95 Limited won't fire but turns over

[spguest]

Hi, wife has a 95 Limited. This has been a great and trouble free ride until now. She drove home Friday evening without any issue. Parked it in the drive (nose down) and when she went back to it 2 hours later - it wouldn't fire. Turned over but seemed to lack fuel. Waited 24 hours in case of flooding - just the same. Engine really starts to shake with not starting as it cranks. So far I have noted:
1) Check Engine light goes out when cranking
2) Oil pressure comes up when cranking
3) There is gas in the tank
4) Fuse 9 (this is the Fuel Pump?) seems fine
5) No smell of gas in engine at all.

Help - what else and where should I now start to check?

 

[imp]

Just like old days: gotta have fuel, air, and spark. It helps to have a fuel pressure gauge kit, they are readily available, maybe 30 bucks or so, will also reveal insufficient fuel pressure, as well as no pressure.

Check for spark at one of the plugs, or at the coil-- CAREFULLY. If NO SPARK, the PCM (computer) may not be getting crankshaft position signal.

Occasionally, a PCM goes bad, but my experience has shown it to be rare.

As for air, hard to imagine NO AIR entering the engine..........., although it would be possible on later "drive-by-wire" throttle plate which is moved by a MOTOR, instead of the driver's right foot.........imp

 

[spguest]

Thanks - imp
Yes I was going for the trinity of internal combustion engine.

I did get out the handbook and found it was Fuse 3 I needed to check. I did and it is fine. I also found the system works through a relay. Not sure how to check a relay but it seems fine. Managed to stop the door open warning “gong” long enough to hear what sounds like the pump pressuring the system when the key is in the on position. Then the self leveling pumps started up. I plan to get a pressure gauge but currently I cannot locate the test port on the fuel system.

Next I went after the spark. There seems to be no coil! Neither do I have a spare plug lead to use to test with a park plug. I will work on this tomorrow.

As for the air – it seems to be there in plenty and I cannot locate a blockage.

Thx - Steve

 

[budwich]

pull a plug and check for wetness... as usual, IF it is wet, you aren't getting spark, if its dry you aren't getting fuel.

 

[drr73464]

My 95 EB did the same thing, very frustrating. the final fix was to replace the relay in the main fuse panel. $15 autozone, there are 3 of them, to test it you could swap them around, I forget which one it is.

 

[hworksinc]

Silly question, but just how much gas do you have? I once parked my X nose down (like you did) on a steep hill with over 1/4 tank of gas. Several hours later, it wouldn't start. Easily solved by coasting down the hill to a flatter area, and it fired right up. If the hill is steep enough, it can be a problem since the fuel pickup is located near the middle of the tank.

 

[spguest]

Not enough

Hi Hworksinc
The answer to your question is clearly - not enough gas to reach the pump :. This has been the cheapest fix I have done for a long while. We had a tow unit pull it out of the drive; up to the level road. My wife turned the key and it fired right up first time.

At least I have checked the relay and other items. Thanks for all the help this forum is awesome.

Steve