rlb81
Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2012
- Messages
- 39
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Central NJ
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2002 Explorer XLT 4WD
I tried searching and didn't come up with anything so hopefully someone has a good resource. I was a bit annoyed to open up my service manual to see that Ford has a separate book for Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis.
Anyway, 2002 Explorer 4.0 (non-flex) w/ 155k miles. I've had intermittent no-start problems lately. Sometimes I will turn the key and the engine cranks but does not fire, not even a sputter. Other times it was start, sputter, then die. Trying to start again gives nothing but continuous cranking with no firing. I can get it to fire up by repeatedly turning the key off, then cranking for a few seconds, and repeating until it starts. Its more prone to happen on a cold day and a cold start, but it's happened on a warm start too so the problem isn't so picky anymore.
To me this seemed like a spark problem at first (since the engine would crank away with no indication of combustion) but once the sputtering thing came in to play I'm changing my mind. I've also searched and found similar situations pointing to fuel problems. I'd like to figure out some diagnosis steps before I buy a test gauge, any help would be appreciated!
Anyway, 2002 Explorer 4.0 (non-flex) w/ 155k miles. I've had intermittent no-start problems lately. Sometimes I will turn the key and the engine cranks but does not fire, not even a sputter. Other times it was start, sputter, then die. Trying to start again gives nothing but continuous cranking with no firing. I can get it to fire up by repeatedly turning the key off, then cranking for a few seconds, and repeating until it starts. Its more prone to happen on a cold day and a cold start, but it's happened on a warm start too so the problem isn't so picky anymore.
To me this seemed like a spark problem at first (since the engine would crank away with no indication of combustion) but once the sputtering thing came in to play I'm changing my mind. I've also searched and found similar situations pointing to fuel problems. I'd like to figure out some diagnosis steps before I buy a test gauge, any help would be appreciated!