Total Power Loss on Turns Only

[nghtshd88]

Threw my LS into a turn today and upon exiting and hitting the gas it lost all power basically. Dropped to 750rpms so I floored it and it bounced back almost as if the trans finally shifted.

Entered the second turn slower and got the same affect but less noticeable.

Car is completely fine going straight and in slow turns. I was running the ac though.

Since this is on hard turns only is it possible the PS is locking up?

Traction control was not on. No codes except my rear o2 sensor from an aftermarket cat.

 

[fudge12]

Low power steering fluid can cause excessive load causing a major power loss. I've witnessed this when my PS pump switch was leaking.

 

[G-RELL]

does it do the same sitting still?

 

[nghtshd88]

Have never had a PS leak and dont now either. I would assume if its going out I would either hear it or it would feel like its giving out?

Driving any other way or sitting it is completely fine. Just on hard turns!

Hoping it wont completely stall..

 

[joegr]

I assume that by hard turns you don't mean that the wheel is turned all the way to lock?
What's your fuel level?
Any blue smoke when this happens?

 

[nghtshd88]

Not anywhere near the lock, was a somewhat wide acceleration lane(s). Not felt until exiting both.

Fuel level was low, probably 40 miles before the light would come on. Although Ive never had this until today and have ran low on fuel many times.

Didnt see any smoke.. New fuel filter, 93 octane, recent coil job no misfires runs great except that..

 

[joegr]

Is it only when turning left (or right, but not both)?

 

[nghtshd88]

Only did right turns none to the left.

 

[joegr]

I wonder if your transfer (jet) pump has a problem? If you can repeat the problem turning right, but not turning left, then fill the tank and not be able to repeat the problem, then it might be. (This is a wild guess and a long shot at best...)

 

[Blueberryyum02]

Sounds like one of the fuel pumps is going out. And it might be the main one. Or a broke or loose pickup tube. Pull the pump and investigate.

 

[jrand]

eh trust me you dont want to run your tank that low in this car as finicky as it is with fuel.. i would dump some lucas or seafoam or whatever you prefer everytime you do run it much under 1/4 tank.

although it could be any of the shots in the dark everyone else has provided i will provide another for good measure: if you search the owners manual there is actually a 'feature' that cuts power during certain turns.. i have experienced it before at both high and low speed, left and right turns, and especially low speed s-turns. combine that with the generally slow to respond throttle and you have a lean mean sunday driving machine...

 

[05LSV8GUY]

My 88 T-Bird did the same thing, while taking left turns, The tank baffle dropped, and it lost the pickup screen all at the same time. Its possible it could be the same thing.
Not sure why all that happened to my car, but it just happened suddenly.
For those that will state the obvious, that these cars are nothing alike, your right........LOL but its possible this happened, and like jrand said, its all a shot in the dark really.

 

[nghtshd88]

A feature that cuts power on turns?

Filled it and no issue yet. I didnt have the ac on again though.

 

[joegr]

A feature that cuts power on turns?...

What? You mean traction control or AdvanceTrac? I thought you said you had that off.

 

[nghtshd88]

What? You mean traction control or AdvanceTrac? I thought you said you had that off.

Yes. I meant in reference to Jrand's post, thought there was some other 'feature' besides advancetrac

 

[jrand]

A feature that cuts power on turns?

Filled it and no issue yet. I didnt have the ac on again though.

thats right, i dont remember a whole lot about it, thats why i advised searching. i screwed up and said 'owners manual' in that post when i should have said 'shop manual'... it may have even been the PCED manual where i read that, but im fairly certain it was an LS-specific writeup <which would not appear in the PCED, it would only appear in the shop manual>. if im recalling correctly the function of cutting the power for a brief second during certain turns is controlled by the PCM and is supposed to facilitate easier turning. im pretty sure it was not related to advancetrak, but this topic did not interest me significantly so i didnt store any of the details in my memory and have no desire to look it up. like i said, just another shot in the dark anyways..

 

[nghtshd88]

Still experiencing this issue and now not only with more gas in the tank, I have to wait longer for it to build up fuel pressure again.


I floored it at a light today and now im losing power on straight lines not just turns.

Although it is much much worse on turns. Even once Im well out of a turn its struggling to build pressure unless I let off the gas for like 10secs.

Can I assume my main pump is bad if Im experiencing this on straight lines now?

If I swap it does it matter what brand? Its like $200 cheapest...

 

[Telco]

Yes, brand matters. Stay away from Airtex, you're lucky if they work out of the box and very few people are lucky enough to have them last more than 6 months. Your best bet on electrical crap is Motorcraft or Delphi as they are OEM suppliers. Carter is a decent brand as well.