QuestionHi,
I just purchased a 1990 Chrysler New Yorker
3.3 liter with all the bells and whistles Landau. When I first bought
it the guy wasn't sure if there was a problem with the fuel pump But
with how the car is reacting I am sure it isn't. When I first start the
car it runs fine most of the time from a cold start, but alot of times
but not all when it warms up it idles up and down and the motor feels
like it's running rough. I checked the pressure on the fuel check valve an
replaced the fuel pump, and you can hear the pump engaging and
running. Sometimes when the car gets warm ( It doesn't over heat) it starts to
choke and there is a loss of power till it has none and starts to
sputter and then dies.. I am just glad i got it off the road in time.. I
let it cool off and try to start it but it will not start until it is
cool again.I am at this point almost positive its something stupid..
lol... once I run it after it dies and go it has no problems most of the
time. But most of my problems are when I am at a complete stop and try to
accelerate. Either a loss of power until the rpms are higher or both
that and what I thing Is backfiring in the Throttle body. I mention more
about the knocking in next paragraph
Now most recently after the battery went dead because the
light under the hood wont go off i jumped it and it sounded like it was
backfiring under the hood and there was no power. It would pop a few
times and then take off.. it stopped and then a day later started again
and this time it wasn't recovering power so I had no choice but to pull
over. After babying it home it started to run fine , went to the groc.
store came out no power again. I tied the redneck thing and tap on the
coil pack with a rubber mallet nothing, so me and my girl was sitting
there freezing waiting for it to start. before it died that time I went
and smelled the exhaust and you could smell gas in the exhaust . I am
not sure what the problem is and I have asked alot of people and they do
not know what the problem could be there is no check engine light all
the lights are working and I am at a loss. It would be to expensive for
me to just replace every thing then not fix it .. I need it to be
reliable for work... oh and do you know where the switch or sensor or what
ever it would be for the engine work light under the hood. it stays on
constantly. I had to unplug the battery so it wouldn't kill it...
Thanks for reading this and your time! Hope to hear back
soon!
Joe
AnswerHi Joe,
It is probably a mixture issue, and even though there is no check engine light there may well be a fault code stored in the controller. Use the ignition key switch:"on-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing that in 5 seconds or less elapsed time. Then watch the check engine light which remains "on" to begins to flash, pause, flash, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause. Then repeat to assure an accurate count. You will always end with two groups of 5 each, then number 55, which is the code for end of readout. Then go to www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html for a code listing, and/or write back with the numbers and we'll go from there.
The only other item that may be involved if the car was originally sold in California is an exhaust gas recirculation valve which may be sticking ajar intermittently. If you have one locate it on the small pipe that connects the rear exhaust manifold to the throttle body. It has a valve stem which you can spray with WD-40 to free up its movement.
So let me know if get some codes via a follow-up question. Thanks for the detailed history which may make more sense with a fault code.
Roland
PS The underhood light has a built in gravity-operated mercury switch that completes the circuit when the hood is raised. So you can investigate why that isn't working by removing the fixture and examining it. The plug wire is always hot, so if you remove it be sure to tape over the tip of the wire connector so you don't short it and blow the fuse.
