I had a ranger with an intermittent problem similar to this once. You did do the wiggle-test right? sometimes saves alot of $

 

Do you think it could be the fuel pump? It is a 1990 model.

 

I'd think it would be more consistient. But then again we have had the car 6 years and havent replaced it.

 

Yep I did the wiggle test before the 4.5 hour run the other day when the failure didnt manifest so possibly thats all it took. I have my fingers crossed, tomorrow I drive it to work.

 

Let us know! I won't be able to reply until thursday, but I'll watch for it then.

 

I found this little info on http://www.asaaz.org/canyonauto/techtips.htm#transient AC voltage
Quote:
Looking for the "Real" Problem

..... There are times we "know" what is causing a certain drivability problem, but we get tunnel vision and sidetracked, forgetting to look at the whole picture. I'm here to tell you I spun my wheels for far too many days looking for the "real" problem, all the while knowing there was a problem in the base function of the car. A couple of years ago I had warned about Taurus alternators causing a stalling condition; too much AC voltage would cause the ECA to turn the injectors off under certain conditions. This is not limited to Taurus' but it was a pattern failure with them.
..... I had a '86 Taurus 3.0, with the customer complaint of intermittent stalling. Sometimes it would occur frequently during a drive cycle, sometimes it would be days between episodes. I performed all the basic tests, including testing alternator output and voltage drops. My first mistake was thinking the symptoms didn't match what I had written about earlier, therefore it can't be too much AC voltage from the alternator (in which the car had too much AC voltage). Not only was this my first mistake, it became the BIG mistake. I spent time testing everything. EVERYTHING - twice. I checked for TSBs, went on the iATN, and called Identifix. I called gurus from all over. I hate to put parts on a car to "see" if that part fixed it but I had resorted to replacing parts. My problem was I didn't want to replace the alternator until I had fixed whatever was causing the stalling and I didn't want to spend here money until I had the stalling stropped. I was taught no matter what else you found wrong with a car, no matter what else you repaired, fix the customer's original complaint. Putting an alternator (even thought it was bad) would not fix the stalling. HAH! The alternator fixed the stalling.
..... What finally convinced me I had to replace the alternator was looking at PIP, TPS, and MAP -- there was too much hash in the "ON" voltage. Also, remember to look at the AC signal at the engine, not the battery. Don't forget the basic rule: Make certain the base engine, or base car functions, are correct before diving into the exotic repairs.
End of Quote

Might be a quick and cheap check before looking for other problems??

 

PC,

You know its funny you should mention this. I had the alternator die off on me in early May shortly before my other issues arose. I had it replaced by Firestone (happened while I was at work and they are like 1 mile away). I never stopped to think they may be part of the problem because..... Tuesday as I am driving to work I noticed my dash lights were dimmer than usual, I grabbed the dimmer **** and it was all the way up. I pulled over and checked my voltage, 8.4 volts and falling. Not charging, turned around headed home. Once there I checked and the fusible link is fine, the voltage TO the Voltage Regulator and fields is fine. So I am taking it back friday to have the alternator re-replaced. Perhaps this is the entire source of my woes?

 

Well in the ongoing drama, I have now had the alternator replaced(supposedly it failed due to oil contamination). Things seemed well last week but temperatures were very mild in the 70's and low 80's. On friday we had a high 90's day and the car stalled out again. After 40 mins sitting roadside the car evidently cooled down enough that it was able to restart and made it the remaining way home. Didnt mess with it all weekend. Then today I took it to work. Driving through heavy rain it started sputtering and trying to stall very soon after I started driving, but only stalled completely once , it tried to stall a few more times but never did.

My question is this. Does anyone know, what component would cause this silly reaction to heavy rain? Here is a quick recap.

Alternator replaced in May. Replaced battery.
Car driven during heavy rain in June, stalled for first time ever, 3 times in one short trip.
Replaced fuel filter. No appreciable change.
Alternator also replaced again.
In hot 85+ weather the car will stall and restart when its cooled down. When the car is trying to stall it sputters, I have come to find this is due to the fuel injection relay in the console kicking on and off or stuttering. This happense even when I keep the interior of the car and the ECM as cold as possible.
When stalled there appears to be no spark but I havent been able to test this too many times due to safety issues being under the hood on the roadside.
When rainy (heavy rain) water appears to be getting under the hood somewhere and causing the kick off to happen in a similar, but not totally the same fashion.
This happens regardless of what accessories or combination of are turned on.
When the car stalls, it will crank but will not fire.

 

I had the same problem here is what i did. First i had a bad cam pos sensor so i replacxed it made the sputter stop. than it would just die for no reason. i took it to the dealer and the relaced the crank pos sensor which was recalled as well and my air Idle control sensor was bad they replaced it took 1 month for me to get the car back. they still didnt fix the problem because they said that my head had somthing wrong with it and was causing the mapo sensore to shut the system down. so i went to pull the motor and also had a dead piston only pushing 100psi i pulled the whole motor and there it was piston 1 valve guides had been leaking oil and pluged the exhaust port up causing a shuttdown besides the dead piston so now i am getting the motor rebuilt beefed up and it will work like new got it in writing that the dealer will fix it for free if it dies after this.

 

I went back over your previous posts and found that you once used starting fluid to start it and noticed you had no tach or rpm indication. I found something I posted earlier on a different forum which may or may not help. It could be an easy test the next time you stall, unless it's on a highway. Seems heat does have an effect.

"I have a 92 Montero with a crank angle sensor (CAS) and a TDC sensor in the distributor cap. My manual states the CAS is powered from the engine control relay with 5V which produce pulse signals. My manual gives continuity tests from the four pin connector to the control relay harness connector. You'd need to know your wiring connections. The voltage test is for applied voltage from the CAS pin through a multimeter to ground with the CAS sensor connector disconnected and the ECU connected and the ignition switch on. Value 4.8 - 5.2V. IT DOES STATE THAT IF YOU GET A 0 RPM READING, I'M ASSUMING AT THE TACH. DURING CRANKING AND THE ENGINE WON'T START THE FAULT MAY BE THE CAS or a broken timing belt. This is assuming the coils primary current is ok. Not sure if this helps."

Look at the possible cause above when no start and 0 rpm reading. Course the broken timing belt is out of the question. Bad coils will also run bad when hot, stalling, sputtering, misfires. It is tough though trying to do diagnosis on a busy hwy. First be safe!!