Engine just DIES?

[Quickdraw]

You guys (George & PoetAtLaw) correctly diagnosed the faulty steering wheel clockspring on my LS so heres another problem...

Has anyone experienced the car engine just stopping? Twice now the 2002 bird has died on me, once at a stop sign & another time in a parking lot. Turn the key to restart the car & it's DEAD... some of the dash icons light up so its not a battery disconnect. After about two minutes it starts & runs fine.

[George]

Harry, first time I have heard of this but, there is a fuel inertia cutoff switch on the lower left down by the drivers foot rest. Possibly it's shutting off the fuel supply and then resetting itself???? If so it could be faulty.
If you see it and the car shuts down again, reach down and reset it and see if that resolves the issue. If so you may have to replace it.
I'll attach what I have here:

[George]

Just did some searching around and found this from a suggestion to another TBird owner who's car quit for no reason:
"Check your fuel filter. you might be getting just enough fuel to start, but not enough to stay running. It could also be the oil pressure switch. When he ignition key is in the start mode, power is supplied to the fuel pump. As the engine begins to start and the key is released, that power is cut off from the ignition switchand then supplied through the oil pressure switch as the oil pump begins to build up pressure."
I'll keep looking.

Found another with similar problem: "I am chasing an intermittent stall problem on our '04 'Bird and thought this TSB might give me a lead. The stall has occurred twice, both times stopped for a traffic light. Engine restarted immediately by turning key to off and relighting. The local dealer can not replicate the problem and there is no fault code. They cannot fix... so I am doing "due diligence" myself."
So I sent him a PM to try to find out his results for you. If he responds, I'll post it here

[George]

Hopefully I don't start confusing the issue, but could this be another suspect?

[Quickdraw]

I'm thinking it must be an electrical issue as turning the key right after it dies trying to restart does not even produce a chirp from the starter. Unless these fuel/MAF issues cause the computer to shut down the starter electrical functions and I can't imagine why it would.

[George]

Harry: I just heard back from the person in the 2nd paragraph in post #3. Here's his resolution:
"George,
It was the throttle position sensor. After doing an exhaustive study of the maintenance CD and trying to replicate the problem, I became convinced that this was the problem. I then had to convince the local dealer that this was the problem. When the problem would happen, it would not "set" any fault codes nor "turn a light on" on the instrument panel. The techs argued that until it "sets" a fault code, they had no ********* to change parts. That was because the dealer would not be to be reimbursed. The vehicle was still under warranty when I had the problem.
The last time the intermittent stall happened, it did cause a "light to come on" and stay on. I then immediately returned to the dealer. They replaced the TPS. End of problem. That was about three years ago. "

Hopefully this may help you too.

[Quickdraw]

Thank you George, seems like this type problem could be many things and I'd need to have it checked for an error code. It doesn't seem to be a widespread problem.

Wonder why the word A U T H O R I T Y is blanked out in your message?

[George]

I don't know but it seems weird

[dchamb]

The key is coded and must be read correctly when in the ignition, also a possiblity. And, The contacts on the ignition switch don't have to move much to break that circuit (had a Taurus once that this was the problem for these same symptoms).

[Quickdraw]

I should have more info tomorrow - the car is still at the dealer - but they said it was an electrical short somewhere in the main wire loom...

[George]

Quickdraw, did you too find it was a throttle body that was bad???

[Quickdraw]

Originally Posted by George

Quickdraw, did you too find it was a throttle body that was bad???

No, there was no error code in the computer and the car has only quit on me two times all summer but the dealer said it just happened to die as the mechanic was moving the car and he "found a short" and fixed it for $138. I might have believe this if they hadn't charged me $1,400 to fix the drivers door lock not operating. They had the car two days... first day they told me it was the door lock actuator. Second day they said "oh yes, the GEM module is also faulty" so the door lock still didn't work... Im guessing the mechanic shorted out the GEM module (a $550 part).

[George]

Thanks for the info QD. That's not a good scenario.