1993 2.3l Lx Mustang Running/Driving Issues.

3504 Views 10 Replies 3 Participants Last post by PhoenixSheriden, Dec 17, 2012

Hazardous

Discussion Starter · Dec 5, 2012

First off I'm going to say that I'm not a mechanic and far from it. The little bit I know about cars is from learning to fix my own. I have a 93' 2.3L Convertible. When i first got the car about 3 years ago everything seemed fine. At a dead stop she accelerated nicely and ran like a champ. After about a year or two of having the car i began working as a pizza delivery driver so I was driving it everyday.

About 3 months ago while on a delivery I was pressing the gas as i was pulling out of a driveway and as i pulled onto the road and pressed the gas to go faster it hesitated and completely refused to go any faster.

This was off and on for awhile. Hesitating, Misfiring, piss poor acceleration and almost a complete loss of power. Even when the car is wanting to go and im on the highway if there is a incline i slow down greatly. sometimes going 70mph then down to 30, Not safe. At a dead stop sometimes the lack of acceleration will either just cause me to slowly, i mean SLOWLY, pick up speed or make me pull over to get out of traffic. Obviously it made me loose my job. (Loosin a pizza delivery job, sad right) After that i didnt run my car to much but the symptoms where still there. Desprate to fix it with little to no money i did some maintnence myself.

I changed spark plugs and wires, fuel filter, air filter, cleaned the MAF, and replaced the TPS. Still no luck :fuming:Tho after cleaning my MAF it seems to slightly accelerate faster and act better as long as im going under 50mph. above that it tends to still mess up.

Additional detail if needed:
Idles around 1k sometimes lower. Friend informed me this is low but im not sure

Also, when the car is messing up i usually pull over for a few minutes and im able to drive it better for awhile before it messes up.

2 Cats on a single exhaust and the second one is gutted because it was messed up

Also how can i check to see if the CANP (Canister Purge Selenoid) is ok or needs to be replaced?

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PhoenixSheriden

· #3 · Dec 5, 2012

yes, your mustang is obd1. you also should be getting 3 digit codes, not 2 digit like you listed for the run test.
an idle of 800 is what a 4 banger should be at.
your first code is for the canister purge, like you said. canister purge solenoid circuit failure.
for the codes from your engine run test, of course do the test again to be sure. if you can, take video of the entire test (so that all codes are recorded) and post it online. if you can post it then we can look at it and help you interpret the flashes into codes.
guessing at the codes you have up now, and converting them to 3 digit=
215-primary fire coil pack (the one closest to the bumper) circuit fail
553-thermactor solenoid circuit fail
528-clutch switch circuit fail
536-brake pedal not pushed during test
417-miscounted flashes? because theres no such code number
172-bank 1 o2 sensor is reading lean

but these are just my guesses, please do the test again to be sure. i'd hate for you to shotgun parts into the car unnecessarily.

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PhoenixSheriden

· #6 · Dec 9, 2012

for the 538, yes you oops'd and didn't goose the car to wide open throttle during the test. and yes again to the 536, you need to fully depress and release the brake pedal.
the 521 code is power steering pressure switch-circuit switching not detected. it means you forgot to turn the wheel to the left during the test.
if you check the threads I started, go to the one about pulling codes and check any of the links for the whole procedure from start to finish. the first few times that anyone does the test, its easy to mess up in the heat of the moment.
try the test again, making sure you don't forget any steps, and start attacking that canister solenoid with a volt meter. that way you can be sure that its the solenoid that needs replacing, rather than the problem being a broken wire in the harness.

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PhoenixSheriden

· #9 · Dec 12, 2012

I don't know the voltage of the solenoid, sorry. send a pm to tom Renzo and ask him tho, he will probably know off the top of his head :winks.
and don't beat yourself up for making a few mistakes on the engine run test. 11 years ago I was you, new to mustangs and having to learn as things broke and needed fixing. no one expects you to get everything perfect, because no one is perfect. we're all here to help and to learn.:bigthumbsup

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PhoenixSheriden

· #11 · Dec 17, 2012

you have an icm. its a flat grey rectangle mounted on the driverside of the engine, facing the front bumper. it will have electrical connectors at the top and bottom of the module. if youre looking to test it, be aware that these modules will habitually test false positive. its because that the module will warm up when its on a running engine, and most bench tests test it when its cold. run the engine for a good 10 min, then take the icm off and test it, that way you can get more accurate results. when putting it back on, use plenty of dielectric paste on the back of the module, keeps it from getting too hot and burning itself up, which is why most of them fail.

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