2005 Lincoln ls ETC failsafe mode

[11dparker]

Hello, my 2005 Lincoln LS v8 acted up this morning. As I was driving to work, my message center read check parking break and then said ETC failsafe mode. The car lost power I pulled over and it wouldn't start. I tried before and after work and still wouldn't start. It tries to but it fails and I'm just wondering what the hell is going on... I bought this car in July and has had nothing but problems. Can anyone with previous experience or anything tell me what's going on?? Thanks!

 

[joegr]

What exactly do you mean by won't start?

Does the engine crank over but won't fire up, or does the starter not even turn?

If the engine does crank over, then is it doing it at normal speed?


Weak batteries are known to cause issues with the electric parking brake.
Marginal COPs (ignition coils) are known to cause ETC failsafe.

 

[scjmc]

Welcome to the forum. Hopefully someone with a GEN II who knows what is going on can chime in....

 

[HighRule]

What exactly do you mean by won't start?

Does the engine crank over but won't fire up, or does the starter not even turn?

If the engine does crank over, then is it doing it at normal speed?


Weak batteries are known to cause issues with the electric parking brake.
Marginal COPs (ignition coils) are known to cause ETC failsafe.

Like Joe said, faildsafe mode is from the coils.

In my 03 I had two bad coils and failsafe mode came on and I couldn't go over 10mph. If your local autozone will check it for free you can find out what coils. I know if you live in Cali autozone is not allowed to check codes cause of a state "law".

 

[paris63]

mine has done the same to me. Both times I was cruising at a low speed and needed a little giddyup so I goosed it. It immediately went into limp mode and I promptly found a safe place to park. I shut the car down and waited a few minutes before firing it up. Sure enough the Check Engine Light was all lit up, but it drove OK. So I 'm very lightfooted until I could get it looked at. And it turns out both times were due to Coil on Plug failures.

In my experience (which admittedly is limited) you can tell when a coil is about to give up the ghost. It starts to idle a little rough, like you actually notice the engine not purring quietly. Next it will be shifting fine, then out of the blue you'll get a rough shift. It revs high then lurches into gear with a kick in the ass. Then comes the ETC failsafe mode, usually when the engine is under load.