explorer sat, won't start

[X94]

Hi! let me start by saying hello and thank you to everyone on this site for answering so many of my questions in the past on this forum.

I've done searches and can't seem to find the exact answers i'm looking for so i apologize if other threads have the answers i'm looking for. any links to those threads would be much appreciated

my last car was a 91 explorer which i had for a year and gave to my uncle when i moved from california to colorado over a year ago. i bought a 94 explorer about 6 months ago so this is my 2nd X



this new one ran better than my 91x ever did. but i couldn't drive it while going through the lengthy process of getting my license un-suspended. when i bought it, in the middle of winter, it started right up first try every time. and from time to time i would start it and listen to the radio for a few minutes because i was glad to have a car again. but then i stopped doing that because i wanted to have enough gas to look for a job when i got my license back, and the car sat for 2 or 3 months, sometimes covered in up to a foot of snow.

so then one day i went to start it and it just made a single click noise but didn't try to start at all so i was like "welp, battery's dead" and took it out a week later and my dad charged it on boost for an hour or two with his big car battery charger. he tested the liquid in each cell with one of those bubble gauge testers and swapped liquid between a few cells and the gauge said the battery was fully charged so i put it back in my explorer and it tried to start it but it just cranked and cranked without starting. so i tapped the gas peddle once and tried again and nothing.

i did a search online and they said the most common problems were old gas and bad battery connection. so we added a 1/4 tank worth of new gas (5 gallons) to the 1/4 tank of old gas and put in a little bit of fuel stabilizer to remove any water and a little bit of octane boost, and put new terminals on the battery cables and cleaned off all the corrosion. still nothing.

so then i read that the fuel filter could be the problem and we replaced that today. still didn't start. so we pulled out one of the spark plugs and i smelled it and it smelled like gas and was a little wet so i know it's getting gas, even if it also means that we flooded it a little. we put a bolt in the spark plug wire and held it 1/4 inch away from the plug and it arced so we knew we were getting electricity and gas to the spark plugs.

after reading online and talking to one of my uncles we decided we'd try some starting fluid in the air intake and it worked kinda. the engine ran on the starter fluid but didn't keep running. so we figured the fuel was too far gone and i spent several hours trying to siphon the gas. i eventually had to disconnect the filler hose and siphon directly out of the tank, and got about 7 gallons out of the tank and im pretty sure that was all there was. and then i put in 9 gallons of fresh gas with a splash of fuel injector cleaner, which i think smells like power bait but that could be because i had gasoline taste in my mouth. tried to start it, still nothing. so we tried to use some starting fluid again and it revved real high but only ran on the starting fluid, it wouldn't keep running on gas.

i tried starting it with the MAF sensor wire clip unplugged, still nothin.

every time i'd turn it over, my dad would hit the throttle a few times from his side watching the engine. could he have been flooding it every time? i've tried starting it without him when the car had sat for a day or two so i don't think flooding was the issue unless the car stays flooded. we ran the car a little with the starting fluid hoping that the old gas would evacuate the lines and it would get the fresh gas we just put in. but after about 2 or 3 weeks of us trying to get it to start and cranking it after trying different things, the cranking just now started the slow down the battery gauge is saying it's lower than before so we're guna recharge it again tomorrow.

the dip stick says the oil is full and the color of the oil is good. the previous owner kept up on the oil changes.

i don't understand what the problem is. the car was running great before it sat for a few months and now it just cranks and cranks but doesn't start. and if it runs with the starter fluid then that means the plugs should be fine right? the inertia switch isn't tripped. what could have happened to make it not start now? does anyone have any ideas?

jeez this was a long message. thankyou in advance to whoever replies. it's late. i'm running on fumes. and i'm not talking about the gasoline on my breath

 

[westfield]

For starters, your post is too long. Too painful to comprehend. Please re-write it and get to the point so we can understand your key issues. Oh...welcome.

 

[corkey]

if it keeps flooding than hold the gas pedal all the way down to the floor.

what that does in a fuel injected vehicle is stop the fuel from flowing in while allowing full air into the cylinders and effectively allowing all of the fuel in there to burn off .
after that it should clean itself out when it starts running again,

i would look at putting in new plugs also as they could be all be fouled or just some be fouled causing a rough start,,

when you turn on the key can you hear the fuel pump running ?

