Hello all... I bought a 98 Continental about a month ago off of Craigslist. Thought I got a heck of a deal and still would if I could only get a nagging problem to go away.
Two hours or so after I bought it, I attempted to get on I-75. After pushing the accelarator half way down, the car bogged down, started bucking, RPMs plummeted and it eventually stalled. The Check Engine light came on. I immediately took it to Autozone and the code came up as Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor out of range and it also threw a couple of lean codes. Went to local Ford dealership and bought a new one. Replacing it seemed to help a little bit, but anything more than halfway down on the accelerator causes havoc. I reset the CEL.
After that, I talked to a mechanic buddy of mine. He suggested that I change the TPS. I did that and there was no improvement. Later, the CEL came on again... Cylinder 1 misfire. Replaced #1 coil. Eventually, the CEL came on again and this time it was cylinder 3 misfire. Replaced #3 coil pack and all 8 spark plugs.
Here's the kicker... I decided to change the fuel filter. While I was under the car, I noticed some wiring had been rigged up going to the fuel pump harness. After doing some research and tracing the wires, I discovered that someone had cut the black ground wire and grounded it to the frame. Also, the white/red wire which I think is the constant power for the fuel pump has been run to the power distribution box under the hood. The wire is under a relay. I thought that they had done this to bypass a non-working fuel pump driver module. So, I wired the two wires back to their intended locations and hooked up a new FPDM. The car wouldn't start.
The car is throwing no codes at the present and it is my daily driver. I know it's running lean because the exhaust has a strong gasoline odor to it. I also figure that the fuel pump is running anytime the the switch is on. That can't be good.
Any thoughts on how to diagnose this? I bought this car to drive back and forth to school at UT-Chattanooga. I can't really afford to take it to dealership, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Sorry for the long post. I appreciate this forum and any help you can offer me.
--John
Two hours or so after I bought it, I attempted to get on I-75. After pushing the accelarator half way down, the car bogged down, started bucking, RPMs plummeted and it eventually stalled. The Check Engine light came on. I immediately took it to Autozone and the code came up as Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor out of range and it also threw a couple of lean codes. Went to local Ford dealership and bought a new one. Replacing it seemed to help a little bit, but anything more than halfway down on the accelerator causes havoc. I reset the CEL.
After that, I talked to a mechanic buddy of mine. He suggested that I change the TPS. I did that and there was no improvement. Later, the CEL came on again... Cylinder 1 misfire. Replaced #1 coil. Eventually, the CEL came on again and this time it was cylinder 3 misfire. Replaced #3 coil pack and all 8 spark plugs.
Here's the kicker... I decided to change the fuel filter. While I was under the car, I noticed some wiring had been rigged up going to the fuel pump harness. After doing some research and tracing the wires, I discovered that someone had cut the black ground wire and grounded it to the frame. Also, the white/red wire which I think is the constant power for the fuel pump has been run to the power distribution box under the hood. The wire is under a relay. I thought that they had done this to bypass a non-working fuel pump driver module. So, I wired the two wires back to their intended locations and hooked up a new FPDM. The car wouldn't start.
The car is throwing no codes at the present and it is my daily driver. I know it's running lean because the exhaust has a strong gasoline odor to it. I also figure that the fuel pump is running anytime the the switch is on. That can't be good.
Any thoughts on how to diagnose this? I bought this car to drive back and forth to school at UT-Chattanooga. I can't really afford to take it to dealership, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Sorry for the long post. I appreciate this forum and any help you can offer me.
--John
