1994 Ford Escort Car shuts off unexpectidly

Tiny
STEVEJOHNSON007
  • MEMBER
  • 1994 FORD ESCORT
Electrical problem
1994 Ford Escort 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual 200k miles

the symptoms are,

the car shuts off, like a switch for two seperate conditions.

1) if I use the rear defroster, it takes about a minute, the car shuts off. Every time. The car will re-start after about4 minutes.

2) I can drive it for about 20 minutes, less in hot weather, and more in cold weather, and then, the car shuts off. Usually it will re-start after about 4 minutes, but if I keep driving, the interval to shut off gets shorter, so next trip, maby 5 minitues, and the cooldown time between starts gets longer, maby 7-10 minutes.

when the car shuts off, I can hear a click, like a relay and the dash lights go out. When I can start again, the dash lights up.

The ecu tests good. (Im thinking im going to change it anyway, but it tests good)

The car runs very smooth, starts first try even in cold weather.

it has started running rougher. Like a clogged fuel filter maby.

when I got it 9 months ago, I was getting 40 mpg, now I get less, like 25 maby

Parts I have changed/ checked.
Fuel filter, changed
Fuel pump, pulled and inspected, it looks good, no debris etc.
I changed the plugs and wires.
the plugs look, ok for a car with 200k miles, cylander 3 is leaking some, scorch marks on the side of the plug.

Any advice is appreciated.
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Sunday, December 27th, 2009 AT 5:18 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
If turning on the rear defroster kills the motor, do the lights dimm down also? If yes, check charging system, battery cables, and for the engine cut offs, remove the TFI module on the distributor, take it to a parts store, they can test it for you.
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Monday, December 28th, 2009 AT 3:14 PM
Tiny
STEVEJOHNSON007
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
My car has an ECM engine control module, is this the same as the thin film ignition module? I cant find tfi in my manual.

So the problem persists, and I replaced what would be the TFI module

The voltage at the battery shows normal drop when I turn on anything, so 12.79 maby with nothing on, and then it drops to 12.5 with the rear defroster and or lights. These numbers are the same when the car will not start and when it will start. (After it shuts off, it wont start for about 4 minutes.). When running, 14.3 volts at the battery.
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Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 AT 9:48 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
OK yours does not have TFI, but it does have an ignition control mod on 1.9 and a distributor control mod on 1.8 engine. These are located behind the engine bay fuse block. Towards the driver. This is in addition to the PCM wich is behind the center of the dash.
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Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 AT 1:33 PM

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