[CobraBoy]

my car did something really weird tonight. i was on the freeway comin home just now and i was on it pretty hard accelerating hard and had it pinned it 4th... then the engine all the sudden just shut off. had no power brakes no power steering or anything. check engine light came on immediately after this happened. i brought the car to a stop at the side of the road and popped the hood. everything looked fine visually but i didnt have my diagnostic reader to check the thrown code(s) to see what exactly it was. hesitantly, i started the car up to drive it home to see what was wrong. when i started it, nothing... no check engine light, it ran smoothly, nothing seemed to be wrong at all. when i got it home and put a code reader on it, nothing came up. do any of you know what could have cause this? this is the second time the car has done this within the last six months. also, just out of curiuosity, does anybody know what the timing/ignition advance should be at idle for my car? i noticed when i had the diagnostic on it that it was jumping anywhere between 19 and 23 degrees. didnt look right to me. anyways i would appreciate the help or input anybody would have to offer. especially you mark.. you know freakin everything... any ideas guys???

[fla.boy]

check battery connections, remove and inspect battery connections, sometimes you can get the build on battery posts however it wont be visible until you remove and can inspect. also check starter connections. goodluck!

[reivaxtorres]

yeah, the CEL just turned on because the engine turned off. ive had this happen before too (several times, actually...), and still cant figure out why it does it. kind of an odd feeling coming up to a stop, everything is fine, and then you lose power brakes

wish i had an answer for you, but im lost on this one. maybe it does have something to do with the timing tho

[CobraBoy]

yeah i dont know... it was the weirdest thing. the first time it happened i just kinda blew it off cause everything seemed fine after i checked it out. but the second time... something is causing it to do this. i dont know. see what mark has to say. i think it may have something to do with the timing too.

[Lopez16]

Hey my buddy's stang did the same thing once and it was an electrical problem. The thing is it only happened when he was driving and he hit a bump in the road, the car just lost power and turned off. Not a good feeling. So chill, and take your time and inspect all your connections and wires.

[markwondi]

Timing is a bit too much... at idle, you should be around 15-18*, dependent on many variables.

Why it shutdown? Can't tell ya, but it is well know for 4.6L mustangs to shutdown like that, mine did it to me many times in turns, and it is a common occurence.

[CobraBoy]

any idea what would cause the timing to be that effed up? and yeah the shutoff thing i think i figured out. one of my friend pointed out that i was going downhill and probably sucked the pump dry both times. he also said it could be the fuel rail pressure sensor which is actually what i thought initially. i dont know though hard to say