95 conti dies at stoplites when its in idle

[joelous]

I just bought a 95 conti it has had problems since the first week I have had it I got a oil change and then the next day the car started puttering when I was at stop lights and it would die so I called a local mechanic and they said I needed a tune up so I paid for the tune up and they said the problem was fixed and the car still died so I took it back and the mechanics stated it was a vaccum so they clamped the vaccum and the car died again on the way home so I dont know what to do these mechanics are milking me does anyone have any opinions the car starts up but the idle is rough and it dies when iam stoped but drives normal when its in motion?????????

[Towncar]

First off, WELCOME to AF Lincolns !!

It seems to me, all of those engine problems would trip the "Check Engine" light in the OBDII system.

Is the "check engine" light on too?

Also, you havn't posted your mileage. There's a few sensors that might be at fault that can cause what you've described, but that depends largely on mileage.

There's also the EGR channels that need to be cleaned out on some models, check here for EGR channel cleaning.

[joelous]

the car has 137 thousand miles and the check engine lite is off there are no lites on just the car hesitates and dies when im stoped in idle ??????? im n o mechanic should I take the car to another mechanic?????? or what should I do I really need transportation to get to work and iam very low on funds, the last mechanics charged me $275 abd they didnt even fix it???????

[Towncar]

Originally Posted by joelous

...137 thousand miles..im n o mechanic...the last mechanics charged ..$275...

At 137k, there's some maintenance to be done. If you're not mechanically inclined or don't want to do the work yourself, you really don't have many other options than to get screwed by the mechanics.

The vacuum leak theory is sound, meaning a severe vacuum leak will cause the engine to die at idle. Normally you can hear a hissing sound where the vacuum leak is.

Vacuum itself is maximised on deceleration, and minimises on acceleration.

There are a host of other things that can attribute to the problem although I wouldn't suspect a tune up first off.

"puttering and die" would be either lack of fuel, or air flow.
Things that could effect fuel and air flow at 137k miles:
Vacuum leak
Air filter or cool air intake clogged
EGR clogged
Catalytic converters clogged, clogged/damaged exhaust system
Fuel filter clogged
Fuel pump pressure
Injectors clogged

You might want to blast a can of Seafoam through your intake system to see if that might help, couldn't hurt but there's no guarentee that'll fix the problem either.

You can also try talking to the Continental buys over here at LoL, but they'll tell you to break out the toolbox and get to work

[joelous]

so should I tell the mechanics that its one of those problems

Originally Posted by Towncar

At 137k, there's some maintenance to be done. If you're not mechanically inclined or don't want to do the work yourself, you really don't have many other options than to get screwed by the mechanics.

The vacuum leak theory is sound, meaning a severe vacuum leak will cause the engine to die at idle. Normally you can hear a hissing sound where the vacuum leak is.

Vacuum itself is maximised on deceleration, and minimises on acceleration.

There are a host of other things that can attribute to the problem although I wouldn't suspect a tune up first off.

"puttering and die" would be either lack of fuel, or air flow.
Things that could effect fuel and air flow at 137k miles:
Vacuum leak
Air filter or cool air intake clogged
EGR clogged
Catalytic converters clogged, clogged/damaged exhaust system
Fuel filter clogged
Fuel pump pressure
Injectors clogged

You might want to blast a can of Seafoam through your intake system to see if that might help, couldn't hurt but there's no guarentee that'll fix the problem either.

You can also try talking to the Continental buys over here at LoL, but they'll tell you to break out the toolbox and get to work

[Towncar]

Originally Posted by joelous

so should I tell the mechanics that its one of those problems??

It seems you're missing the point my friend!!
Any mechanic will definately have to check ALL these things, and maybe more to rule out the obvious causes of the problem.

Each step in this diagnosis has a price tag. It will cost $$ as parts are found marginally good, and replaced with good ones.

If the problem still exists, we can't say the part we replaced didn't need replacing, cause it sure looked bad to me!!

You say you're not a mechanic and that's fine, I'm not a doctor.. but I sure could stop a bleeder is there wasn't a doctor around.

Can you open the hood and listen for a vacuum leak? Do you have any friends with some mechanical experience? Most of the things I'm referencing here are simple checks, or replacements.

Something else.. about that "check engine" light.. There's a good chance there may be fault codes stored in the memory of the OBDII system from an earlier problem. Have the mechanics tried to pull codes from the "check engine" OBDII system?

Along those lines, before starting the car, when you turn the ignition key to the "run" position, all the dash warning systems light up!!
Does the "check engine" light come on with the key on "run" and the engine not started?

I'm asking 'cause I'm thinking maybe the light is disconnected to hide a problem??

[joelous]

Im sorry I dont know much about cars and I thank you for your help, but let me tell you more, I bought the car and my first problem was the door ajar sign was on and my interior lights would not shut off so I looked on the internet and someone stated I wd40 the door so I did that and about 2 days later it worked and the lights shut off but when I went to open my door the alarm went off and it wouldnt shut off so I called a alarm guy and he said he couldnt bypass the alarm so we took the positve wire off the battery and it reset the alarm, but the next day I got a oil change at jiffy lube and I was driving home and the car died at the light but this whole time the check engine lite was on so I called a mechanic and he said that the car needed a tune up, so he came and put new spark plugs and a new oil filter and the car still died so I went back and he said that it needed a vaccum clamp so he clamped it and it still died I also noticed that the car sounds different when I turn it on now and the check engine lite went off after the tune up, but when I stick the key in all of the lights work, I understand a mechanic will take advantage of someone who doesnt know much about cars but I just wish there was a way I could find out what it exactly is so I can just tell them to do that???????

[aristo1963]

tell your mechanic to clean and check the idle air control valve (iac)this controls the idle of the car and gets dirty and sticks.sometimes the srvo motor will fail.
aristo