1999 Ford Explorer problems - help? Fixed..not fixed..

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

koda2000...what does the engine running *lean* mean?

 

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

The inertia switch trips if your car gets bumped hard or in a accident. This is a safety device. When tripped it turns off power to the fuel pump, however it does not reset itself automatically, you must reset it manually. It's like a circuit breaker in your home. One thing to look at is the electrical connector plug to the inertia switch. We've seen them get dirty/burnt and not allow power to flow through them even when the switch is not tripped. Similarly the fuel pump relay in the Power Distribution Box can have a poor connection due to corroded or loose terminals where it plugs in. If your truck doesn't start you can try wiggling the relay and the plug at the inertia switch to see of doing either makes a difference. You don't need to buy a new relay to see if replacing it would make any difference. You can just swap the fuel pump relay with a non-vital one (like your A/C relay). As long as the relay you select looks the same (same number of pins) as the fuel pump relay it's the same. With the FP relay removed, take a good flashlight and look into were the relay's pin plug in. If anything looks burnt or green from corrosion you likely have a bad connection.

Lastly, do you live in an area where mice. rats or squirrels have been known to chew on automotive electrical wires? If so and you see turds on top of your engine, you may have chewed wires. Visual inspect your wires to see if any appear to have been chewed. This includes the wires running under the truck back to to the fuel tank.

 

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

The inertia switch trips if your car gets bumped hard or in a accident. This is a safety device. When tripped it turns off power to the fuel pump, however it does not reset itself automatically, you must reset it manually. It's like a circuit breaker in your home. One thing to look at is the electrical connector plug to the inertia switch. We've seen them get dirty/burnt and not allow power to flow through them even when the switch is not tripped. Similarly the fuel pump relay in the Power Distribution Box can have a poor connection due to corroded or loose terminals where it plugs in. If your truck doesn't start you can try wiggling the relay and the plug at the inertia switch to see of doing either makes a difference. You don't need to buy a new relay to see if replacing it would make any difference. You can just swap the fuel pump relay with a non-vital one (like your A/C relay). As long as the relay you select looks the same (same number of pins) as the fuel pump relay it's the same. With the FP relay removed, take a good flashlight and look into were the relay's pin plug in. If anything looks burnt or green from corrosion you likely have a bad connection.

Lastly, do you live in an area where mice. rats or squirrels have been known to chew on automotive electrical wires? If so and you see turds on top of your engine, you may have chewed wires. Visual inspect your wires to see if any appear to have been chewed. This includes the wires running under the truck back to to the fuel tank.

 

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

koda2000..no wildlife and already bought relay so mechanic will replace it. I feel kinda nervous now cuz you previously asked about the fuel pump brand. A family friend bought the filter and relay. He would DEFINITELY get the cheapest he could find. The 1 he got was $14.99. I was shocked at the price, obviously, a fuel pump wouldn't last as long or be as good, but would that affect a filter at all? Scared now.

 

[koda2000]

@Notmechanicallyinclined - Personally I try not to drive my '01 Expl with less than qtr tank, but my daughter regularly (like weekly) drives her '00 Mountaineer way under qtr tank and it hasn't seemed to hurt it any. Seems like every time I get in her Mountaineer the LOW FUEL warning is on. IDK what your truck's issue is. A decent fuel pump should last around 200,000 miles. Our '97 Expl Sport had over 267,000 on it's original, dated fuel pump and it still hadn't failed when I changed it (just because). For what it's worth I use Bosch fuel pumps exclusively, and they've never given me a problem.

As far as your mechanic being great at diagnosing a problem but being a crappy mechanic, sure it's possible that's true. Diagnosis is important, but the repair execution is everything. I really don't know what else to tell you. It's also possible your problem may not be fuel related at all. I had one Expl that would crank no-start maybe once or twice a year. I eventually tracked it down to be a bad connection/wire to the crank position sensor, which caused a no spark condition. On the rare occasion it didn't start I'd just wiggle the crank position sensor's connector and it would start right up and be fine for another 1/2 year.

Old vehicles are just not very reliable and electrical problems are often the culprit. Diagnosis of an electrical problem can very extremely expensive because it's 99.8% labor to ID the issue and then .2% to actually fix the problem once its identified.

 

[410Fortune]

have had similar experiences with the crank sensor, wiggle wiggle fires up?!?!?!? Same thing with the new crank sensor, all wiring looks good and checks out, pins are clean. Unplug it and plug it back in about 10 times...wiggle it and the truck starts runs until it happens again

Also fuel pump relays getting hot causing intermittent fuel issues can be common on these trucks

I had the catalyst inside of a cat converter come loose and when going up hills it would move to the rear of the cat and cause huge loss of power, truck would buck and surge then catalyst would move and allow flow, run fine again....

