body. The ECU needs to be relearnt to re establish correct running parameters and make all well with the world

ReVd_uP · 21-05-2007, 10:59 PM

The battery doesnt cause a dirty t/body, you already have one, but your PCM learns to adapt to it over time, then when you d/c your battery its reset and runs the same parameters as if it was clean even though its dirty, which causes the stalling, understand?

ratter · 21-05-2007, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReVd_uP

The battery doesnt cause a dirty t/body, you already have one, but your PCM learns to adapt to it over time, then when you d/c your battery its reset and runs the same parameters as if it was clean even though its dirty, which causes the stalling, understand?

100% correct

Aussie Falcon · 21-05-2007, 11:23 PM

Hello,

Thanks for all your replies. I drove it for another 15km tonight and I can see a small improvement. It still stalled a couple of times but I didn't try using any left foot braking and neutral like before. I'm a little concerned about the safety aspect of driving the car in this state. I'm only using it in non peak hour on quite roads like it's a triple demerits weekend..

The local garage I mentioned rang their contact at a Ford dealership and got the radio code for me which is great.

burnz the oil pressure gauge is just over the half way mark. About 5 months ago on a hot day I had the oil pressure warning light go on a few times in one day but it has never happened since (or before). A suggestion I heard to prevent that it to use a thicker oil, but I don't think I'll bother.

As I mentioned I have already tried the various 2 minute idle sequences posted above.

I found these how to guides which I'll print out and try on the weekend. I have never tried anything like this before so I hope it's straight forward and safe.

Cleaning the ISC VALVE :
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showpos...9&postcount=43

Cleaning Throttle Body :
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showpos...2&postcount=48

I should also add that I do have a 3-4 year old K&N filter which I read could be the cause of the dirty intake.

At least I have learned a bit more about my car in the process, thanks, this is a great forum.

Chris

ReVd_uP · 21-05-2007, 11:30 PM

oiled air filters to tend to gum up t/bodys, just give it a clean occasionally

MNM96 · 22-05-2007, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frd_crzer

if the code in the radio comes on them there must be a faulty warth but not sure about the stalling

Hate to guess what a "warth" is, anyhow!

The code is showing on the radio, because the battery was disconnected. You will need to enter the radio code, listed in the Owners Manual, so that the radio will work. This will not be causing your idle issues!

No Judge · 22-05-2007, 03:19 PM

sorry to throw a cat amongst the pigeons, but my AUII fairmont ghia (with vct) sometimes stalls (or tries to stall - rectified by some quick right foot) when its started. Itll turn over for half a second, then the revs drop. This started as soon as I had my extractors fitted about 2 months ago (coincidence?).

Then this morning, she didnt start at all (has happened once before about four weeks ago). Thought it was the battery so I put on a battery charger for 10 mins. Started no dramas after that.

Would this be connected to the above problem/s. And if so, could it be fixed by resetting the ECU and cleaning out the throttle body???? Or is a new battery the go????

TS50 · 22-05-2007, 03:33 PM

Now My T3 TS50, stroker windsor. I have always had battery issues with this car, never had a battery last 12 months yet, but even as a failry new car, low mileage, after a flat battery, the thing wont idle. Sit at the lights and die. do 500 kms, still the same, do a 1000kms, still the same. Take it into Ford, they stick it on their lovely little machine for 5 mins, and the thing is purring again.
This happens everytime my battery dies (which is way to regular)

SirHenry · 22-05-2007, 07:23 PM

Personally after having two of these issues and trying every single thing to fix it my thoughts are: Take it to a good Ford dealer and get them to sort it out from memory mine only took 45 mins for them to relieve one big S-load of frustration for not too many dollars (was around $45 $50 from memory)

Car now goes a hell of a lot better, possibly better than before. Good luck and happy driving.

Chris,

ps from re reading your post it sounds like what happened to mine all the codes come out fine but the revs are too low and generally sounds like crap, its probably the Base Idle which the major issue with mine.

GK · 22-05-2007, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aussie Falcon

I found these how to guides which I'll print out and try on the weekend. I have never tried anything like this before so I hope it's straight forward and safe.

Cleaning the ISC VALVE :
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showpos...9&postcount=43

Cleaning Throttle Body :
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showpos...2&postcount=48

At least I have learned a bit more about my car in the process, thanks, this is a great forum.

Chris

I wrote those Chris and clean the ISC valve in each of my AUs every few months or so. Easy job.

The Throttle body I've only done once. Takes more time, but an easy enough job.

All the best with it.

GK

richo77 · 22-05-2007, 11:31 PM

I can almost guarantee you that the base idle needs to be adjusted manually as your ECU is unable to sort out your idle electronically, it continues to stall out. I had a very similar problem when I disconnected the power on my XR8.

Ended up taking mine to BPT for the adjustment a month or so ago and havent had a drama to date, top quality service there BTW.

Good luck with it mate

Mangi · 23-05-2007, 12:51 AM

gday.

I had this problem as well.

I have an au xr6 III manual.

I was installing a stereo and obviously had to disconect the battery to do so. after the installation and connecting up a new optima battery took the car for a drive and the stalling started. After letting the car idle for a number of minutes then driving it around a quiet street slowly allowing the reves to drop out while i had the clutch in i found it would take a number of stalls before it found itself again and return to normal. I have had to disconect the battery a number of times to adjust the stereo so have had to do this a number of times. I find by starting the car and letting it idle first for about 3-5min before driving helps it go back to normal much quicker.

So try startin the car. Letting it Idle for 3-5 min. Then drive around a back street slowly gaining reves the holding in the clutch and allowing it to stall. eventually you will find that it will come back to normal. Well i hope anyway!

Good luck!

Aussie Falcon · 27-05-2007, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GK

I wrote those Chris and clean the ISC valve in each of my AUs every few months or so. Easy job.

The Throttle body I've only done once. Takes more time, but an easy enough job.

All the best with it.

GK

Today I followed your steps to clean both. I bought a can of $12 carby cleaner at Auto one and a $4 set of allen keys at a discount store.

The difference was immediate. It hasn't stalled since. It sometimes still does a stutter at low revs. I'll see how it goes in the next few weeks. Thanks for your write up.

What does the black nob on the ISC do?