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got a voyager 97 v6 3L, starts then die when gas pedal is release, pump it a few times will do the same, a few minutes of start and die rythm it will work as if nothing is wrong, one day my wife is using it and it just die while on the road, she try to start it to no avail, when help arrived the car start normal again and runs for a few days until the same thing happen again yesterday..can you help please.
Hi Roland, first of all thanks for a very quick response, I have to ask my wife to do the process and she told me that the light is consistent to be 1-2-5-5. Where do I go from here? can I purchase and replace the parts my self(is it easy) or do I have to go the dealer for this kind of service. Thanks again..
AnswerHi Cel,
The symptom you described and the fault code 12 (55 will always be there "end of readout") makes me modify my initial response. If it were the distributor units it should have caused a code 11 or a code 54. The 12 code should only be there mormally if sometime in the past 50 key "on and off" cycles the battery cables were disconnected (does she know if anyone has actually disconnected the battery in the recent past? Jumping the battery without removing the cable would not cause a code 12, it has to be an actual disconnect of one or the other cable).
If the battery has not been disconnected then the 12 code means that the fuse between the battery and the engine computer is flakey (The code states: "direct connection to the engine controller from the battery has been disconnecter in the past 50 key cycles". So that would require either the battery to be disconnected or the fuse between the battery and the controller to be flakey)
That fuse is a 20 amp size in position #13 of the power distribution center located under the hood next to the battery. I would open the lid of that box, find fuse #13 and check that it has clean contacts, that the socket contacts are clean, there is a good mechanical connection of the fuse in the socket, and if the fuse is transparent that the resistance wire doesn't have a subtle crack in it that would cause the fuse to "open" when current is flowing thru it but then "close" after it cools off because it had opened recently. You could get a new fuse of the same type and amp to be sure of it. Until a code 11 or 54 actually gets recognized I would not spend money on the internal distributor sensor part replacement. It is eacy to do, but it costs about $100 and so it is not something to do without proof that it is truly at fault. The 12 code should go away if the fuse is not the problem after she has 50 trips without this dying out problem. If it persists without any removal of the battery cable then it has to be that fuse. The only other thing would be loose battery cable or a corroded connection between a cable and a post of the battery. So you might also want to examine the battery posts to see that the interface between each post and its inner cable clamp are shiney. Always disconnect the - post first for safety, and always reconnect it second (after reconnecting the + post).
But do look at fuse #13 as the first priority. I suspect it first because if the clamps were loose then you would also have trouble getting the starter motor to work, which isn't the case. Most problems that would cause what you desribe should set a fault code in the memory and so far only 12 has shown up. The only other possibility is a flakey ignition switch which requires carrying along a voltmeter and knowing where to connect it to verify that was the actual problem. So let me know if the fuse appears to be o.k. or not.
Roland
