'00 mountaineer no start

[erikm]

hey, my wifes mountaineer decided not to start this morning. it started and ran for about 15 seconds this morning and died. when you turn the ignition to "run" there is a light on the dash that says "fuel reset", it comes on then goes off. i can't find any info on this light. it is as if the it is out of fuel but i know there is plenty in the tank.

thanks for your help...erik

 

[dogfriend]

There is an inertia switch to shut off the fuel pump in case of an accident. It sounds like yours may have gotten tripped. It should be under the dash, in the passenger side footwell towards the center of the truck, right about the height of the carpet. When you find it, push the button down to reset.

 

[Cobraguy]

why would that thing trip while just sitting there in the driveway??? Those things are still nothing more than a switch...maybe it decided it was time to die, eh?

 

[erikm]

can i bypass it, at least for now? how about a fuel pump test terminal like the older fords had? hate to be a bother but i have to go about 25 miles out in the country to try and get going for ex-wife and would like to take what i may need along with me. tried to google for a diagnosis for the problem without much success.

There is an inertia switch to shut off the fuel pump in case of an accident. It sounds like yours may have gotten tripped. It should be under the dash, in the passenger side footwell towards the center of the truck, right about the height of the carpet. When you find it, push the button down to reset.

 

[dogfriend]

You should be able to jumper across it to bypass. In my 99 manual it shows that there is a DG/YE (dark green w/ yellow stripe) wire coming from the Fuel Pump relay. You need to jumper that wire to a PK/BK (pink w/ black stripe) that goes to the Fuel Pump.

 

[gavin]

can you hear the fuel pump come on when the key is switched to "run"?

maybe it's just the fuel pump relay?

the fuel pump relay in my sister's truck decided died the other day, out of the blue, while I was trying to scan it for codes.

the intertia switch is easy enough, though. There should be a push-button on it to reset it. Atleast, that's the way it was on my Bronco2.

 

[dogfriend]

It's possible that its the Fuel Pump relay, but he said the Fuel Reset light was on in the IP. If the inertia switch is tripped, it makes a connection to the 3rd wire on the inertia switch to send the signal to the Fuel Reset light.

 

[gavin]

It's possible that its the Fuel Pump relay, but he said the Fuel Reset light was on in the IP. If the inertia switch is tripped, it makes a connection to the 3rd wire on the inertia switch to send the signal to the Fuel Reset light.

ahh.. guess I missed the part about the light... and I never knew there was one, either

 

[erikm]

ok....made it out to check the switch. it doesn't seem to be tripped, tried to push it down. there is a little red showing on the button. so i turn the ignition to "run", fuel reset light on, i hear the fuel pump so i crank and it starts right up. tried it several times with only one failure, it started and died like no fuel. other than that every time i tried it started and ran just fine.

 

[gavin]

the one failure you had... do you remember if you heard the fuel pump come on or not?

if the fuel pump relay is acting up, and if it didn't kick the fuel pump on, it would (generally) cause the truck to start up then die.

 

[erikm]

the one failure you had... do you remember if you heard the fuel pump come on or not?

if the fuel pump relay is acting up, and if it didn't kick the fuel pump on, it would (generally) cause the truck to start up then die.

no i didn't come on the time it died, and i forgot to mention a couple of times it cranked a long time before it started. but other than that it didn't act up at all. got me a little baffled at this point.

 

[gavin]

I would start by replacing the fuel pump relay.
cheap and easy place to start, anyway.

If that doesn't do it, listen for both the relay to click, and the fuel pump to come on. Possibly the intertia switch going bad, but I haven't seen one of those go bad myself, and so I'm not sure what the symptoms would be.

If you hear the relay click but don't hear the fuel pump run, then I would be looking at the wiring to the pump, or the pump itself (doubtful, but possible).

even if the intertia switch is tripped, I do believe the fuel pump relay will still click (someone correct me if I'm wrong... I thought that's how it was on my Bronco2 though, but it's been a while)

 

[dogfriend]

Yep, I'm thinking flaky relay or possibly flaky inertia switch. Here are the schematics that I have for a 99 Exp/Mounty:

 

[erikm]

well, i had the ex-wife replace the relay and charge the battery and she said it started....she wasn't paying attention if the "fuel reset" light came on or not. i guess if the relay doesn't do the trick(find out tomorrow when she comes to get the girls for christmas) do you know where to get an inertia switch? oreilly's doesn't sell it(at least my local one couldn't come up with it) i would settle for a used one to try and see if that takes care of it.

 

[gavin]

looks like it might a dealer-only item.

napaonline.com and partsamerica.com don't list one either.

although, rockauto.com lists it. $69!

fastpartsnetwork lists it for under $20?

 

[erikm]

thanks, i will check that out. it did start for her this morning....freaking crazy thing!!

looks like it might a dealer-only item.

napaonline.com and partsamerica.com don't list one either.

although, rockauto.com lists it. $69!

fastpartsnetwork lists it for under $20?