Car startes but cuts off when put in reverse or drive

Tiny
VICTORIAC
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 FORD CONTOUR
  • 100,000 MILES
The car fires and stays on until letting off gas to backup and go forward after that it dies.
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 AT 7:09 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
Couple of reasons this can happen, first is an air leak or idle air control valve, You may have a vacuum leak, get a can of spray Throttle body cleaner, spray the vac lines and maniflod area, when the idle changes, youve found the leak! You want the engine running and spray on the outside but do direct the stream onto the hoses, if it is a vacuum leak, the engine idle will change speed, then you have detected a leak, repair the vacuum leak and see how it runs! If that doesnt do it, you may need a new idle air control valve, it's bolted to the throttlebody. Try to keep the spray off the hot exhaust manifolds, it can cause a fire. If no leak, the IAC may be bad. Second could the the torque converter may be locked up, do your brake lights work?
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Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 AT 7:31 PM

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