First real problem with my Mirage... (Engine losing power suddenly. Update- solved)

[dspace9]

You would have to experiment with your one foot on the gas and the other on the brake, forget about the clutch then, but I think the Mirage's they are talking about is CVT models with 2 pedal. Dead pedal that's getting worse sounds like corrosion on your throttle body. Sounds like a throttle issue. good luck cheers

I have had this issue with work trucks never regular cars. My Nissan honks when it rains.

[Cobrajet]

The reason I am leaning towards it being a problem with the accelerator travel sensor is the fact that the engine doesn't really act abnormally. It just doesn't accelerate properly when I tell it to.

According the FSM, the sensor should read 900-1100mv at idle and go all the way up to 4000mv at WOT. It seems like at part throttle it is sending less voltage to the ECM than it should for the amount of throttle I am requesting, but not enough to go below that 900-1100mv threshold and set a DTC.

Gonna replace that bulb first, though!

[Fummins]

There should be redundancy in the pedal too. On most cars there’s a sensor a And sensor b. You should be able to check throttle position with a scan tool. The more often it happens the easier it’ll be to find. Unless it’s a wire hanging on by a thread in an obscure place lol

But you’d think a bad Or even intermittently bad sensor Would throw a code?

[Cobrajet]

Soooo...I was on my way to work today and my instrument cluster lit up like a Christmas tree. ABS, stability control, and stability control-off lights.

Oh. Great.

I knew from right here on this forum that these warning lights can come on if there is a problem with the brake lights. I get to work, and ask my boss to come outside and tell me if my brake lights were working. The CHM was, the other two weren't. I already knew I had a taillight out, now both brake lights go at the same time? Weird.

I am thinking I might have a worn out or damaged brake light switch. This might result in the ETACS thinking I am stepping on the brakes when I am not, which might result in the throttle being cut...as you guys have pointed out.

For the time being I replaced both taillight bulbs, and all was well last night. When I get some time I will pull the under dash cover and see what might be going on up there.

[Eggman]

Soooo...I was on my way to work today and my instrument cluster lit up like a Christmas tree. ABS, stability control, and stability control-off lights.

Oh. Great.

I knew from right here on this forum that these warning lights can come on if there is a problem with the brake lights. I get to work, and ask my boss to come outside and tell me if my brake lights were working. The CHM was, the other two weren't. I already knew I had a taillight out, now both brake lights go at the same time? Weird.

I am thinking I might have a worn out or damaged brake light switch. This might result in the ETACS thinking I am stepping on the brakes when I am not, which might result in the throttle being cut...as you guys have pointed out.

For the time being I replaced both taillight bulbs, and all was well last night. When I get some time I will pull the under dash cover and see what might be going on up there.

Check your connector behind your kickpanel.

I hope you didn't buy a new accelerator pedal assembly.

[Fummins]

Soooo...I was on my way to work today and my instrument cluster lit up like a Christmas tree. ABS, stability control, and stability control-off lights.

Oh. Great.

I knew from right here on this forum that these warning lights can come on if there is a problem with the brake lights. I get to work, and ask my boss to come outside and tell me if my brake lights were working. The CHM was, the other two weren't. I already knew I had a taillight out, now both brake lights go at the same time? Weird.

I am thinking I might have a worn out or damaged brake light switch. This might result in the ETACS thinking I am stepping on the brakes when I am not, which might result in the throttle being cut...as you guys have pointed out.

For the time being I replaced both taillight bulbs, and all was well last night. When I get some time I will pull the under dash cover and see what might be going on up there.

When was the last time you made sure you had brake lights? I rarely check mine. Is it possible your problems are now solved? Could you have been driving around with one brake light out for ages and the other side just burnt out recently?

[Cobrajet]

When was the last time you made sure you had brake lights? I rarely check mine. Is it possible your problems are now solved? Could you have been driving around with one brake light out for ages and the other side just burnt out recently?

Entirely possible. Can't remember the last time I checked them, but I check them regularly. I certainly hadn't checked them between the time the car started acting up and when I found the taillight out. But it probably hadn't been more than a few weeks prior.

In that case, this odd behavior would have been going on with just the one taillight out. That seems like a stretch to me?

[MetroMPG]

Subscribed.

(Sorry - nothing useful to add... just curious to see how this resolves.)

I once drove a car with a faulty throttle position sensor on the intake, and it drove similar to what you described:

"I could plant the gas pedal to the floor, the rpms wouldn't change... If I depressed the clutch with the gas pedal floored, the engine would rev to about 3,000 rpm instead of quickly taching out to redline."

[Dirk Diggler]

How she running Cobra?

[Cobrajet]

How she running Cobra?

She is running just fine now. I guess the problem with the accelerator really was related to...the brakes and/or brake/taillights. Thanks for all the help, guys!

I actually did the experiment dspace9 suggests above. I accelerated up to about 25 mph in second gear, then touched the brake pedal just enough to make the brake lights come on. After a couple seconds the engine cut out in the exact same way it had done before. I could floor the pedal and the engine would not respond...until I released the brake pedal. Then it accelerated normally.

Not sure why, but it seems having one or more brake/taillights out may have confused the ETACS into thinking I was stepping on the brake pedal when I clearly wasn't. In response, it reacted to what it thought was a Toyota-esque 'runaway acceleration' scenario and cut the throttle.

I was NOT touching the brake pedal at all when this was happening before, though it is possible maybe the pedal was sticking or something? That actually would make way more sense than a combination of rear lamp failures.

Not sure which combination of brake/taillight failures would cause this. But honestly, it was a very unnerving problem. If the system is designed to work this way...it SHOULDN'T be.

It is very dangerous to be pulling into traffic and have the engine cut out because ETACS thinks you are also hitting the brakes.