Escort :: 1990 - Random No Start Condition When Cold Outside

A friend of a friend has a 1990 Escort 1.9L automatic with a TBI setup. It has a random no-start condition that only seems to act up when its cold outside (below 20 F). I've only seen it act up once with minimal testing equipment, so I'm digging for answers.

The injector fires normally and flooring the pedal goes into clear-flood mode as it should. It has spark, but sounds out of time. It will attempt to fire unless the pedal is floored long enough to take fuel away. Starting fluid in addition to the fuel makes minimal difference, but results in intake backfires when you stop cranking. After a random amount of cranking, it will eventually fire and then the issue goes away completely.

Once it fired, I was able to shut it down and restart it indefinitely with no hesitation. While running, it shown no signs of being out of time, vacuum leaks, etc. I have very little experience with the EEC system, but friends suggest a TFI module. A weak or mistimed spark seems to be the cause, but I'd like a second opinion. I shook and moved every wire I could find and checked the TFI pins for corrosion - no change.

View 2 Replies

Sierra :: 1998 GMC With 5.7 Vortec Engine - Random No Start Condition

My Sierra has the 5.7 Vortec engine with 230,000 miles. Ever since I bought the truck at 208k I've been having a random No-Start condition... It can be cold, warm, or not ran for weeks. I've replaced the Fuel pump (just the pump, not the sender too), MAP sensor, ICM, TPS, and Camshaft position sensor. I'm still thinking its a fuel issue. I get 61 PSI at the test port when ignition is on, 55 when cranking, and 54 while running.

View 3 Replies

Ford F-150 (2004-2008) :: Lean Condition Bank 1 And 2 / Random Misfire

2006 f-150 with a 4.6L. Its got 175k on the clock and ran like a sewing machine despite little maintenance other than oil changes. Recently it started running like crap; no power and missing so he borrowed a scanner and it was giving multiple codes. Here's what we have done so far, not necessarily in this order :

1.Checked for vac leaks with carb cleaner (this can be tough as engine runs crappy and hard to detect minor changes in rpms while your under the hood) no leaks detected yet

2. Changed the plugs, all looked good except for one which was heavily fouled and the electrode ate away mostly, I wasnt there and he doesnt remember which one but have a suspicion, more on that in a min

3. Changed most of the COPs and checked them all with a spark tester, all are firing.

4.Cleaned the MAF sensor with MAF cleaner

5. Checked back pressure on the exhaust by removing an upstream o2 sensor and holding a plastic fitting hooked to a pressure gage long enough to get a reading, about 1 lb idling to maybe 2 max when engine is reved, gage is not the best and fluctuates a 1/2 lb or so. Exhaust does not smell of rotten eggs.

6. Changed the fuel filter, it was terrible

7. Ran a bottle of Seafoam in the tank

8. Took the throttle body and egr valve off and checked for carbon stoppage, the holes in the egr were not blocked

9. checked the PVC valve and line and both elbows

7. checked the injector connectors with a noid light for signal, they all flash, checked the injectors them selves with a multimeter set for ohms, all about from 13.5-14.5. This should mean they arent fried but could they still be stopped up? They all sound like they are pumping when you listen with a mechanics stethoscope

9. Changed all 4 o2 sensors as this had never been done anyway

10. Compression check on cylinders, all within 10% of each other at about 180 lbs. When we pulled the plugs they all looked good except for # 7 which was heavily fouled ( I suspect the same on the original plugs) and again with a bad electrode, the part coming out of the porcelin. Intrestingly, this was an autolite plug, the rest were motorcraft, I hoped this was somehow just a bad plug but no change with a new MC plug

11. Changed the injector on #7

The scanner reads lean condition on banks 1 and 2 and random misfires on #4 and # 7 still. Per a troubleshooting tip online, we sprayed some carb cleaner in a small vac line coming off the manifold to induce a rich condition and the scanner showed the o2 sensors go to .900 which is what they are supposed to do per the guide. This means they are functioning correctly and a bonafide lean condition exists. I am leaning towards a vacuum leak around the plastic manifold under the aluminum one, maybe the gaskets but would like to rule out the egr valve, could it be the culprit?

