'00 Mercury Cougar dies in idle!

[Fate544]

Its the '00 2.5 L 6 cylinder manual transmission with 120,000 miles, I haven't really had any problems with the car, except that recently whenever I put the clutch in to slow down for almost anything, the car will just quietly and calmly die, no sputter or sounds that I can hear or vibrations that I can feel, the engine just turns off, and if it wasn't for the loss of power steering as well as the inability to accelerate, I wouldn't even notice. It started doing this very rarely, but its so common now that after I drive the car for 2 or 3 miles, it will do it any time I put in the clutch for longer than a moment. It's worse as the gear gets higher, as in, it will do it almost every time I stop/slow from 3rd or 4th, and less often as the gear goes down. It also looses a ton of horsepower and jerks a little if I run the air conditioning while I drive it. That's really my only symptom, I'm in the middle of doing the normal maintenance, as in spark plugs&wires, changing the fuel filter, etc. My check engine light has been on telling me I have problems with both of the cats, as well as my EGR valve, and my wiring. I replaced the EGR valve, cleaned out the tube it connects to, and I had both cats tested. They are supposedly fine, so that leaves the wiring. I was in a wreck recently, a very minor wreck and these symptoms occurred before the wreck, although it did damage the hydraulic shock that the engine is mounted on; could that contribute to the problem? I know I need to replace it, but it still has most of the fluid and I had a mechanic say that it would be fine to drive for a while. oh and one more thing, yesterday, my brake lights just started being on continuously, whether or not the brake is being used.... any suggestions?

P.S. The wreck was a front end collision that only managed to bust out both headlamps, bend the hood and crack the bumper cover, no frame damage or anything, and it has all been replaced (excluding the engine shock), so I don't believe it affected the engine at all.

please help!
-Alex

[shorod]

If you have the exact diagnostic code numbers, please post them here. They should be of the form 'P0123' where the numbers will change depending on the code. This will help provide better suggestions since there are a lot of catalyst-related codes. Also, a code that reads "catalyst efficiency below threshhold" does not necessarily mean a catalytic converter is faulty.

You'll also want to closely inspect for vacuum leaks as well as exposed wires that may short to the engine or chassis when the engine rocks forward or backward. When you press in the clutch, this is unloading the engine. With the worn engine mount, the engine may rock when unloaded, and a wiring harness may be contacting something metal and grounded. If the wire happens to be the main supply for the fuel injectors, or ignition coils, etc., it could immediately kill the engine. Or, if there is a connector that is making intermittant connection, the same could occur. This would be less obvious, and less likely to blow a fuse.

Also, have you searched the dedicated Cougar forum to see if this is a common issue on that particular car that has a well-understood fix?

I doubt the brake light issue is related.

-Rod