Engine sluggish after long winter indoors.

98bluevert · May 15, 2009

OK i got my car out today had to jump it, and ran fine until it warmed up then when it was under a mild load from 2nd gear on up it would be a lil under powered.

drove around a lil while longer and noticed when taking off from a stop running it through the gears at WOT about 4,000 rpm it feels like it fell flat on its face.

Now i know old non PI engines do that but i have PI cams and Intake so its much better.

drove around for about 40 miles and got home and had to jump it again.

Put my factory tune back in my car thinking that might be the problem and it had really no effect.

Now is my problem due to a bad battery,spark plugs and wires, or are they two separate issues.

Pearl02 · May 15, 2009

Sounds like you need to either charge the battery fully or atleast have it tested. Also, how old is your gas? I work for a pipeline company and with changes in temps some condensation(water) can be present. You can buy products that will dry the water out of the gas. I believe one product is called Heet. You can also buy a gas stablizer also. I would start with the battery first and work your way from there. I also store my car during the winter. This winter I kept it home with me in my garage. I drove it on good days and had no problems with it. We see condensation in fuel when we move from winter into spring here in KC. As the temp warms up, the water will drop out and we "water draw" the tank. You have nothing seriously wrong with your car. Just to be safe, you can also change the fuel filter. Pearl02.

98bluevert · May 16, 2009

Thanks that what i was hoping. had a qtr tank in it before winter then went and filled it with 93 when i got it out.

off topic what pipeline u working on.

Pearl02 · May 16, 2009

I work for Magellan Midstream Partners based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. We just call ourselves Magellan Pipeline or MPL for short. It's a cool company to work for. I've been there for 21yrs. We own and operate pipelines in several states. Pearl02.

98bluevert · May 16, 2009

Put my Battery in my car read 12.66V hooked up the pos. and neg then read 4.33V
disconnected the neg. 12.53V, switched to amps had it on 200m and it read 00.1 switched it to 20m and it was 0.01.

Someone in another thread said it might be the alternator so i disconnected to see if it was pulling any amps and nothing changed.

Mirrahasmycar · May 16, 2009

could be a bad battery

It sounds like it might be a bad battery, you can get it tested for free at autozone. Just testing if it has juice doesn't always work. I had a problem in my daily driver with the battery it would jump, run and then it would die driving down the road. I tested the alternator and it was fine, but the battery ended up being crap and a new battery fixed it. If it were your alternator it would probably cut out driving down the road similar to how my battery cut out and not after you stop. A good reason why you might want to test your battery is because I had a battery that worked fine in the daytime, but when it got dark out and I turned the lights on for a little while the battery drained out so I ended up having a friend drive behind me and drove a short way without lights. The alternator charged it up a little, I guess just enough to run without lights.

Pearl02 · May 16, 2009

I really can't see that your alternator is bad unless you had problems with it before you stored it. I'm still leaning toward a bad battery. It needs to be checked out and as mentioned there are places that will do it for free. Pearl02.

98bluevert · May 16, 2009

took it to autozone and they said it was bad. i bought it a couple years ago and cant find the receipt for it so i don't know if ford will take it back or not.

It is a motorcraft BXT 59. if they dont take it back what should i get i am searching the forums now for input but new talk always helps.

best place to buy a battery?Cheapest?

hopes this fixes my other problem too.

mr-mike · May 17, 2009

next time fill it up & use sta-bil , wallmart is the best deal on battery's .....

Pearl02 · May 17, 2009

98bluevert said:
took it to autozone and they said it was bad. i bought it a couple years ago and cant find the receipt for it so i don't know if ford will take it back or not.

It is a motorcraft BXT 59. if they dont take it back what should i get i am searching the forums now for input but new talk always helps.

best place to buy a battery?Cheapest?

hopes this fixes my other problem too.

Call the Ford dealership to see if they still have you in thier system. Most places keep that info especially on warrenty items. I know that when I call they can find me. It's worth a shot. Pearl02.

98bluevert · May 17, 2009

ya will use stabil next winter and disconnect the battery and put it on a trickle charger or something like that.

Have to wait till monday when they open but they probably will so i am S.O.L. i have never had good luck with my local dealership.

even when i went to trade my car last year before the bottom fell out of the economy they said they could give me at most $3500 for my car. the same guy sold me the car in 2003 for $10,000 more than that with 44,000 miles on it, and it now has 69,000

I have never heard of 5 years and 25,000 miles killing a cars price so much. i told him it would be worth more to me as a lawn ornament that trading it in.

Pearl02 · May 18, 2009

98bluevert said:
ya will use stabil next winter and disconnect the battery and put it on a trickle charger or something like that.

Have to wait till monday when they open but they probably will so i am S.O.L. i have never had good luck with my local dealership.

even when i went to trade my car last year before the bottom fell out of the economy they said they could give me at most $3500 for my car. the same guy sold me the car in 2003 for $10,000 more than that with 44,000 miles on it, and it now has 69,000

I have never heard of 5 years and 25,000 miles killing a cars price so much. i told him it would be worth more to me as a lawn ornament that trading it in.

Yea, it's all a big racket. I hate dealing with dealers when it comes to buying cars. They always want to make it sound like they are doing you a "favor" and they are "fair" with your trade in. I don't trade cars with them any more. Your right with your lawn ornament comment. Pearl02.

98bluevert · May 18, 2009

i called ford today and they said they couldnt find me in the system so i went to the local battery shop and got one for $50. Alot better than the dealer they wanted $109 +tax.

So i put it in along with a bottle of heet the other night and went out and drove. one hard pass it was fine turned around and went to do it again and it was sluggish in 2nd gear half throttle so i babied it to the carwash.

Got done with that went back out of town and hit the interstate, drove fine no problems got on it plenty of times over the next 15 miles still no problems.

Hope its fixed but i bet its not. i have a feeling i will have to replace the fuel filter because i don't like when things just go away, because they always come back.

Pearl02 · May 19, 2009

Sounds like you got it running good. It wouldn't hurt to change the fuel filter. Pearl02.

Engine sluggish after long winter indoors.

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