Just had a thought about the timing bit. I was in a workshop getting my car noise tested and was reading about e-series timing and this says u have to wait 2 mins instead of the under 1 min thing on an el b4 checking/setting timing

great thread, thanks for this.

My Max Ellery's repair manual for EA/EB/ED's says ". . . start engine, the engine idle speed will increase to about 1500rpm, this indicates the self test mode is in operation and the base timing can now be checked using timing light."

I have my doubts that the "self test" mode does anything other than raise the revs to ensure the engine does not stall and then shut off the ecu timing adjustments so you can use the timing light.

If so, you know you are adjusting the timing at an okay time if the timing is not moving around.

This is kind of speculative, i don't really know, and i'm sure there is a way to find out for sure.

yeh mate, i have a ba MK2 XR6 ute and ive done a few mods to it such as; ss growler cold air induction, pacemaker extractors, 2.5 inch exhaust and i have a flash tuner... i just want to know wat else i can do to get a bit more power, lately ive been putting in octane booster and that helps but its not enough... let me know if u know of anything,

cheers

Bump, for the newbies to read.

I wonder what happened to stockstandard...hasnt been on here for 6+ months

I got a question for you guys... I got a 2004 BA Falcon Futura MK II ...
My problem is I've hardly got any down low power off a stop...Most falcons I have driven have no problem burning rubber off a stop.. even all the ED.. EF.. EL EA's and also the other BA's I have driven..
My car hardly pulls a wheel spin even when cornering... Is there something wrong with it?
Its only done 155,000 km.
If there is not a problem, is there anything I can do to get more power off the stop?
Thanks for Your help

this isn't a sticky yet? hmm

I bought a 97 EL FAIRMONT that has been hit in the back...not 2 hard...it started fine at first when i got it but after less than 30 seconds of idling it starts sputtering and f@rt like its running on 4 cylinders then shuts off...when i tried to start it again its hard to start and splutters heaps...if you leave it for a day or so it starts fine but then after a few seconds goes back to spluttering...maybe its a broken lead etc not sure...any advide would be great....just want to get it running right to take it for a run around the block to make sure the running gear is ok.....I want to use the motor for an EA but want to make sure its ok first........Any ideas.......Thx

I know this is a ford forum... but just a suggestion...
I was driving a work car ( VS commodore) and it was doing exactly what your describing...
It was the Crank angle sensor...
I don't know if your car has one.. but its just an idea...
Cheers...
Hope that helps!

Someone's been fibbing, I didn't find any answers to my questions here.

Is there a tread on replacing the standard Air Induction unit (flat double pipe) on an EF with that of the 3" Cold Air Induction pipe as found on later EF's & XR 6's etc.
Forgive me, I've been out of this game for 20 years, I'm really just starting from scratch all over again.

I really just wanted to know if the ECU will pick up the increased Air Flow & compensate for it or do I have to tune the motor??
Same for fitting extractors, I assume the Mass Flow Oxygen Sensor will detect the changes & the ECU will then Compensate??

lastly the Cold Air Induction Unit I got came off an XR 6, just wondering if anyone makes the 3" pipe section in Stainless Steel??

I'd imagine these'd be even more efficient without all the fluting/ribbing to create turbulence.
cheers

An exhaust shop can do the stainless pipe for you. Dunno about price. Replacing the intake pipe from EF to EL is as easy as undo 3 bolts and 2 hose clamps and swap it over as far as I know. As for the difference in Air flow, I dont think thered be a massive difference but yeah, the ECU will detect it. You really only have to worry about fiddling with the ECU if you have installed a big lopey cam or have gone for forced induction. The EEC-4 and EEC-5 ECU's according to Ford were adaptive and had the ability to learn. Some people on here dispute that and good on them, but I put my money in the makers basket and not someone whos mate says that thats a load of crap.

Changing to extractors wont make a huge difference to the O2 sensor, after all, it is there to measure the unburnt oxygen in the exhaust gas and not whether or not the gas comes out faster or slower.

Some turbulence of air into the engine is a good thing, it helps the fuel atomise into the combustion chamber and allows a better burn, however excessive turbulence and you'll create the opposite effect.

I know this is old, but the ECU raising of idle is also to run the tests based off the the O2 sensor. It needs to rev up to test if lean or rich on the HEGO. Test codes 41 (lean) and 42 (rich) [Early E series]. If RPM doesnt come up high enough, you get code 16 (RPM not high enough to run fuel tests). Extract your codes with ISC disconnected and see for yourself. A failure doesnt mean the O2 is to blame, simply the O2 is giving a reading that is lean or rich, it may be the O2, or any other part of the system effecting fuel ratios AFAIK. The EEC IV using OBDI isnt smart, its fairly primitive and relies heavily on the O2 being in very good condition (not that theres anything wrong with it either if running basically stock motors).

Someone posted about the system learning, Ford says it does, others argue it doesnt. The truth is, both claims are a half truth. The system has adaptive learning strategies, but not learning. It records data in KAM based on past driving conditions and sensor readings as a table (why its not always a good idea to reset ECU as a fix everything technique). That limited data forms a fuel table that can be overlayed on the factory preset fuel table which is set to reach the chemically optimum fuel air ratio of 14.7:1. Once your engine has some wear (not stuffed, simply higher km on it), that optimum ratio (14.7:1) is useless to you, your engine will struggle to run properly at that ratio. AFAIK, that ratio is for a set set of environmental variables, ie: Air temp and humidity so outside those it needs to adjust too. So it needs to find the best compromise between EPA emissions and the engines capability given wear and environmental conditions such as air temp and load. If you reset the ECU, that adaptive table reverts to all 1's so the only data it has is the optimum factory preset for a perfect engine including sensors. No good for using as an adaptive strategy, it must record new data to use, that takes time. If your engine is really good, and sensors all work within specs, then that wont matter much as the optimum ratio should be near enough to attainable to run smoothly. If you make a significant change to the engine such as new injectors or maybe replace a really badly clogged air filter, then an ECU reset can be beneficial as the engine will be using adaptive table figures that arent appropriate any longer, although it will rerecord them anyway. But remember, it will be using a setting that is designed for a perfect engine, the incorrect KAM memory may have been a better match than the perfect setting.

Essentially, its like in the old days, a good mechanic didnt need a timing light, the recommended timing setting only worked well on a new engine and it was better done by ear slightly off that mark. Once it had some wear, the timing needed tweaking, and air mixture screws on the carb needed adjusting. ECU does via all the doohickeys, a similar thing but constantly aswell as adjusting for highway cruise v city stop start driving.

Feel free to ignore me, or delete, Im no mechanic, I just like to tinker and read so I could have lots of right numbers but poor execution. Wouldnt be the first time, nor the last Im sure.

Hi. Sounds like you need to get the injectors checked sounds like 1 is stuck open and flooding the engine (was the car on gas? this leads to sticky injectors) Cheers MD