my moms van is having some troubles.. its running so rich that its fouling spark plugs.. the check engine light will come on but shuts off shortly.. my dad and i have been messin with it for a couple weeks and cant figure out whats wrong.. dopes anyone have any ideas.

 

need a few more details like make and year , maybe engine size kurt

 

As stated, more details. Pretty vague there, which will just cause you more headaches in the future.

Make, Model, Year, Engine, Trans, Mileage, Previous work performed, ALL drivability complaints, Codes and scan data if known,

I should make a post about how people should present problems. I get this every day at the shop. No offense to you buckfever, in general people just don't know how to present a problem. To many times people don't give all the details because they are afraid of the answer they will get when in reality the more info that is given the faster the problem can be diagnosed.

 

its a 92 econoline full size 5.0 auto trans the code i keep gettin is sayin egr but i ran a check and it read okay.. i am only doing home tests with a multi meter because i have no scanner.. it wont idle at all you have to feather the throttle to keep it running.. its got 180000 miles on the engine.. plugs keep fouling because its running so rich.. and it also blows black smoke out the tail pipe that just smeels like raw gasoline.

 

Did you pull the EGR and check the condition? Is it getting constant vacuum at idle? The EGR could be stuck open or maybe having vacuum when it should not.

Willie
Do you constantly get those guys like I would that call you up saying "My car/motorcycle has a noise. It kinda sounds like barap thunk ugh. What do you think it is?"

 

i love the smell of raw gasoline!

you smell raw gas cause that is the richness, if you have to give it gas for it to idle, sounds like it has to do something with air/fuel mixture especially if egr comes up, it could be the cat converter if its bad,the black smoke is because its getting to much gas and possible cause of the spark plugs condition as well, check to see if your injectors could be clogged or dirty(if its fuel injected), or try running some fuel cleaner, also check the fuel pressure regulator, maybe you have a vacuum leak/problem

 

You should check the EGR if that's the code that it's throwing. Since it's running rich you could also try checking the MAF/MAP (I don't know which one it has) as well as the O2 sensors since they both input data that goes into determining the mixture.

 

i ran a test that the manual told me to on the egr.. it checked out as far as resistance and the proper voltage but i didnt pull it and check its condition.. i am pretty sure its the original though.. i thought it could be the cat or the 02 sensors but the check engine light doesnt stay on it will come on at start up and shut off and wouldnt the 02 sensors trip it?

 

Sure sound like you EGR valve is stuck open. This will not show up on tests you described.A stuckEGR valve will cause the a rich condition. THe EGR valve is suppost to open when the truck is off idle on light load. It allows a small amount of your exhaust back into your intake so it can be re-burned. This improves your emission. If the soot builds up enough or the spring weakens the valve sticks open allowing exaust in to the intake at all time, not just when the computer say to do it. This exhaust has no or little oxygen in it. The computer thinks its getting clean air from the IAC so its dropping in fuel expecting it to mix with the Oxygen that is not there. So not only do you get a dirty gas instead of the clean air but you get fuel dropped in on top of it.

 

Ford, first things to do. Pull the vacuum line off the Fuel pressure reg and watch for gas running out.

Next, find the specs for the Baro/Map sensor and make sure the frequency, in hertz, is around 150hz depending on your altitude, a reading like 90hz is bad mojo.

Look at the coolant sensor, make sure when the engine is warm it is reading correctly, ohm out and look in the manual for what the sensor should be warm, look at the harness for proper connection. coolant sensors replaced often on Fords...

EGR, if it's stuck open you won't idle, the sensor on top your testing is it's posistion sensor, common failure item on Ford. EGRs, not so common to fail, it could have a chunk of carbon holding it. remove, and inspect that it seats properly in the closed posistion, put it on and don't hook vacuum back up then see how it performs. EGR codes on ford are as common as hell, many times with no drivability problems.

Look to the oxygen sensors, make sure one isn't shorted to ground, or wiring damaged.

Hook a vacuum gauge up and see the readings.

Run threw those and see what you find. Oh, and it being a Ford V8 make sure you have the right firing order on the engine, Ford had two for it's V-8's.....