Ford Repair: 1996 explorer stalls, ford exploer, cell phone charger

Question
QUESTION:


i have a 1996 ford exploer 4x4 eddie bauer. it has the 4.0 x motor wich is the push rod motor atleast thats what the hanes manual said.  when i first bought the truck  when i would start it it would start idling rough the battery gauge would dropand eventually stall it would start right back up and run fine. sometimes it would go days weeks without doing it. now everytime i sart it it eventually stalls even if i try to give it gas. i have replaced the plugs wires fuel filter air filter pcv valve. so i parked it for a couple weeks when i went to mess with it again the battery was dead so i pulled it out put it on charge when i put it back in it fired up ran smooth as ever. i let it warm up took it for a spin evrything seemed fine i left it running for aboutr thirty minutes when i left to go home i got about a mile down the road and it started losing power lights got dim and it stalled. im not sure but i think i plugged in my cell phone charger right before this happened?  so i did a little research in my haynes manual i ohmed the maf sincer it didnt beep except on the two ground pins so i pulled the plug off the tps and it read 5.0 so i plugged it back in and back probed it with the key on the manual said it should read 1.5 and when i push the accelorator all the way in it should climb steadily to 5.0 mine read 5.0 and did not change. so do you have any other advice. its realy starting to wear me out ive had to hide my hammer so i dont beat all the glass out! haha any help would be greatly apprecciated. i dont have alot of money to be buying non returnable electrical parts thanks in advance.

         david

ANSWER: You shouldn't need to buy anything, unless your check engine light is on. Well, a new fuel filter could never hurt. Your problem sounds like a dirty throttle body. I recently posted detailed instructions on how to take the air duct off, and clean the inside of the throttle body with cleaner and a cotton towel. Try that, and keep the hammer out of sight.

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QUESTION: ok i cleaned the throttle body even though there was a sticker on it that said not too. it needed it bad alot of build up inside of there. when i fired it up at first it was doing the same thing. i kept trying it though and after a few minutes it smoothed out but acted up again. i noticed that i didnt hear the fuel pump kick on everytime i turned the key on before cranking it. that went away and i let it idle for about 45 minutes listening for it to bog out. the rpms would lower but it would pick back up. i went for a test run and it stalled at the end of the driveway but hasnt stalled the rest of the night. so if the fuel pump starts not kicking on everytime would that be the pump itself or the relay? or should i just change both out? i live out in the country and before i send my wife and youngins out in it i wanna be sure they arent gonna get stranded. thanks again!

         david

Answer
The sticker is there because most use carb. cleaner, so your OK. It was bad wasn't it? You may need to remove the idle air control valve and clean it, if it was as dirty as I believe. I am definitely with you. If that fuel pump starts giving any kinda crap, replace it. I would also replace the relay, as you replied. Note that you should replace the fuel filter, and sock at the fuel pump assembly if you decide to replace the pump. However, from your description, it sounds more like a lack of voltage to the pump at the times that you described. Crawl under there with a volt meter, when it fails to cut on. See if you have voltage to the pump or not. This could possibly save you a heck of a lot of labor. By the way, if it ran like crap after you cleaned the throttle body out, then cleared up, that was from the time it took to burn out the cleaner, which is not near as flammable.