I have even considered the possibility that the PCM is bad, though not likely. I have read to detect a vac leak you can hook the scanner up and spray the carb cleaner around on the manifold and lines with the scanner hooked up watching the scanner PID for the o2 sensors and when they detect the cleaner, they will hit that .800-1.0 meaning the engine sucked the cleaner in and you have found your leak. The exhaust smells rich. If it is a vac leak, you would think it should be a massive leak and not hard to detect, as crappy as the truck runs. I have searched the forums for days and exhausted about all I know to do.

Most important note: early on I suspected low fuel pressure as a possibility; with no schrader valve on the fuel rail and no easy spot to T into the system, we were scratching our heads how were gonna measure psi but the scanner reads absolute fuel rail pressure, gives about 40-43 psi. I hope the scanner is telling us what we need to know there, would prefer a mechanical gauge on the rail!

View 2 Replies

Golf IV / Jetta IV :: Random Hard Start After Car Is Warm / No CEL

I have a 99.5 golf gls with an 02' engine in it. 5 Speed, neuspeed supercharged with a bunch of other stuff done to it.

I've had this issue as long as I've owned the car (3-4 years). Starting the car cold, it usually fires right up and can drive it e, no problem. However, when I get the car up to operating temp and turn the car off, if I immediately try and restart the car it either :

A.) chokes but will fire or
B.) will have a long crank and usually starts hard.

Another thing I noticed is that at low RPM right after the clutch has been engaged, the car seems to almost hesitate like something is holding it back, even if I give it more gas. I have checked my codes with Vag com and the only CEL I have it for not having a post cat o2 sensor (picks up that the heater circuit is unplugged). I also have run some diagnostics on my fuel trim and both long and short term fuel trim are within spec. I tested two different mafs and both were around 2.5g/s at idle. Checked for vac leaks and didn't have any.

I have read that a dead/dying crank sensor can give me the symptoms I have, but I seem to be lacking a symptom where the CEL is on for the sensor, and my car doesn't randomly die when driving. So my question is, have any of you had the same symptoms but no CEL?

View 8 Replies

Ford - Explorer :: 2006 - Hard To Start?

It is a 2006 Explorer with the 4.0 and around 89,000 on the odometer. Around a couple weeks or so ago the wife said the explorer was hard to start one evening and it has been like that ever since. It cranks for about 5 seconds and then fires. So far it has started every time since this issue began. This is really the first issue we have ever had other than the radiator replacement a few years ago.

View 3 Replies

Explorer :: 1994 Ford Hard To Start After It Sits

I've replaced the fuel pump and filter, plugs and coolant temp sensor. It starts after I spray starter fluid in after a few times and cycle the key on to prime the line but is still hard to start. It runs fine and it seems that as long as the engine is warm or (guessing) fuel is still pressurized in the line it starts fine.

View 3 Replies

Ford - Explorer :: 1999 - Hard Start Like Not Getting Enough Fuel

Hard start like it's not getting enough fuel then kicks in and runs great with no hesitations or issues and with plenty of power. Replaced fuel filter, nothing changed.

View 3 Replies

Ford - Explorer :: 1999 - Hard To Start Occasionally

Yes, another thread on an explorer that occasionally has trouble starting. One cold morning the fuel pump would not operate. When turning the key to run the volts to the pump (with plug disconnected) was 8.6 for a second, then dropped to the 6v range. I took the inertia switch from the firewall and back probed the wire going to the fuel pump, getting 12 volts. I went back to the fuel tank and measured the voltage with the key in run position, and read battery voltage. The car started, and has not failed in 3 days. I know it will quit again. I was thinking of replacing the inertia switch and fuel pump relay.

View 5 Replies

Ford - Explorer :: 1994 - Hard To Start Up / Just Won't Crank

We have a 94 ford explorer and every now and again it has issues on the start up. It will sound like it will want to crank over but just won't. If we wait 20 mins it will start up no problem. We have changed the fuel pump, fuel filter, ignition coil, and fuel pump relay but it still has this problem. Also occasionally the a/c blower wont turn on. Tonight it happened again and I pulled the fuel pump relay out and it was really hot, after it cooled down and was put back in the car started. I am beginning to think it maybe an overheating issue that is affecting the relays but am not sure. I was also wondering about changing out the relay box...

View 6 Replies

Ford - Explorer :: 2005 - Idle Roughly - Hard Start?

