Taurus Dies Mysteriously

[shorod]

These very rare issues can get very expensive to troubleshhot, especially at dealer labor rates. Did you ever get the CMP replaced? I've never actually replaced one so I cannot tell you where it is in your photos.

-Rod

[kjvw10]

Originally Posted by the100thballoon

UPDATE: I took it to Midas because my roommates have had great service in the past from there. They gave it back today, and said they couldn't find anything wrong with my car. Weird. I'm debating taking my car to a dealership. Maybe Midas missed something that a dealership would be more knowledgable about?

Thoughts?

Check at the back of your engine on the left side for a square device that has 2 hoses coming out of it going to your EGR valve. This senses the EGR valve open / close state. See if it has a loose connection, or is corroded. Mine went bad and i couldn't even start the car, but, before it did, it did the same thing your car is doing, it would be intermittent started out when I had to brake hard for someone stopping short in front of me and could not be found until it went completely bad.
Unplugging it will allow the car to run, in most cases because it will usually place ground on the computer wiring causing shut down.

[serge_saati]

Originally Posted by Willyum

Something you may want to investigate is the ignition switch. I've had them get so worn the contact is not reliable.

I agree with that. It seems to be a bad ignition switch. Do you have a play when it's in ON position? I mean, if you play gently with the key while it's in ON, the dash lights disappear or you feel a play?

Like shorod said earlier, if the radio cuts off for 1 second after the sudden stall, it's a power electrical problem. Either the ignition switch or a bad contact in the under hood fuse box (but less probable).

Because of that, the CMP sensor has nothing to do with that. The bouncy RPM when engine is off is normal on these cars. I forget exactly why, but I remember that the rpm gauge is very sensitive. It can jumps from 0 to 1000 rpm quickly when engine is off.

The stumbling problem issue can be totally different from the stalling issue.
Taurus is know to have many different issues. Don't try to link them all.
This one can be related to weak fuel pump, bad EGR system, vacuum leak, bad PCV... or you repaired by changing the plugs.

[shorod]

Originally Posted by serge_saati

I agree with that. It seems to be a bad ignition switch. Do you have a play when it's in ON position? I mean, if you play gently with the key while it's in ON, the dash lights disappear or you feel a play?

Careful not to confuse devices here. The ignition switch is different from the key cylinder switch. "Play" would be part of the key cylinder switch, which operates the ignition switch. If playing with the key causes momentary operation, that could still be the ignition switch causing the issue. You won't want to replace the key cylinder switch thinking that's going to fix the issue.

-Rod

[serge_saati]

You're right, the "play" test is no very relevant. Momentary operation could be normal.

So the ignition switch's contacts should be inspected.