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Puddin12's avatar
Puddin12
Explorer
Mar 15, 2017

Engine Cutoff, 1992 Ford E350 Econoline Chassie, 460 gas

Only about 70,000 miles. Pull horse trailer through mountains. Pulls fine, but three times over past three or four years, engine has cut off, but after sitting for about 15 minutes, started right back up and ran fine. Scary, because last time last October, was taking downhill exit off Interstate 77 in Virginia near Ivanhoe. Coasted into intersection..When tried immediately to restart it, no sound, no click, nothing. After about 15 minutes, tried it again, and it started right up., Drove the last 30 miles to destination.

Stayed four days, unhooked horse trailer, left trailer and horse overnight, and drove motorhome the 130 miles home without incident. Went back the next day with my Suburban, and brought horse and trailer home.

Scared to drive mountains with risk of cut off, and no brakes pulling horse trailer. Help...
Class C

7 Replies

  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Mar 16, 2017
    Travelin2 wrote:
    Seems like I remember something about a fuel pump circuit breaker located on the right side of the passenger foot area behind a removable panel.


    That guy is an impact device to shut the fuel pump off in event of a collision. It looks a lot like a home circuit breaker, and has to be reset manually if tripped. You can cycle it Off then back On like a home breaker. If it's actually tripped, the engine can't start till it's reset.
  • Travelin2's avatar
    Travelin2
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2017
    Seems like I remember something about a fuel pump circuit breaker located on the right side of the passenger foot area behind a removable panel. I'm not sure if it is auto-reset type or not. Maybe other more knowledgeable folks can speak to this.
  • kaz442's avatar
    kaz442
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2017
    Had similar problem with my'89. Chased it for two years. Turns out it was the ECU relay. In the beginning it would only shut off every once in a blue moon and then restart in a few minutes. Towards the end did it more frequently and was easier to pinpoint. Less then a $20 fix.
    JKaz
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Mar 15, 2017
    Check condition, tighness and cleanliness of:

    Hot Battery Cable to Starter Solenoid/Relay

    Hot Main Chassis Feed from Solenoid/Relay to Fuse Box - same connection point as Hot Battery Cable

    Ground from Battery to Engine

    Ground to Chassis

    Tug on the cables near the terminals. We've had them look good and be compromised with corrosion inside the "sealed" terminals.
  • DanNJanice's avatar
    DanNJanice
    Explorer
    Mar 15, 2017
    What crasster said ^^^
    The key to troubleshooting this will be gathering enough information. For example, you say that there is no click or other attempt to start. Do you have any other electrical power, for example headlights, fan blower when you turn key to "ON" position, that sort of thing? The good news is that since the issue disables the ignition system AND the starting system, that already reduces the number of possibilities.
  • crasster's avatar
    crasster
    Explorer II
    Mar 15, 2017
    Sounds electrical. With no click, no sound, nothing, that would signal much more of an electrical issue than a fuel/engine issue. If I would be able to guess something seems to be shorting when the engine gets hot. I would give it a serious one over to see if something is shorting out somewhere. Look especially on manifold exhaust.

    Also check all the spark plug wires for shorts.

    Must it be 15 minutes always or is that just what you waited? Like would you try and try again in that 15 minutes?

    If it does it again, quickly unhook the negative battery cable and put it back on and see if it starts faster than in 15 mins.

    Also do remember your emergency brake as the problem sounds ghosty and not frequent.

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