I have a 2005 Ford Explorer 4wd with 4.0 SOHC 6 cyl Flex Fuel. For months the vehicle has idle rough and increasingly becoming difficult to start. I decicded to replace the spark plugs and wires hoping to solve this issue! gap set to 052. When I started the vehicle it went into engine fail safe mode and wrench light came on. I then replaced the TPS on the throttle body and had no diference (I may have installed incorrectly! when I put it on the armature felt like it broke free inside the sensor). DTC codes read P0223, P2106, P2110 and with P0122 pending, P0223 pdg, P2106 pdg, & 2110 pdg.

With the old tps installed and wiring harness disconnected the truck will start in fail safe mode, but will not start at all with wire harness connected. A volt meter reads at computer end of wire plug 3.69 volts at pin one (gray/red wire +) and pin three (gray/white wire -) with key to on but not running.

View 2 Replies

Ford - Explorer :: 2007 - Hard Start - Idles A Little Rough

After sitting engine cranks longer than it usually did before it starts. idles a little rough. engine light comes on after it been running about 30 sec for 1 min. after that seems to run fine.check codes po446 and p1633 always come up. if you let sit a bit with key on starts right up.replaced gas cap checked evap lines, and changed filter no luck. Did notice with lines off evap solenoid key off or on i can blow through it. that doesn't sound right.

Checked fuel pressure. key on jumps to 90psi then falls to 55psi and stays. turn off key and leaked off 10psi in 5 min.start engine while watching gauge does the same as when the key on except it falls to 30 to 35 psi and bounces between them. i think this is way low. What is the correct pressure? Shut off engine and drops to 20 in 5 min. Next I plugged line on test tee going to fuel rail and tested same results as key on. the convinced fuel pump was bad since regulator and check is there. replaced pump. problem still there.

View 4 Replies

Ford - Explorer :: 2006 - No DTCs / Hard Start / Rough Idle And Stalling

I'm a diesel mechanic and know my way around Powerstrokes, this 4.0 is not what I would usually work on, but I have a friend who has 2006 explorer 4.0L SOHC, someone told him he needed a motor with out explanation why, so I didn't want to see him get ripped off. The problem is it idles very rough, hard to start, and stalls. There's no DTCs , if you hold the accelerator slightly it will stay running, but once you let off it will either idle really bad and misfire or cut off, once pushing the accelerator the rpms raise very smoothly up til 3500 which is what I assume the rev limit is in nuetral.

I've done checks with focom and forscan, I was thinking possibly a bad fuel pump, while monitoring fuel pressure I see a range of 289 - 326 kpa with 26% fuel pump I guess duty cycle would be the correct term(once again I'm a diesel guy, and use to dealing with IPRs and Hpops) not sure if the desired fuel pressure is relevant on these but it always stays at 269kpa. I believe that equals out to 40-48psi while I believe this system is supposed to have somewhere in the range of 60 - 70, but I wouldn't expect to get a rough idle with no load with almost 50 psi of fuel pressure.

So with no DTCs Im baffled, and don't want to start wasting money just throwing parts at it. I've thought everything from fuel pressure sensor, to coil pack(replaced 4 months ago) to crank and cam sensors.

I did end up getting a code p106, but I believe this is because I didnt tighten the intake hose after checking the throttle bottle, I just slid it back on. out of the 4 days of testing first time I seen a code pop up besides unplugging some sensors here and there to make sure the pcm would actually register a dtc.

View 3 Replies

Ford - Explorer :: 2000 Won't Idle When Cold / Hard To Start And Keep The Engine Running

I have a 2000 Explorer W/4.0 SOHC engine. With summer nearly over and fall on the way, I need to figure out what is going on with my engine. This problem has been going on for the past 2 years. As the outdoor temperatures get cooler, the harder it is to start and keep the engine running. This starts happening around 65 ambient temperature, and gets worse as the temps drop. By 30, I can barely keep the engine running.

Odd thing is, all I have to do if the engine starts is, keep my foot on the pedal to keep the engine around 2000RPM, put it in gear and start driving. After about a mile or two, the engine runs normally, and will do so the rest of the day. So far I have cleaned the air flow sensor, replaced the IAC, replaced all the injector "O" rings, and cussed a lot. I smoke tested the engine and the only vacuum leak is a very small one at the EGR valve.

