Strange issue with very rough idle and no acceleration
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Joined: July 10, 2020
Posts: 36
Likes: 14
From: ID
Strange issue with very rough idle and no acceleration
Hi all,
I've had my 2005 Mustang GT for about 8 months now. It fires up beautifully and drives flawlessly. The previous owner bought it new and took exceptional care of it, and it shows.
However, the other day I had a very strange issue. I was moving the Mustang out of the driveway and into the street, and it suddenly died. I tried starting it to no avail, and cranked on it off and on for about 30 seconds.
Finally, it fired up, but would not idle over about 200 to 300 RPMs. Pushing on the gas pedal had no affect whatsoever.
It struggled to idle like this for about a minute, and then slowly came to life and was back to its normal self. Idled fine, responsive, and like nothing had ever happened. I parked it and shut it off, fired it up again to check and it started right up just as it normally does. I checked engine codes and there were none.
It's been about a week or two now and have not had another issue since.
But, this scenario makes me uncomfortable because I don't know what caused it, and I don't know if or when it'll happen again. It was dead in the water.
Any ideas on what may have happened or could have caused this? Thoughts?
I've had my 2005 Mustang GT for about 8 months now. It fires up beautifully and drives flawlessly. The previous owner bought it new and took exceptional care of it, and it shows.
However, the other day I had a very strange issue. I was moving the Mustang out of the driveway and into the street, and it suddenly died. I tried starting it to no avail, and cranked on it off and on for about 30 seconds.
Finally, it fired up, but would not idle over about 200 to 300 RPMs. Pushing on the gas pedal had no affect whatsoever.
It struggled to idle like this for about a minute, and then slowly came to life and was back to its normal self. Idled fine, responsive, and like nothing had ever happened. I parked it and shut it off, fired it up again to check and it started right up just as it normally does. I checked engine codes and there were none.
It's been about a week or two now and have not had another issue since.
But, this scenario makes me uncomfortable because I don't know what caused it, and I don't know if or when it'll happen again. It was dead in the water.
Any ideas on what may have happened or could have caused this? Thoughts?
Last edited by JustangGT; Apr 2, 2021 at 09:54 AM.
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Joined: December 17, 2012
Posts: 2,568
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From: Western NC
It sure sounds like a fuel issue "coming back to life" like you describe. A clog or water in the line??
Many years ago on a trip to FL, I let my Trans Am get too low on fuel once and apparently I had some water in the tank as well (condensation over the years). It sucked right into the gas line and the engine was really rough, almost stalled, until I added some HEET (takes out water) with a full tank of fresh fuel. After stumbling a few more seconds, all was perfect again with no codes evident.
I hope your fix is as simple as that. A new fuel filter certainly would not hurt either if it wasn't done by the prior owner.
Many years ago on a trip to FL, I let my Trans Am get too low on fuel once and apparently I had some water in the tank as well (condensation over the years). It sucked right into the gas line and the engine was really rough, almost stalled, until I added some HEET (takes out water) with a full tank of fresh fuel. After stumbling a few more seconds, all was perfect again with no codes evident.
I hope your fix is as simple as that. A new fuel filter certainly would not hurt either if it wasn't done by the prior owner.
Last edited by NC14GT; Apr 4, 2021 at 05:37 PM. Reason: spelling
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: July 10, 2020
Posts: 36
Likes: 14
From: ID
Thanks for the insight. Hopefully that's all it was.
I drive it regularly so it's definitely had a number of tanks of gas through it. But who knows.
The filter has never been changed to my knowledge. I'll put on a new one this weekend.
I drive it regularly so it's definitely had a number of tanks of gas through it. But who knows.
The filter has never been changed to my knowledge. I'll put on a new one this weekend.
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Feb 4, 2011 12:06 AM