I have a '94 XLT that had intermittent starting problems last year. On an infrequent and random basis the engine would crank fine but doesn't catch. After wiggling the wires and tapping on the fuel tank it would start, but eventually I was told the fuel pump was failing. I knew it was 12 years old so I had it replaced and everything's OK for eight months, but now the same problem is occuring. When it's working, you can hear the whine of the fuel pump when the key is turned. When it's not, no whine so I don't think the fuel pump is getting power. Once the engine is running I've never had any problems, so I'm not sure it ever was a fuel pump problem. Sometimes it won't start, then after sitting for an hour it will. Any suggestions?
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Did you change the fule pump relay? My 94 XLT (with 180K) had a problem to start right after the engin was off for 10 to 20 minutes, when the engin was cool, it can start again and runs fine. I traced to the fule pump relay and bought one from AutoZoe for $6.00 and have not have any problems since.
My 95 Explorer would occasionally crank but not start. Occurred ONLY when engine was warm -- never on the first start of the day. After waiting anywhere from a few minutes to 2 hours, the engine would then start normally. Happened between once every few months and 2 - 3 times a week, and VERY intermittently. When I drove it to work and then it sat for several hours, it would always start. When I monitored the EEC-IV codes, it would always start, of course. Finally took it to a dealer I trust and left it for 2 days so they could try to repeat the problem. They finally got it to happen and determined that there was no fuel pump pressure when the engine was in this state. They replaced both the Fuel Pump Relay and the EEC Power Relay. After these replacements, they could no longer duplicate the problem. This was almost 4 weeks ago, and I have not experienced the problem. It could just be the odds, or the relays may have been intermittent. Since it is a cheap repair you can easily do yourself, replacing these two relays would be my recommendation as a starting point.