View 2 Replies

Ford F-150 - 1997-2003 :: 1999 - Intermittent No Start Condition

The Truck...
1999 F-150 Supercab
170K miles
4.6 Litre
Automatic Trans

The Problem... About every other day, I try to start the truck, and it doesn't fire at all. It cranks fine, everything seems right, but no start.

What I've done...
Replaced Fuel Pump Relay.. (no luck)
Sprayed Starting Fluid In and Cranked... It Fires On Fluid.

Other info...
This problem never lasts long, and the problem mysteriously fixes itself after no more than an hour.
This problem has occurred both when the truck was warm and completely cold.

View 3 Replies

Ford F-150 - 1997-2003 :: 2000 - No Start Condition In The Morning

I have a 2000 f150 4wd 4.6. It wouldn't start this morning. A few years ago I had to change the inertia switch so my first move was to bypass that, which didn't work.

After that I gave it a shot of ether to see if it would hiccup and tell me if I had spark or not. It started up, ran rough while the air cleaner was off, then cleared up and ran fine, and is now starting/running fine again.

The problem is that I have to take the truck on a trip Saturday, and I can't figure out what the problem was if the truck is starting. What it could have been? No check engine light or anything either.

View 5 Replies

Ford 6.0L Power Stroke Diesel :: 2006 - No Start Condition When Hot

I've been having an intermittent problem with a no start condition when hot. It has lately gotten worse to the point that I was dead in the water for about 25 minutes while i had the hood open to allow things to cool off. I closed everything back up hit the key and it jumped to life just like it was new. I've read through the tech folder as well as several other threads regarding no starts but haven't run across anything that is pointing me in any one direction. It cranks over very strong on new interstate batts that are only 6 months old and the SGII shows sync on the FICM and I'm getting a good RPM signal showing about 160-170 cranking RPM.

Good logic power and showing 47.5 to the injectors. I'm running an atlas 40 from Ed in the FICM. I've wiggled wires and done a cursory look but I would think that if there was any chaffing that cooling off wouldn't affect it and it would be dead until fixed. Once it is running I have no problems, never let me down or quit on me while under way. Again, it is intermittent where I'll have 3 weeks or a month of no problem at all and then run into long crank times for another couple of weeks.

I've made no mods to any of the HP oil system and have no leaks that I can see, no consumption between oil changes. I'm in the middle of building a house right now and need the truck to be reliable. I'm pretty good with a wrench if I know what the problem is but I don't know where to start on this. It's an '06 model but an '05 build date on the motor.

View 1 Replies

Ford F-150 (2004-2008) :: 2006 - Intermittent No Start Condition And No OBD Codes

2006 F150 4.2 fuel issue? I get an intermitent no start condition and no obd codes. Then I discover that it really isn't intermittent, it only occurs after I have been running the engine. It will not start for at least 5-10 minutes after I have driven a few miles and shut the engine off. So if I wait 5-10 minutes then she starts and runs just fine. I played with this in the driveway to recreate this condition so I could determine if I had a spark or fuel issue (I have spark during no start). I found that 50% of the time I could start it right back up immediately after I shut the engine off. But if I shut it off right away again, then I got the no start condition again and have to wait another 5-10 minutes.

Now with cold engine I can start the motor over and over. To fix this I read forum after forum, which led me to decide that I had a fuel pump driver problem (module) located on back axle under spare tire. I replaced this and restarted the engine many times. The problem seemed to be gone but this only lasted about 30 minutes. Then it would not start at all and still no codes. I plugged my old module back in and the truck fired right up. So I decided I needed to (flash) pcm for new part but that changes nothing. Still no start with new module and runs with old module. I also replaced relay in fuse panel.

View 1 Replies

Ford - Explorer :: 2007 - Sounds Like An Airplane At Random Times

Recently, my Explorer will sound like a cessna first thing in the morning, and then at random times through out the day. Then, the other day, the temp spiked on my wife. She pulled over, and let it sit for a bit, started it back up, and haven't had a problem since with temp. We only hear the sound on acceleration, and I have noticed that my F250 does it sometimes also, but not to the same extent. Is this normal, or a sign that the fan clutch is bad?

View 8 Replies

Ford Super Duty (1999-2016) :: 2006 F350 - No Start Condition After Truck Warms Up / ICP Location

Where the ICP is located on a 2006 f350? I have a no start condition after the truck warms up, everything else is fine. Started fluid works to crank, I suspect the ICP and /or Orings.

View 4 Replies