 

[Roadrunner777]

I think you are on the right track, x94. The first step is to ask what changed. Well, it sat there. It ran the battery down. The gas got old. Nothing brings bad gas back, so bad gas goes on the list of suspects. We add the symptom that the engine will run, abiet badly, on ether.

Corkey's advice is good. If you just have severe flooding, you might get past this with the given procedure. You need to be sure the fuel pump is running. If it is not, then there is a branch of troubleshooting in that direction. I am making a major assumption that it is running because you have wet plugs. If you do hear the fuel pump when you turn the key to on, then do this:

(and, I am sorry to give you a difficult suggestion right off the bat, maybe someone has something less drastic but here it is):

You have to get the old gas out, and get some good gas in. Until you do this, you risk making the problem worse by pumping bad gas through the system. So, syphon it out, get a little pump from the hardware store, whatever it takes, the poison must go. Put in some good gas, no additives, please, just nice fresh 89 octane.

Next, I would change the fuel filter.

Now, it might run, it might not. If it runs, and you are satisfied with it, then I would add some Techron or Seafoam, then top off the tank, and see how it goes. I would change the fuel filter again if performance drops or 3 months, whichever comes first.

If it still will not run, then you will have to do fuel pressure and delivery test. See the bottom of this post for the link. If you pass the pressure and delivery test, and it still will not run or runs poorly... well, frankly, I would come back here and ask for some more advice, but my feeling is this: If you get to this point, and it still isn't running well, then you have clogged injectors. They are not terribly difficult to replace.

If you fail the pressure and volume test, then you may have clogged back up your new filter, or you may have clogged the filter sock on the fuel pump, or the fuel pump is no good.

If you follow these instructions, it is important you do them in order, or the results will not lead you to a solution.

Good Luck

 

[X94]

i siphoned the gas tank and put new fuel in and put a new fuel filter on it so i think the problem is the old gas still in the line between the filter and the engine. is there something i can do to get that old fuel to go all the way back into the tank? or a way to just get it out of there somehow to allow that fresh gas to get in there instead? the starter is turning the engine but i don't think there's any type of combustion going on that would burn that old gas in the line.

i agree that changing the plugs is a good idea and may be why there doesn't seem to be any combustion. i'll try to change them as soon as possible. some of those plugs are in awkward spots. the plugs seem to be firing fine whenever it was running on the starting fluid but i guess some of them could still be gunked.

im not sure if i heard the fuel pump turning on. what does it sound like and where/how should i listen to hear it?

 

[X94]

you guys are awesome btw

waking up to 3 replies, only a few hours after i posted, was more exciting than christmas morning

 

[Jason94sport]

I highly doubt is gas related. Old gas? this isn't 1960. Test the coil pack with a volt meter, see if your getting spark or not. Test the fuel pump electrical connector & time to pull some relay's & see if something is burnt out.

 

[DR_APLET]

first you can clear the old gas out by disconnecting the fuel line from the engine, and turning the key to the on position. but make sure you can catch the fuel with something or you might not have to worry about it running it will be aflame. secondly i dont think its a flooding issue because it will run on starting fluid, which also indicates its not the plugs (if the fuel has enough cumbustion).

is the X parked on a hill by chance? if so it could be that fuel float is shutting off the fuel pump. theoretically the excess fuel should move back to the tank through the fuel return system.

the basic three is fuel, compression and ignition?

was their a check engine light on before you shut it down and store it? how long has it been sitting total un-driven?

 

[Roadrunner777]

I highly doubt is gas related. Old gas? this isn't 1960. Test the coil pack with a volt meter, see if your getting spark or not. Test the fuel pump electrical connector & time to pull some relay's & see if something is burnt out.

Yeah, it wasn't my favorite answer either. But, it runs, on starter fluid, so I'm thinking it is getting spark. The plugs are wet, so I'm thinking it is getting fuel. If the pressure is low, that could lead to dribbling injectors, and that could explain this stuff.

