No Power. Engine does not respond to gas pedal. Remains at idle.

[bottlerocket]

I started my 02 Lincoln LS the other day and when I put it in drive and pressed the gas pedal it did not respond. It only moved forward at idle speed. The tachometer did not move each time I pressed the gas and the check engine light did NOT come on. I shut it off and stared it again and the problem was gone.

Two days later I drove to pick up a pizza and when I came out it did it again. Engine starts, no response to gas pedal. I restarted it and this time it did not fix the problem and I was forced to drive home at idle speed with my hazards on. Again there is no check engine light and the problem was gone when I took it to the mechanic today so he can't figure out what it was. Anybody have this problem before? Thanks.

 

[joegr]

Well, your symptoms would make sense if you had a gen II. It would be going into and out of ETC failsafe.
However, 2002 is gen I. It has a mechanical throttle cable. I could see it detaching or breaking, but I can't see it reattaching or unbreaking by itself. You said the tachometer did not respond to pressing the gas pedal, but it is possible that it dipped slightly? Maybe you could have some odd problem with the MAF? You could try unplugging it so see if that changes things, but first have a look at the throttle plate and verify that it is moving when someone presses the gas pedal.

 

[bottlerocket]

Thanks for the reply. The problem is that it is currently working fine even though it wasn't yesterday. So until it does it again I won't be able to test anything. The tach might have dipped a bit. Also, at a couple times, when I shifted to neutral the tach would move and the car would rev when I hit the gas but then when I shifted back to drive it would not rev again and it wouldn't go.

 

[joegr]

Well that changes things a little. Can I change my guess to clogged catalytic converters? If so, they are clogged due to marginal coils causing slight misfires. Be sure to replace all the coils and plugs when you replace the cats, or the new ones will be toast before long too. Is the check engine light on?

 

[bottlerocket]

Check engine light is not on and was never on. I had 3 coils changed already earlier in this year when I was experiencing misfires. Should I have changed all 8?

 

[joegr]

... Should I have changed all 8?

Yes.
It's also very important to change all the spark plugs (and verify the gap is 1.0mm on all) at the same time.
If you search this site, you may be able to find two or three threads on coils.

 

[joegr]

Check engine light is not on and was never on. ...

Does it come on when you turn the key to run, before you start the engine?

 

[bottlerocket]

I'll check when I get it back from the mechanic. That's a good point. Even if the light is burnt out, it would still give codes to the reader right?

 

[joegr]

Yes.

 

[Telco]

I doubt it would be clogged cats, because if they were clogged it would act like it was trying to accelerate. My guess would be a TPS issue. The computer doesn't see the throttle open, so it doesn't add any more fuel to the engine, thus the engine doesn't increase RPM. A intermittent open in the TPS would intermittently make the computer think the throttle wasn't opening.

 

[joegr]

That seems possible. Of course just like if it was the MAF, it should cause the engine to run very rough and miss because the mixture would be very lean.

 

[1LoudLS]

man, this is sure when it would be nice to have a real good scanner while its messing up...

 

[bottlerocket]

Welp. I got it back from the mechanic who put 32 miles on it and could not repeat the problem. There's also another problem which happens that there is absolutely no explanation for. Whether or not the two are related I have no idea but after I start driving for about ten minutes, the red dash brake warning light comes on and the steering wheel tightens up like the power steering stopped working. I pull over, restart the car, and the problem goes away, only for it to come back in ten minutes.

 

[joegr]

The red brake light is only supposed to come on if the brake fluid level is low or the parking brake is applied.
It sounds like you have one or some weird electrical problem(s) going on. (Power steering boost level is electronically controlled.)

 

[bottlerocket]

Any idea how to go about fixing it?

 

[joegr]

None that don't involve and engineer and some fancy test equipment...

 

[Telco]

Sometimes the best thing to do is just take it by the dealer for a diagnostic, provided your Lincoln dealer knows what an LS is. A diag normally goes for an hour's shop time.

 

[RigsLS]

I would seriously consider consulting a priest or a new PCM