power loss after heating up.

[ajb999]

92 efi 5-speed. about a month ago i blew a coolant hose on my car and emptied all the coolant all over my engine/bay. didn't have time to fix it, check the oil for water, etc. until about 2 weeks ago. well anyways, fixed the line, checked the oil and everything seemed fiine. i've probably put 450+ miles on it since fixing the hose. then saturday coming home on the interstate after the car was fully warm my car suddenly started slowing down slowly to the point i was only going 65 down from 75 - 80. i downshifted to fourth and acfelerated back up to 75 but was just getting to the offramp so i didn't get a chance to accelerate in fifth. in town i had no problems. accelerated like normal through 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. idled where it always has. i got home and noticed the wind was blowing a lot harder than i thought it was and it had been a direct headwind. i figured that must have been what was happening was the wind was just slowing me down. but not the case. driving to work this morning i got onto the interstate and drove probably close to 8 miles. no problem accelerating onto the interstate, no problems maintaining speed then suddenly the same thing happened. at 70 i shifted to 4th to regain speed as it was pretty heavy traffic and at first it accelerated but then slowly started decelerating. i don't really think that the engine was losing power, it almost seemed like something was restricting the amount of gas that was getting to the engine. no matter how far in or out(not all the way out) the gas pedal was it seemed to be decelerating the same. i made it to the onramp and pulled up to the stop light. engine idling normal, purring like it always does. drove to my bosses house 8 miles away max speed 55. i took the back roads home doing 70 at the fastest no problems. it's really strange, it's almost like a sensor or the ecu is sending a bad/wrong signal or something. i was thinkiing maybe my air filter is clogged w/ coolant so it's not getting enough air vs. fuel because i never checked it. i would think it would not run good though like it does and start to choke. it seems to be a fuel problem. i can't do much right now as its pouring rain/sleet/snow right now and freezing outside. but any suggestions as to the problem would be great for when i get a chance to take a look hopefully a little later.

sorry about the long post but i figured it would be best to explain everything that happened to get the best help. thanks in advance.

adam

[roycehof]

The only thing I can think of is the Fuel Filter. Strange indeed!

[Fordverde]

I don't know if the EFI Festis have a coolant line going in to the intake manifold, if it does, check if it is passing water at the engine. Mine is a carbed Festi and it does has a line going in to the intake manifold. Or may be your distributor is wet, the air filter can be wet also. That's what I can think of.....

[Tim]

My truck does the same thing occasionally. I believe it's due to the insulation breaking down on the spark plug wires and causing a short.


Regards,

Tim

[Safety Guy]

When you get the chance, check the spark plugs (and like Tim suggested, the wires) & other tune up type stuff and replace the fuel filter if it hasn't been replaced in over a year or two. And yes, coolant lines do go into the TB and I think the intake area. I just disassembled my TB yesterday and disconnected two small lines into it.

Try a bottle of fuel injector cleaner, too.

Keep in mind I'm merely guessing here.

Karl

[ajb999]

thanks for the ideas. if it's nice tonight i'll just replace the wires and spark plugs since it never hurtss and it's been close to two years. i'm thinking it has to do w/ coolant getting on something. will coolant break anything down?

[Tim]

The coolant shouldn't harm anything.

My newest Festy got hit by a deer, and the radiator broke. Coolant sprayed all over the engine bay and soaked in for 6 months till I bought the car.

It started right up and I drove it home with a coolant leak, and still had no problems.

thanks for the ideas. if it's nice tonight i'll just replace the wires and spark plugs since it never hurtss and it's been close to two years. i'm thinking it has to do w/ coolant getting on something. will coolant break anything down?

[ajb999]

i was gonna pull my plugs last night but didn't get home from work until after 8 and it was dark. drove it all day w/ no problems but never went over 70. hopefully i get off earlier tonight so i can take a look at some things. when it happens it's almost like the computer is switching the engine over to a different mode and only allows so much gas into it. it's strange?????

[htchbck]

Often on mine will do something similar with losing power at higher speeds and also when the engine is warm if I shut it off and try to crank it it will not start. Sounds kinda like a similar problem to yours because it will turn over all day long but never fires so I'm guessing its not getting fuel. However, if I roll start it it fires right up and runs great. I just started having this problem again with this motor in the silver car (used to be in the blue car) so I'm pretty sure its not computer related, cause its been in two cars with two different ECUs and its still doing it. I have a fuel filter and I'm going to replace it this afternoon, I'll let you know how that goes

[ajb999]

it doesn't die, just won't accelerate and slowly slows down. as soon as i slow down like on an offramp it's fine. accelerates through all gears no problem. also, it always fires right up when hot or cold. i'm gonna go check my plugs right now and will see if i can see any arcing from the wires when it gets dark. maybe one of us can stumble across what the problem is.

[ajb999]

btw, did you decide to keep your blue car?

[Tim]

Check for arcing at the ignition coil. My Festiva routinely arced through the rubber cap on the wire to the nearest sharp metal point.

[ajb999]

plugs were fine and i couldn't see any arcing. only problem is it happens at 75+ speeds and it's hard to check the engine when you're driving that fast.

[25Horseplay]

Your air intake or filter isn't plugged up is it?

[ajb999]

filter looks good and the intake looked fine. this is really starting to bug me. i can drive it all day at -70 mph and have no problems but when it's warmed up fully it starts dieing at interstate speeds.