98 Ford Fiesta Encore Engine Cut Out & Lagging Acceleration

Hi guys!

I have a 98 Ford Fiesta Encore which I have been recently experiencing power loss and a problem with acceleration. To begin with the engine would cut out whilst idling along or stationary and would shut down without the usual juddering and noise that accompanies a stall - fortunately I was able to restart the ngine very quickly after since the battery was fully charged only recently. The problem became worse when I would be driving along and I would hit a kind of 'dead spot' whilst accelerating, followed by a sudden surge of power as the car suddenly responded.

One temporary solution was when my father disconnected the battery for a spell in order to reset the 'computer' and this seemed to sort the problem right out - no cutting out, no dead spots, but this lasted only a week or so, before the problem crept back in. The car passed its M.O.T only a couple of months ago, so it's a fairly new problem.

Could it be the idle speed control valve needing replacing perhaps? This would seem to account for the cutting out, but would it explain the dead spots?

Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated - I'm well aware the car has seen better days, but if there's any way I could keep it ticking over for a ittle longer, I'd be a very happy bunny!

Thanks!

Lisa