Hesitates, jerks - only first few minutes

[Lud1konj]

Hi, me again...this "HELP ME" section is starting to be my second home, but w/e this little Puma throws at me I'm still loving her

I've tried searching for "hesitation, jerking, stuttering, etc" here on the forum but it didn't help...as the topic states my Puma hesitates to accelerate (it's more like hiccups and then accelerates) and jerks when pulling away from a standstill. This happens when applying little to moderate throttle, but if I floor it then it accelerates normally. This problem occures when the car is not driven in the past 5-6 hours (like over night). About 1-5 minutes into driving - the problem goes away on its own...I've noticed that it tends to be worse when it's colder outside. This has been going on for the past year but I simply haven't gotten around to addressing the problem. Did anyone have a similar problem, what was the cause ? Most people say that it's probably the MAF, some say coolant temperature sensor, others O2 sensor. Most of these cause some kind of stalling effect or increased fuel consumption which I have no problem with....One fellow had a dirty fuel injector and after cleaning it with some specialized cleaner liquid it fixed the problem (but I'm kindda sceptical and don't want to damage my engine)...

The problem is not that serious but poses some safety issues since pulling from a junction either leaves me stuttering into a fast lane (moderate throtle) or spining my wheels (full throttle) and looking like an as-s

 

[lusid666]

The first things I would be trying would be to clean the MAF and the ICV, failing that it could possibly be down to spark plugs, leads and maybe coil pack. When was the last time you serviced it?

 

[Lud1konj]

Last service was November 2014, spark plugs were changed 2013 and I've done around 3000 miles since then. MAF was cleaned when new plugs were installed.

Well today my little Puma decided not to cooperate so the AC stopped working. Since the reversing lights didn't work either i concluded that it was a fuse...and it was. Number 29 fuse. After changing it the AC worked fine on idle but after a mile or so it blew again, and again...after the 3. time i concluded that it wasn't surging without a reason, but since I'm not an electrician I'm probably gonna go to a Ford Dealer/Service...gonna get robbed, but I hope they'll solve these problems. I'm going to post the results

...oh yea...one more thing, took me 20 minutes for the blower to turn from hot to cold. My heater control valve is dying as well...ahh Ford...but still love the Puma

 

[Frank]

You really need to put a OBD II reader on it for your 'hesitation, jerking, stuttering' problems and see what error codes you get. Otherwise, it's the usual 'clean this, replace that' routine, without any real idea of what it is that you're trying to fix.

There's a few threads here somewhere on that stuff. Pretty cheap to do, as well.

 

[jimfrp88]

As previously mentioned, first thing I would do is give the MAF sensor a good clean with some carb cleaner.
Mine did this a few weeks ago although only slight, cleaned it out and it's as good as new k:

Failing this I would also plug it onto a code reader before you have to go replacing parts spending money when itmay not solve the problem.
Be aware that code readers don't always show faults even though there clearly may be something wrong.

Good luck k: