Hey all - thanks in advance for any help you can offer!
I am having two problems with my Spirit which may or may not be related, and before I start tearing into things, I thought I might ask the forum in case this is an easy fix and I just wasn't using the right search terms or something.
Problem 1.
Sometimes the PCM will seemingly reset itself after the car sits for a while without being driven. The Traveler odometer goes back to zero, which is why I infer that it's a computer issue. This has been happening for a while now, and I can't quite remember when it started (although I think it may have been around the time that I installed the wiring harness for the ND Performance traction control system -- more on that later).
Problem 2.
I just came back after a week long visit to the wife's relatives several states away, and when I tried to start the Spirit, the engine turned over and it felt like it was about to catch, but then it died. I can keep the motor running if I put my foot on the throttle, but as soon as I let go the car dies.
My suspicion is that Problem 2 is caused by a stuck automatic idle speed sensor, and that's going to be my first point of attack if and when I start taking things apart. However, the fact that there is also apparently a computer issue makes me worry that it's something else.
Other observations:
- Battery charge is fine - it reads a little above 12V
- Fuel pressure appears to be good judging by the gauge on my fuel rail
- As far as I can tell all the accessories power on okay
- No codes are set except 12 and 53, and those have been set ever since I got the car. I have a FWD Performance Stage IV SBEC so the 53 is not really a surprise.
- The biggie -- although I missed the group buy that happened a while back, I ended up getting one of Neil Emiro's traction control systems through FWD Performance. Despite being an electronics hobbyist who's handy with a soldering iron, despite following the instructions to a T, and despite copious help from Neil, the system just doesn't work. I've checked, double checked, even triple or quadruple checked the continuity/resistance of every connection, checked for good grounding, etc., and I still keep getting a Code 43 (ignition coil driver circuit open or shorted) every time I plug the box in. For now the system is bypassed: the harness is still wired in, but the box is not plugged in, and I've put spade connectors on the two ignition coil leads from the PCM so that they can be easily connected and disconnected (I had cut them when installing the harness, per Neil's instructions, in order to splice the harness in). I would be ready to chalk this up to user error, except for one thing: if I unplug the coil lead spade connectors, but jumper the wires at the connector to the box, the computer does not set a code 43, and the car runs perfectly well, meaning that the problem is most likely in the box itself.
If you have any thoughts, suggestions, or experiences with these issues, I would very much appreciate your input. Thanks!