After Lots of Replaced Part, Still Running Rough

Asked by ckbradley Dec 11, 2013 at 09:21 PM about the Mercury Sable

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Recently my 2001 Sable indicated a misfire on 2 and 6 and P1311 - Lack of Heated Oxygen Sensor Bank 1.  I replaced the spark plugs and both O2 sensors.  Then I was getting a misfire on 1 and 2 and the same O2 sensor fault.  I detected a slight leak from the head gasket, so I ran some sealant through the cooling system and the misfires went away - car started running much smoother but not to normal.  Replaced PVC and elbow, throttle position sensor, and IAC valve.  Now I am getting the Oxygen Sensor Fault on Bank 1 and it fails the emission test.  Check engine light is not blinking now.  Any ideas on what to do next?  Intake manifold cleanout, check fuel injectors, ....?

3 Answers

...well despite your vacuum leaks, the engine NEEDS solid ground to issue the trouble codes correctly...right now you've probably 500 starts at least on your old battery...each start adding to this layer of corrosion that exists at the end lug of your Black 1/0 battery cable...with a wirebrush clean the lug (takin' it apart first) the chassis where the lug attaches to remove any "semiconductor" corrosion....with renewed 12.5 volts thoughout the chassis AND engine should come to life again as sensors will not read correctly if steady GROUND ain't there...your old ones were probably okay, but without proper grounding came up as wacko to your ECU~ so get good grounding established to the chassis/frame and reset the trouble codes with a cheap handheld OBD-II scanner....the 02 sensors will read correctly with Good grounding...okay~?

Thanks. I'll ry that. I bought one of those UScan scanners to use with a smartphone - very helpful rather than running to the auto parts store every time. Disconnecting the battery should clear the codes, right?

10

i had misfires on my 2000 sable and it wound up being a bad coil

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