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Frustrated with car stalling


jewellri
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I received the new sensor, but have not had a chance to install it. Will get to it on Saturday, but was really hoping that someone had the replacement instructions that they would be willing to post or email to me.

 

 

Hey there stranger!

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Paul here, took to dealer and asked for my usual mechanic. He did not find any codes for the problem, but did see the on the internet that it was probably a FUEL LOW PRESS SENSOR. Checked with other mechanics and they confirmed it solved problems on cars the repaired. Working properly now, will update the list. I thank everone for there input and help. Paul

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Changed the sensor out on Saturday. I think it took longer to wait for the engine to stall after pulling the fuel pump relay than it did to actually change the sensor. As for the process I simply took the engine cover off, opened up the fuse panel in the engine compartment, looked in the OM for the fuel pump fuse, but actually decided that the relay would be easier since it is on the top of the fuse panel whereas the fuse is on the bottom of the fuse panel, started up the engine, pulled the fuel pump relay (#54??), waited for the engine to stall which would relieve pressure on the fuel rail (you may have other methods for this, but I think this is the easiest and most dependable because no fuel pump=no pressure), turned off the power (probably should have disconnected the battery, but was being lazy rather than safe), disconnected the wiring harness from the sensor (the sensor is easy to access on the passenger's side front of the engine just below the intake manifold) (side note: I had to use a pair of pliers to squeeze the clip on the harness enough to release as I could not get it with my bare fingers), removed the sensor, rinse and repeat in reverse. The BIG key to this being a super easy repair was that I just happened to have a 27 mm deep well socket in my tool box that I purchased probably 8 years ago to work on my wife's Explorer, IIRC. Not sure that you will be able to get the sensor out any other way, i.e. adjustable wrench, pliers, etc. Well, you might be able to get it out, but I wouldn't recommend anything but the 27 mm deep well socket to get the new one in. If you don't have one, go get one before you start this project. I only drove the car once this weekend (spring is Miata top down top time here), to the car wash and back home. The car wash time frame should have been enough to cause it to go through its stalling routine, but again, it is totally intermittent. I have to give it a good two weeks of regular driving to see if the stall returns, but I do have a good feeling about it as my short term fuel mileage (from the car wash, which was next to where I refueled and reset the trip odo, to home at about 5 miles) netted 26 mpg. I have not seen a number that high, short of a long highway cruise, well.... probably ever. Definitely nothing like that on city streets. Makes me wonder if the thing has been failing since day 1. Time will tell of course and I will update again after I know for sure.

Edited by brunobus
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  • 3 weeks later...

About 2 weeks now since I replaced the fuel pressure sensor. It only stalled one time since then. I happened to go in for an oil change the following day after it stalled and, while I was waiting, I went and picked the brain of one of the service writers to see if they had seen stalling issues. His first thought was the fuel, of course, then the fuel pressure sensor. I explained that those were not the issue. He mentioned that the only other one that they had come in with this symptom had to have the purge canister and valve replaced, which took care of it. He asked if when I fill the tank I stop at the first click or keep filling. I, of course, keep filling until it is completely full. Have done this with every car I have ever owned. The interesting thing is that the day that the car stalled, I had filled the tank about 2 hours prior. So, I still think that the fuel pressure sensor was part of the issue because of the increase in mileage that I have seen since replacing it, but am now also thinking that topping off the tank may be an issue. Have not yet had to fill up again yet, but I will be more careful going forward and see what happens.

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  • 3 months later...

We have a 2013 Fusion titanium and have had minor stalling issues since purchasing ours, used, in Dec, 2015. Two weeks ago when we had a fill up at a station in NJ, we had a heck of a time getting the car to start. After 6 short duration pushes of the start button we held it down 5 to 6 seconds and it started very roughly. Next day the check engine light came on. The mechanic hooked up his code reader and told us it was something about evap in the fuel line but just to take it to our dealer when we returned home. He cleared the code but it came back about 200 miles later.

 

It's in the service center today and waiting to see what they tell us. This forum has been helpful to me already thanks to the time all the people before me spent talking about this issue. I imagine the dealers don't like these forums at all!

 

Anyway, thank you again for the info, tips, advice, and pictures that have been posted. Happy driving to all.

