please help!! etc engine failsafe mode in lsv8 03'

[ANGIZEE1]

other than replacing the trans, the only other problem i have with my ls is the engine, out of nowhere my car acted like it was going to cut out on me, the engine light came on and said " etc engine failsafe mode" this limits to me to only 2000 rpms, what could this be, the tps?

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

It sounds like the cylinder head temperature sensor read high and went into heat pump mode, shutting off some of the cylinders to act as heat pumps. Did you happen to notice what the temp gauge read at the time?

Did you check your owner's manual to see what it has to say about the message?

You can also swing by your local auto parts store and see if they can read the codes for you. Most will do that at no charge, just don't automatically take their advice on the cause. Your best bet would be to get the exact code and post it on this forum and/or do a Google search for it.

-Rod

[ANGIZEE1]

Originally Posted by shorod

Welcome to the forum!

It sounds like the cylinder head temperature sensor read high and went into heat pump mode, shutting off some of the cylinders to act as heat pumps. Did you happen to notice what the temp gauge read at the time?

Did you check your owner's manual to see what it has to say about the message?

You can also swing by your local auto parts store and see if they can read the codes for you. Most will do that at no charge, just don't automatically take their advice on the cause. Your best bet would be to get the exact code and post it on this forum and/or do a Google search for it.

-Rod

i took it to the shop and they said that the electronic throttle body needed to be replaced, the whole part. so we ordered the part and replaced it, sure enough after dishing out the money when i started to pull off it was like nothing even was fixed it was still messed up, so they hooked it back to the computer and came to the conclustion that lincoln sent them a bad part, the tps was not working properly causing the problem to persist. hopefully when i pick it up it will be fixed, i miss my car....

[shorod]

I would suggest you ask them to explain how a bad throttle body could cause the cylinder head temperature to go high enough to set the light. I don't see any way that the throttle body could cause a high head temperature condition.

I doubt the throttle body they put on was bad, and I doubt that the original one is faulty.

-Rod

[savone]

Originally Posted by ANGIZEE1

other than replacing the trans, the only other problem i have with my ls is the engine, out of nowhere my car acted like it was going to cut out on me, the engine light came on and said " etc engine failsafe mode" this limits to me to only 2000 rpms, what could this be, the tps?

There is an air sensor coming off of the air intake box. I once got an oil change and air filter changed. The jerk at the shop unplugged this sensor to get the air filter in and never CLICKED it back in. I got the same light when i started the car. I would check the connection of this sensor.

[Quik_LS]

There have been numerous reports of this - and it usually is:
- a bad TPS (throttle position sensor) and is replace with the entire throttle body unit

- or - more commonly -

- a bad coil that is causing interference with the drive-by-wire setup. The car thinks the TPS is bad but it is actually a coil. The typical pattern is the dealer swaps the throttle body and the problem returns quickly.....

If it's an early 03 - you may have the older valve cover gaskets which leak oil into the spark plug wells, shorting out the coils. once they pop the coil cover off - they should be able to see if there is oil in there...

[shorod]

Originally Posted by Quik_LS

If it's an early 03 - you may have the older valve cover gaskets which leak oil into the spark plug wells, shorting out the coils. once they pop the coil cover off - they should be able to see if there is oil in there...

Didn't this gasket issue get fixed in mid-2002? I was thinking that the 2003 model year, when they went with the higher engine output, had the gasket and most of the transmission concerns worked out.

-Rod

[Quik_LS]

Originally Posted by shorod

Didn't this gasket issue get fixed in mid-2002? I was thinking that the 2003 model year, when they went with the higher engine output, had the gasket and most of the transmission concerns worked out.

-Rod

the fix came out in late 2002 - however - all 2002 and early 2003 came out with the old gasket...... mid-2003 model year have the new gaskets OEM.

[shorod]

Interesting, thanks for the information!

-Rod

[stuartjones]

Today, my certified pre-owned 2006 LS had its electronic throttle body replaced. It caused the failsafe mode and a parking brake problem message. That may be your problem.

Stuart Jones

[amagalla]

The "etc engine failsafe mode" can be produced be any number of problems. It is exactly what it sounds like; a "failsafe mode" (it's also refered to in the manual as a "limp home" mode). Basically, if the computer sees a sensor reading that it does not understand or is a danger to the system, it will put the car into "failsafe mode". I've seen it on my car when I ran the battery dead. The car would turn over, but never start. When I stopped cranking the engine, the system gave me the infamous "etc engine failsafe mode" and said that I needed to service the parking brake. I've also heard of it happening when the alternator goes out. The end result is you get to crawl home at 10 MPH.

Hope this helps.

Tony

[jeverage1]

I have a 03 lincoln and as of friday the same thing is happening to me. The car will run fine them all of a sudden it will stall and come up with that alarm. It seems to happen while under a load. I read where it ould be a coil pack. How can you tell it a col pack is bad?

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum, and thank you for searching for forum for similar issues to what you are experiencing!

A bad coil pack will often be associated with an engine misfire. Does the engine idle smoothly at stops and accelerate without any signs of stumbling? If so, you probably don't have a coil pack that's failing badly enough anyway to cause a ETC failsafe condition.

You should probably get the codes read to see if there are any codes other than the Cylinder Head Temperature (CHT) code.

Also, since you have a 2003, you may still have the original battery. The electrical systems of these cars are very sensitive, and even with a battery that still starts the engine strongly, you may still note some electrical gremlins that are due to the battery.

If you do still have the original battery, you may want to install a new battery before spending too much time looking into coils.

-Rod

[jeverage1]

The battery is about 7 months old. It will only give that alarm when i am excelerating while driving. It will idle fine and I can excelerate while in park and the alarm will not occur. My wife has been putting 87 octane in the car will that make a difference. Ussually when she puts the low octane fuel in it the engine will knock a little.

[shorod]

Hmmm, I'm not sure the 87 octane would cause the CHT sensor to read hot, but it is not healthy for it. If the car is knocking, that means the air/fuel mixture is combusting before the cylinder is at top dead center, and it's doing is so badly that the engine can't adjust the timing enough to compensate for it. That can be pretty hard on the pistons and valves. Maybe this failsafe condition is a result of the continued knocking.

Is the risk of damaging such an expensive engine really worth the few dollars saved by getting the cheap fuel?

I suppose it could also be possible that what you are interpreting as knocking is actually a misfire due to a bad coil, which you've already read could contribute to the failsafe condition.

-Rod