hi everyone, my 97 EL winds really well and wants to fire, occasionally it will, has the roughest idle and then will not accelerate. replaced the dizzy, the battery, the fuel pump (because that wasn,t even in when i got the car), checked all fuses and have all lights including interior, smart lock light flashes correctly, new fuel filter, checked gaps on plugs and leads are all fine.

Have you checked to see if the Cat is collapsed?

not yet buddy but i will. i have had it running and sounding sweet but only for a couple of minutes at best. when it stops, it acts as if it is out of fuel but there is plenty of fuel in rail. doing my head in.

Couple of possibilities:
- pull off one injector plug at a time to see if the problem is isolated to one (or two) cylinders.
- any coolant issues? especially loss of coolant. Thinking maybe head gasket - though not the most likely cause. Perfectly white electrodes (no grey/tan) on one or two spark plugs would be a give away.
- any smoke? black smoke would likely be MAP sensor or vacuum hose to it.
- fuel pressure regulator?
- ECU failing?