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Since I saw the above message pop up, I thought I would throw in another update since installed the pressure sensor. Mileage has consistently been above 20, closer to 21, whereas before it was in the 18-19 range. Took a mostly highway trip last week (about 200 miles) and the computer showed 34 MPG for that trip, running at about 80 MPH for most of the way. Went a total of 386 miles on that one tank and averaged just over 24 MPG (the other 184 miles was mostly city and some highway). Definitely worth the $35 that I spent on the sensor. After fueling, it will still, every once in a while, hiccup a bit, but had never stalled since then. Of course I also stopped topping off the tank, so I think that made a big difference. If you are having poor mileage, but not necessarily stall issues, and are either under warranty or are able to change that sensor, I would highly recommend it.

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  • 3 months later...

I never top my gas off, but am also having mine stall after the car is warm, rests for about 30 minutes, then started back up again. No warranty for me, so I hope To get it right the first time. It seems that the fuel pressure sensor may be the culprit?
*I have ALSO been experiencing reduced gas mileage.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Greetings all. This seems to be a common problem, and unfortunately, my car is doing the same thing. I have a 2013 Titanium 2.0 with only 41,000 miles. Mine starting stalling while driving as well. My wife was nearly rear-ended when it killed in traffic. Took it to my mechanic, found the car to have a P0087 code, and after consulting Ford technical services, they advised to check and change the Evap solenoid canister assembly. Picked up the car, only to have it die again that night. Took it back. Now Ford technical services is saying to take out the fuel pump and test it, and it sounds like this is not an quick easy thing to do. So I called Ford to complain as it seems that many people are having this problem (from this site and a few others) and doing things like trying to replace throttle bodies, fuel rail sensors, injectors, the computer, resetting the ECU, etc., and often still having the same problem. I let them know that A) I want to know exactly what to do to fix this problem and B) I want Ford to do something about it because I don't have the money, time, or patience to just throw $250+ darts and hope for the best. They said they would pass that info up the chain and get back to me. Three weeks later, and I haven't heard from anybody. So I'm feeling a little frustrated and lost right now. Any words of wisdom?

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Greetings all. I've posted this on another similar thread too, but thought I'd throw it on this one since this seems to be such a common problem. My car is doing the same thing. I have a 2013 Titanium 2.0 with only 41,000 miles. Mine starting stalling while driving as well. My wife was nearly rear-ended when it killed in traffic. Took it to my mechanic, found the car to have a P0087 code, and after consulting Ford technical services, they advised to check and change the Evap solenoid canister assembly, which he did. Picked up the car, only to have it die again that night. Took it back. Now Ford technical services is saying to take out the fuel pump and test it, and it sounds like this is not an quick easy thing to do. So I called Ford to complain as it seems that many people are having this problem (from this site and a few others) and doing things like trying to replace throttle bodies, fuel rail sensors, injectors, the computer, resetting the ECU, etc., and often still having the same problem. I let them know that 1) I want to know exactly what to do to fix this problem and 2) I want Ford to do something about it because I don't have the money, time, or patience to just throw $250+ darts and hope for the best. They said they would pass that info up the chain and get back to me. Three weeks later, and I haven't heard from anybody. So I'm feeling a little frustrated and lost right now. Any words of wisdom?

Edited by slowrie
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If they did not change out the fuel pressure sensor, then that should have been the first thing that they tried. Strangely enough, even though I have not been topping off the tank since April when I replaced the sensor, for about the last 2-3 weeks, the stalling issue has shown back up. It even popped up a P0087 code one time. Still getting the same gas mileage, so my thoughts are leaning toward the purge canister. Anybody have a diagram of where it is located on the car or what the process is to change it out? Parts aren't too expensive at $60 for the canister and $20 for the valve.

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If they did not change out the fuel pressure sensor, then that should have been the first thing that they tried. Strangely enough, even though I have not been topping off the tank since April when I replaced the sensor, for about the last 2-3 weeks, the stalling issue has shown back up. It even popped up a P0087 code one time. Still getting the same gas mileage, so my thoughts are leaning toward the purge canister. Anybody have a diagram of where it is located on the car or what the process is to change it out? Parts aren't too expensive at $60 for the canister and $20 for the valve.

Do you think they two items are related or separate issues?

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  • 3 weeks later...

BU5Z-9F972-B

 

This is the part number for the LOW pressure side sensor.

 

If you are standing on the driver side of the car looking into the engine compartment, it is a little bit below the master cylinder. I think I needed a 12mm and 26mm wrench to replace it. I FINALLY fixed my issue with that part.

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BU5Z-9F972-B

 

This is the part number for the LOW pressure side sensor.

 

If you are standing on the driver side of the car looking into the engine compartment, it is a little bit below the master cylinder. I think I needed a 12mm and 26mm wrench to replace it. I FINALLY fixed my issue with that part.

 

Was there anything special to putting this in? My car has been showing the same issues for the last week and I am purchasing the part now. Is this something I can just swap out while the car is off? Thanks for any help.

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I did the same procedure of pulling the fuel pump relay (I did it while the car was running), letting the engine die out. It was a little difficult due to available room and possible arm/hand size. I used wrenches, but if you have a 26mm socket, I do not know if it would make it easier. When I have to loosen or tighten something with two wrenches, I think it makes it easier to position them like scissors....The twisting motion closer together would prevent the line from twisting, so you get more force applied where needed.

The sensor has the pigtail plugged directly on top,
Unplug that and tuck away.
Attempt to get your 12mm wrench on the bottom bung underneath the sensor,
Attempt to keep THAT 12mm wrench on the bung while getting the 26mm wrench (I actually used a worn out 15/16" wrench) on the sensor. This is difficult due to the size as you might hit the firewall.
Make sure you position them so you can just squeeze together like scissors. You only really need to break it loose, and shouldn't need to keep using a wrench. (make sure you don't drop your wrenches because of the underbody panels won't let them fall all of the way to the ground).
Remove old sensor. It seals with an o-ring, but I still put Teflon tape on the threads of my new sensors. I did not have a torque spec for this, but I assumed maybe 5 ft-lbs or less.
Find your pigtail and plug back in.
Reinstall your fuel pump relay
restart car and check that everything is okay.
I do not know if unhooking the negative is required, but I didn't do so. Mine has been running fine for a while now. (I did mine on my lunch break and only brought a few tools)

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Thanks, swapped out the sensor with no problems at all. Have yet to see the stall issue since. One thing to note, even though the car ran until it died and most of the pressure should have been relieved, there was still a good amount of spray after loosening the sensor. May want to keep an old towel around to catch this, other than that this has to be one of the easier replacement items on the car.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hmmmm.... Guess I will have to give that sensor a try. Car has been at the dealership though for about 3 weeks now working on a tranny issue. Hopefully they will end up replacing it (under warranty).

 

If anyone is interested, I have a brand new vapor canister that will probably not be getting installed anytime soon. Since my car is AWD, it requires taking the entire rear end apart to get to it and I am not that ambitious right now, especially if low side pressure sensor takes care of the problem for about $25. Unfortunately, they do not take the rear end apart to change out the tranny or I would just have them install the new one now.

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Quick update. They replaced the transmission under warranty and while doing a system check the low pressure sensor showed a failure. Techs notes said that the manual gauge was at 75 psi when the computer was indicating 0 psi. Part # jives with what Kenny posted above :BU5Z-9F972-B. I assume that will take care of the stalling issue. We shall see.

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  • 1 month later...

Glad to know the whirring of ticking noise is normal from the injectors. I was wondering what is was for quite some time now.

 

I have a weird but imsimilar issue about the stalling engine on my 2013 2.0 L. It happens when I get new gas. Even if from the same station as previous gas in the car. After I fill up and start the car, the engine kind of studders, but doesn't stall. And then it is fine after that. Anyone else have this same thing?

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Glad to know the whirring of ticking noise is normal from the injectors. I was wondering what is was for quite some time now.

 

I have a weird but imsimilar issue about the stalling engine on my 2013 2.0 L. It happens when I get new gas. Even if from the same station as previous gas in the car. After I fill up and start the car, the engine kind of studders, but doesn't stall. And then it is fine after that. Anyone else have this same thing?

Yes, I have the same thing happen. Fill the car with gas. As I'm leaving the station the car will stutter for a second then be fine. No check engine light involved. Odd..

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  • 1 month later...

I have the exact issue. Fuel it up and I usually sit in gas station for 5 minutes waiting for studdering to stop. No engine codes. I have replaced the fuel rail sensor and the studdering was a little better. Please let me know if any of u were able to finally resolve this issue.

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I have the exact issue. Fuel it up and I usually sit in gas station for 5 minutes waiting for studdering to stop. No engine codes. I have replaced the fuel rail sensor and the studdering was a little better. Please let me know if any of u were able to finally resolve this issue.

 

I was able to fix this by replacing the purge valve.

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