'88 Cougar 3.8 stalling at low speeds August 31, 2016, 02:37:00 PM hopefully someone can help an old lady out. i love my car but i'm also about ready to break my size 8 off in her tailpipe.when it dies it feels like someone turned the ignition off. the first thing i did was to change the fuel filter. i hadn't had it long and i know most people tend to overlook it on routine maintenance. next i pulled the 28 year old ignition module off and had it tested. it failed twice in a row. i replaced it and it ran great for a week and started it all over again. this time i pulled the new module off and sent both of them to be tested. the old motorcraft module tested good and the new one tested bad on "dwell at crank rpm" and "dwell at low rpm". i'm no stranger to an engine bay but this has me stumped.all help is appreciated. Quote Selected
'88 Cougar 3.8 stalling at low speeds Reply #1 – August 31, 2016, 07:05:47 PM What brand is the new module? If it's just a parts store piece and not Motorcraft it could be faulty as well. Quote Selected
'88 Cougar 3.8 stalling at low speeds Reply #2 – September 01, 2016, 02:25:45 PM borg warner. it tested bad so i did a warranty swap. i'm just afraid that there is something else causing the modules to fail. Quote Selected
'88 Cougar 3.8 stalling at low speeds Reply #3 – September 01, 2016, 04:11:21 PM How old is the PIP in the distributor? Did you check to make sure any wires aren't pinched/shorting? Was the proper grease used when mounting the TFI for proper heat dissipation? Quote Selected
'88 Cougar 3.8 stalling at low speeds Reply #4 – September 02, 2016, 08:26:31 AM no sign of any damaged wires. i'm sure the pip is probably 28 years old. i'll recheck the wires and test the pip. i was wondering if it could be a fault in the ignition switch, because i have notice that before it stalls the blower motor is getting reduced power and not blowing as hard as usual. Quote Selected
'88 Cougar 3.8 stalling at low speeds Reply #5 – September 02, 2016, 03:09:36 PM How old is the ignition switch? Quote Selected
'88 Cougar 3.8 stalling at low speeds Reply #6 – September 04, 2016, 04:47:53 PM 28 years old presumably. Quote Selected
'88 Cougar 3.8 stalling at low speeds Reply #7 – September 04, 2016, 05:23:09 PM Sudden dieing is almost always electrical, a plugged fuel filter will cause bogging/stumbling long before engine died... If fuel pump is intermittent engine will die almost instantly... Any idea if it still has spark when engine dies???The ign switches are famed for problems(incl fires, there's a recall) but usually restart easily... Restarting after engine cools probably isn't the switch... Quote Selected
'88 Cougar 3.8 stalling at low speeds Reply #8 – September 04, 2016, 06:12:21 PM What's your voltage when the engine is running? What's the voltage with all the electrical loads on (high beams, blower at max, rear defrost, brake lights, etc.)? Ideally, you would be using an ammeter with an inductive pickup around the alternator output cable to measure the charging current as well, but you can judge that by how far the voltage drops with all the loads on. If your alternator is weak, or failing, the alternator can stall the engine when the engine slows down. You see, the more current the alternator is producing, that harder it is for the engine to turn it. Under high load, a healthy alternator will produce an increasing whirring sound, and this is a sign that it is working. Or how about this, drive it around with as little electrical load as possible, and see if the stalling persists. Quote Selected
'88 Cougar 3.8 stalling at low speeds Reply #9 – September 06, 2016, 01:04:50 PM I'll try that and see what happens. thx Quote Selected
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