Well, had my first break down in town driving the x300 around. So I guess I'll get to the doors later..
Was driving fine, then I went through a car wash. About 10 minutes later driving the car loses speed, acting like the accelerator wasnt working or wasnt getting signal. Shut the car off and it started fine and drove fine for a few minutes then acts up again. Loses power, doesnt respond to gas pedal, and slow down to a crawl on the road. Had to tow it home. it still starts fine, but will idle sometimes a little strange and then actually stall when I give it more gas on the pedal.
What are the first steps/components in checking why this is occurring?
Grateful I was able to enjoy a week of good driving

 

Did you wash under the hood ?

mass air flow sensor ?

 

I did not wash under hood. I checked ecm wires (but didnt pull the ecm fully out) and it seemed dry. No moisture I could see or feel. I can go ahead and clean MAF as a first step.

 

Yes , but only if labeled as MAF cleaner

The MAF is directly powered by the ECU Controlled relay ( as a direct wire splice to the MAF ) that can be swapped , free and no store run

ECU controlled relay is large # 5 right

It can be swapped for free with the headlight , headlight bright , fog . or AC Clutch relay of the same 6706 part #

The other next relay is the right engine bay fuse box relay attached to the box

Swap with left engine bay fuse box relay

These 2 relays also power their high and low current halves of the ECU

 

Water in your fuel?

 

Good point

There is a water in fuel product at the auto parts store , you would have to cycle the key a few times to clear the fuel lines as it cycles back to the tank and then as the product probably takes some time to soak and do it's thing and then disperse / mix

To prevent in the future there is a drain line in the fuel cap well . the screen gets clogged and can be removed and cleaned by carefully wiggling the aged plastic filter

 

Okay I'll try this first! Thanks for the recommendation. Would I have to drain the tank?? Also can I let it sit for a while or should this be acted on right away to prevent any rusting.

 

You might have accidentally gotten the crankshaft position sensor (CKPS) wet during the car wash. If you have a spare one try it on and see it fixes your issue. I had similar experience a couple of years ago - after a rainstorm my car had to pass through a little pond with one side of the front wheel immersed in water (not too deep though then I thought), but the next day the car started alright but engine stalled quickly and refused to start until cold again. A new CKPS sorted it.

 

If it is water in your fuel, and the car wash visit is the clue, I doubt that you will have very much. Unfortunately, petrol floats on water, so it gets ingested first. Try the additive Parker suggested, but even without it, I would be tempted to let the car burn it off, at idle or gentle throttle openings.

 

Okay will get some fuel additive. The drain tube in the fuel cap well is clear. Its also probably helpful to note that I have now a leaking injector from my fuel rail replacement. This could be contributing to the problem? I will be fixing that next chance I get. I have new o rings for it.

 

A leaking O - ring would have nothing to the engine regulation but on the ( 3 second only fuel pump running ) trapped / charged fuel pressure during starting sequence

Daughtful that enough of a leak to effect engine running smoothly

There is a dedicated O - ring lube for assembly that the O - rings are not rolled or cut during assembly , they are very tight

Vasoline or gasoline would work , although vasoline will dry out outside the seal in the hot air over time

 

Just wanted to follow up on this thread for future readers. It looks like water in the fuel was the culprit. I added some fuel treatment and let it sit for a bit (not sure if that is recommended to let it sit thats just what I did). During this time I replaced the fuel injector o-rings with new ones too (to fix leak). Now it fires up just fine! I guess this means new gas cap for me.

 

In the fuel filling well there is a water drain line , common clog

The stick up filter pops out to clean but aged plastic so a slight wiggle with some penetrate spray