Had a loose battery in a van that would move /bounce and short out the + post on the metal chassis causing whole van to shut down for a split second...that was a fun one to sort out

I mean some stuff an be hard to pinpoint
diagnosis is an artform
@koda2000 has you covered here

 

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

@Notmechanicallyinclined - Personally I try not to drive my '01 Expl with less than qtr tank, but my daughter regularly (like weekly) drives her '00 Mountaineer way under qtr tank and it hasn't seemed to hurt it any. Seems like every time I get in her Mountaineer the LOW FUEL warning is on. IDK what your truck's issue is. A decent fuel pump should last around 200,000 miles. Our '97 Expl Sport had over 267,000 on it's original, dated fuel pump and it still hadn't failed when I changed it (just because). For what it's worth I use Bosch fuel pumps exclusively, and they've never given me a problem.

As far as your mechanic being great at diagnosing a problem but being a crappy mechanic, sure it's possible that's true. Diagnosis is important, but the repair execution is everything. I really don't know what else to tell you. It's also possible your problem may not be fuel related at all. I had one Expl that would crank no-start maybe once or twice a year. I eventually tracked it down to be a bad connection/wire to the crank position sensor, which caused a no spark condition. On the rare occasion it didn't start I'd just wiggle the crank position sensor's connector and it would start right up and be fine for another 1/2 year.

Old vehicles are just not very reliable and electrical problems are often the culprit. Diagnosis of an electrical problem can very extremely expensive because it's 99.8% labor to ID the issue and then .2% to actually fix the problem once its identified.

 

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

@koda2000 ... FUEL PUMP.
God, I wanted it to be something simple...and cheap this time. Ugh. $400 and they're gonna keep it til Monday cuz I can't even come up with the cash til then plus my ride didn't wanna go back a few hrs later to see if it'd start like it has been. I'm outta AAA tows, so...all of you's were right, my kid was right, actually, I was right, cuz that's what I initially said but I tried so HARD to try and find something ELSE for it to be. I SWEAR..the past 5+ years have just beat the life outta me. Thanx you guys for all the input. I've learned alot from reading your posts. You guys are too smart !!

 

[rasouth]

I know this may be a long shot, but... Have you checked the ground cable? If the connection on your battery and chassis are dirty and corroded you may not be getting a strong enough spark at your plugs.

 

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

I know this may be a long shot, but... Have you checked the ground cable? If the connection on your battery and chassis are dirty and corroded you may not be getting a strong enough spark at your plugs.

 

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

It was fuel pump again. Mechanics have my car til I can pay on Monday. So upset. I hoped it was something simple this time. 4th stinkin fuel pump. A friend reminded me that once i didn't pay cuz the pump was still under warranty..i don't remember but i guess. All those pumps came from auto zone. Ugh.. @rasouth

 

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

have had similar experiences with the crank sensor, wiggle wiggle fires up?!?!?!? Same thing with the new crank sensor, all wiring looks good and checks out, pins are clean. Unplug it and plug it back in about 10 times...wiggle it and the truck starts runs until it happens again

Also fuel pump relays getting hot causing intermittent fuel issues can be common on these trucks

I had the catalyst inside of a cat converter come loose and when going up hills it would move to the rear of the cat and cause huge loss of power, truck would buck and surge then catalyst would move and allow flow, run fine again....

Had a loose battery in a van that would move /bounce and short out the + post on the metal chassis causing whole van to shut down for a split second...that was a fun one to sort out

I mean some stuff an be hard to pinpoint
diagnosis is an artform
@koda2000 has you covered here

 

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

@410Fortune , it wouldn't throw a code til mechanics couldn't start it again. 4th fuel pump. Hundreds and hundreds. ALL previous from AutoZone. I haven't asked at this place. Too depressed and too stuck.

 

[BruceExploder]

Battery cables where doing this to me before

 

[Notmechanicallyinclined]

Welcome to Explorerforum

is the fan belt still in place on the front of the engine? Any lights on in the dash?

It almost sounds like you lost a serpentine belt or there is an issue with the belt tensioner
To lose power steering while still running usually is a belt issue. If the belt is loose or missing it will cause overheating once off the highway, it will also cause the alternator to stop charging the battery and you SHOULD get some warning lights on your dash.

I haven't been here in a bit and so I'm kinda lost at finding my way around. I just now noticed I replied to your comment in the wrong place so I'm not sure you saw it. It's an old conversation but I just wanted to say thank you and that you were absolutely right. It was a belt. I appreciate your help.