 

[X94]

wow i was way off when i said i bought it 6 months ago. i just found the bill of sale and i bought it january 3rd. but i remember finding the gas station receipt in the car when i bought it and noticing the gas was purchased a month and a half earlier. so that's why i thought it had a good chance of being old gas like so many websites suggested. but we parked the car behind my house on level ground the night we bought it, and it hasn't moved since. it ran for a few weeks after that so it hasn't been able to start for 2.5-3 months.

thanks for the suggestions jason. that's my name too. another jason driving a 94...coincidence? maybe... *locks front door* my dad should be getting home early today and he said he has a volt meter. we did notice that the fuel pump relay in the fuse box was clicking whenever we tried to start it, is that normal or does that mean it's bad? we took the cover off that one and it looked fine. but it did look like it was recently replaced or something, it doesn't look like the rest of them.

i don't remember if there was a check engine light before. right now there's a check engine light and of course a battery light because i need to recharge it again. and the oil light comes on while it's turning over.

 

[Roadrunner777]

Easy test for the relay: All the relays in the engine fuse box are the same, so you can swap them around. The relay should close while you are starting the car. After it starts, the relay opens and the computer takes over the fuel pump.

 

[llamaking122]

if you have spark and it runs on starting fluid then your problem lies in the fuel delivery system. First thing i would do it check to see if you are getting a Check engine light on when you trun the key one.
Second i would do is take the relay ( black box next to batter) and take the relay out of something else and put it where the fuel pump relay is.
When you turn the key have someone listen under the car for a *whine* for a couple seconds when you turn the key. if you hear it it would indicate that the fuel pump is working.

 

[X94]

i switched the relay for the fuel pump with the ac one. but when i went to start it, it wasn't cranking like it used to because the battery still needs to be recharged. im going to disconnect it and get it charged so we can work on it tomorrow.

it looks like the previous owner was doing something with the gas tank at some point. there's only one strap bar holding the gas tank up and someone put 2 bungee cords on there to help hold it a little. i wish i saw that before i bought it so i could have asked. some things are terribly rusted because the previous owner used the vehicle in Connecticut and Washington. thanks to this forum, i found out that the bushings are completely gone and that's why it makes a clunk noise when i hit the breaks. so maybe the fuel tank supports rusted away so badly that he decided to put some bungee cords
or maybe they dropped the tank at one point and had to do something with the fuel pump

from what you all say, it sounds like we're guna have to focus on the fuel pump and the injection system.

 

[X94]

ok i got the battery charged. looks like switching the relay alone didn't fix it. i swapped out the air filter too that i bought last week, not that it will make much of a difference.

"see if you are getting a Check engine light on when you trun the key one."
the check engine light comes on when i turn the key before trying to start it and comes back on after trying to start it.

ill have my pops try to listen in the gas tank with a funnel and under the car to see if he can hear a noise from the fuel pump.

is there anything that pictures or a youtube video would help? i can take a video of the car turning over or something if it would help at all. or a video of the noise from the fuel tank if im still not sure if it's the pump or not.

 

[BrianDye]

The fuel pump should be very obvious as long as theres not much going on...no need for the funnels or anything to hear it.

 

[X94]

ok we both stuck our head down there and we couldn't hear anything around the the gas tank when we turned the key. i guess we're guna have to buy a new fuel pump and drop the tank

 

[DR_APLET]

well start with the relay.

 

[Roadrunner777]

+10 start with the relay! If it's not the problem, throw it in the glove box. You may need it later to fix other problems, like an intermittent blower motor. Since all the relays are the same, it is a very useful spare and diagnostic tool.

 

[X94]

well we already tried switching the relays around but we'll probably buy a new one just to make sure. online it says they cost about $10. my dad thinks it might be the wire going to the fuel pump because it's just kinda dangling there. we're guna test the wires when we drop the tank and make sure the pump is really the culprit before we buy a new one

do u think my car will fail emissions if the tank is held up with bungee cords?

 

[Roadrunner777]

Dangling wires, bungee cords, you have to fix this anyway, so I'm on track with you. Not sure how you got wet plugs without a fuel pump, but that's ok. Get the fuel pump wiring figured out.