This is probably my third or so post here but its the only other place I can think of to ask.

We have a 2005 E150 with a 4.6l V8 at work that has some issues.
My father and I rode to Savannah, GA to do some cabinet and countertop work and when we went to leave the van wouldn't start.
We tried to get jumped off by a couple of other people. None of the cars could jump the van but I finally found someone with an F150. We got the van started but when I went to drive it around the circle for a test run it would shut off within 20-30 feet of it's starting point. I had to walk to an autozone and pick up a battery and that seemed to fix the starting issue. Van cranked right up but once the engine warmed up the van would die when you come to stoplight. Only way to keep it running is to give it some gas and hold the brake at the stoplight. I've tried tinkering with it a little but I'm not too too familiar with the new engines with Drive-By-Wire throttle bodies. I've been told it could be the IAC but I haven't seen anything that looks remotely like the IAC on my F150. Code-readers do not read any codes, Alternator checks out just fine, battery is brand new. I already tried to get the computer to relearn the idle but that hasn't helped either. Any help is appreciated!

Sorry if this post seems like a jumble of information but it's early and I'm still kind of drunk from last night..

 

are the battery terminals tight? and are the wires clean? are they corroded? did you clean the terminals up before you hooked them up?

 

Drive by wire throttles do not have an IAC.

 

That's the conclusion I eventually ended up with.
The battery terminals are clean and tight on the posts.

 

possible fuel pump driver module i guess. but how much gas does the gauge show? does it do it often? is the battery held down tight? did you get the right battery? you may have some carbon buildup around the throttle plate. does it idle weird before you start to move? could also have a possible vaccum leak if it idles weird. maybe egr is opening when its not suppose to.

 

Gas gauge reads just fine. Once the van warms up it starts stalling out. You can watch the RPMs hang around idle speed for half a second then it drops and stalls. It does it every time we drive the van. Battery is held down plenty tight, correct battery and all. Van hardly gets driven so I can't really imagine it having issues with carbon buildup.

 

Okay, so - for anyone that has a problem similar to this (rough/low idle, stalling and hard start), take the truck to your dealer. Have them reprogram the PCM with the "sludge compensation" fix Ford came up with for just this issue. It seems that, with time, the throttle body and MAF sensor build up a fine film of contaminants that affect their proper performance. The new programming allows the PCM to compensate for this, and is a permanent fix.

You can do a temporary fix (and it is just temporary) by using a good electrical contact cleaner (one that does NOT leave anything behind!) on the MAF sensor, and some good carb cleaner in the throttle body. NOTE: DO NOT USE CARB CLEANER ON THE MAF SENSOR! I did this to mine, and it did improve the situation for a couple of months. The only permanent fix is the re-programming, though, and it has to be done by a dealer. It shouldn't cost more than about $50.

 

There is no permanent fix for a contaminated MAF sensor. Or a dirty throttle body. Since when does a tune let the pcm compensate for dirty parts...
Doesn't make no sense to me. Either that or it's being explained wrong. It is ideal to clean these things on regular intervals. I pull my MAF sensor about once a year, or sometimes sooner just to clean it. Same with the throttle body and other parts.

 

Toyz, the thread is 2 years old.

 

Sheesh... At least it wasn't me who resurrected it. I just fell victim to someone Else's late response. That's twice that's happened to me.