veloccity

Hey everyone.

My new to me 06 Mustang GT just died at a traffic light today

I have noticed that I drive the car to normal operating temp, park for 10-15 minutes, then get in it again the idle is all over the place between 500 then up to 1500 for awhile then down to 800, etc... Once it got very close to dying. Today it actually did. I started it up again and it died again. Left it off for a few minutes and started it again. Idle went to 1500 then down to 800 and ran ok until I tried to accelerate. Check engine light came on and it had no power, would also run rough above 1000 RPM with no power until it dropped below.

Shut the car off, turned it back on after a few minutes of that and its back to normal.

Does this sound like a TPS + throttle body cleaning? The check engine light is off at this point, has it been cleared?

Only other oddity is a strong rotten egg smell, assuming this is a partially clogged CAT or normal?

Thanks.

Velo

veloccity

Must make a correction... The ETC light came on, not check engine. The Wrench icon to be more specific.

Nuke

This could be a number of things but before you panic, start with the simple things.

1. Fluctuating idle is often the result of a dirty TB. Clean it.
2. Another possible issue could be a dirty fuel filter. Some folks report clogged filters as early as 30k miles or earlier, depending on local fuels.
3. How often do you run a good fuel system cleaner? Techron is good for normal PM and I find SeaFoam excellent if a problem like this occurs.
4. Clean the MAF and check the MAF connector/clean the connector contacts.

And you say there's no CEL?

This should have some troubleshooting info for the TPS: http://iihs.net/fsm/?dir=1

drewsky

EXACTLY what Nuke said.

veloccity

Correct there was not a CEL, just the wrench icon when it went into limp mode. Has not done it since and it appears to be a intermittent issue. I am going on a trip out of state tomorrow, so tonight I will clean the TB and replace the fuel filter.

I have never ran a fuel system cleaner in the car... always assumed they were snake oil. I will look into getting some after work today. Thanks for the help.

hootie_john

Get a can of MAF cleaner and clean it too. DO NOT use anything else but MAF cleaner on it. CRC makes a TB cleaner and a MAF cleaner, they should be available at your local parts store.

veloccity

So far I have replaced cleaned the TB and replaced the TPS along with cleaning the MAF.

Car is running a lot better so far. The hesitation I noticed is gone, the idle bounce appears gone. It slowly return to 800 or so RPM with the clutch in or not in gear every time. Acceleration appears normal as well. Got it warm and will let it sit for 15 min. then try again and see if the issue appears resolved. Still planning and replacing fuel filter.

The bad news is that I broke the head off one of the two torx head holding the TPS to the TB... One was tight, and was going to finish the second and it snapped.... I do not have the tools to replace this tonight and I am leaving for a 600 mile round trip tomorrow. What are the repercussions of this? Obviously the vehicle is driving... I wonder if I could just use the head as a stud and use a bolt to secure it for now.

veloccity

Replaced Fuel Filter and added Seafoam. We will see how it goes. Going to go see if I can source a nut to tighten the TPS down, but if not.... Then we will see what happens.

Thanks for the help, so far it seems to be running well.

drewsky

If your taking the mustang on the road trip the broken hex nut shouldt be a huge concern, I know it's ghetto but put a small piece of tape over it just for now. And next time you clean the maf sensor just take off the end where the air box is (it's especially easy if it's a aftermarket cai) and spray in there good from both sides. Never even have to remove it. I've done this for years.

veloccity

Drewsky the broken bolt is on the throttle position sensor not the MAF if that makes a difference.