At random, the engine will sound different and i loose power. My Check Engine light comes on, the rpm drops low, then the engine sputters. I can push the gas pedal to the floor and there is still no power at all. It just sputters maybe a little faster, but there's no power to push the car. I end up having to park to the side, shut my engine off for a few seconds, then start it up again and then usually it's fine. There are some days when this problem will happen every 10 seconds of driving. This power loss never happens when i'm at a stop light, it's always when i'm accelerating or just maintaining a certain speed.

During the summer i installed new NGK plugs and wires, and had a coil replaced, but i believe the problem happened before this (plug gaps were not set to specs). I had two shops at different times hook up to the ECU to see if a code pops up, but there was nothing. I'm thinking the Check Engine light only comes on because of the rpm drop, and maybe that's why there is no code showing. One guy said it could be the O2 sensor, and to keep the engine sputtering when it happens and try unplugging the sensor to see if that brings the engine back to normal. I tried unplugging it, but the engine still sputtered. Another person says it might be some ignition timing thing similar to a rotor cap on other cars. The O2 sensor is the one on the bottom, beside the engine block? Or is it the sensor attached to the air filter cover?

Any help would be appreciated. I've been dealing with this problem for over a year now.

Oh i forgot to mention my car. Just a 1992 Talon NT, FWD, 5 speed, centerforce dual friction clutch, cross drilled rotors, momo steering wheel and shifter, PIAA fog lights, suspension techniques springs, clarion pro audio.

0. Welcome to the club

0.1 Describe what your car is and give more details please :rolleyes:

1. O2 sensor is neither

it is on the exhaust manifold. Where the Turbo is. its wire come from there and goes to the left of the engine where the radiator hose is

2. that is NOT oxygen sensor if your car is 1G, O@ will not cause loss of power when the gas pedal is floored.

3. Could be knock sensor OR timing adjustment related, Both retard the timing and cause SERIOUS loss of power. I have suffered from the illness.

4. Check engine comes on when there is an error detected by the ECU. but once it goes so does teh error in memory.

5. Some errors will generate permanent error code that you need to take the battery off to reset like O2, some will clear when the problem goes like the MAS. I am not clear on that myself either.

6. CHeck for intake leak.

7. This sounds like some shorty some where

8. The most likely problem I can think of is the ECU Capacitors that die after years. You MUST look into them. SOmething that is damn hard to diagnose unless you look at them physically and see if thatis the problem.

Good luck
Keep us posted
Amin

well I postedd before your post, I wonder if the type of the steering wheel plays any role here??!

Just a show off, huh

I have a JVC CD player maybe I can give a jump start!( I am joking so don't take me seriously here, my shot at your problem is up there)

Hey Amin. Thanks for the info. hehe i like to have my car as asthetically pleasing as possible. After all, the car is almost like a second home since we spend so much time in it.

I'll definitely relay your advice to my family friend who has my car. He is a retired mechanic and couldn't figure out what the problem was. He had a couple guesses, but didn't know for sure.

I'll be checking on this topic now and then. i'm currently at work, and can't be here all the time heh heh. Laterz.

just make sure he pays attention to teh fact the the ECU or the engine computer has so much control over the engine and the way it runs and performs that many many problems arise from there.

try looking at
www.vfaq.com in Engine or Electrical for ECU CAPS
AMin

Hello Clinton and welcome to he Club.

I think that your ECU might have a leaky Capacitor(s). It is easy to inspect and easy to fix "if that is the cause of your problem". These Capacitors are in the Power Supply part of the ECU, a leaky Cap can cause shorting between the "Runs" or between components and cause erratic Engine operation. It can fry your ECU as it did to mine... That "could" explain why the problem goes away after you shut down the Engine. Just a tought.

I'd get those thing replace anyway, just on the safe side and that would also eleminate a potential cause of your problem.

You can look at this link it explains the theory, inspection and replacement of the Caps.
http://www.tmo.com/howto/ecu1g/caps.htm

Do this yourself. Dealer won't have a clue about this one or they will tell you that you need a new ECU. You could also have somebody you know to give you a hand to solder the new Caps in. Or print the information and take it to somebody that can do the work for you. Caps cost a buck each tops, you can buy them at any Electronic supplier.

Again this is only speculative but worth a try. Don't let a leaky Cap ruin a good ECU.

Hope this helps.

Ghislain.

Very interesting. The consensus seems to be the ECU caps. I think we may have a winner! Thanks a lot guys. I've given the info to the repair guy, and the links to the sites you mentioned. I'll let you know if this fixes things.

Hello all. I'm happy to say that my engine problem was due to leaking ECU caps. I went to L-R Racing in port coquitlam and the guys right away thought the caps were the culprit. They replaced them today and now my car is happy. The guys at L-R Racing are awesome...very helpful and know their Talons.

Thanks to everyone that offered advice.