Explorer Won't Start, Fuel Problem?

[manaen]

I still go back to my original comment, check the fuel pressure before you move on. You have spark so make sure you have at least 35psi in the rail on a loopback system or 60psi on a returnless system.

 

[AlabamaExplorer]

An update for everyone following this thread. It was the fuel pump. Thanks to everyone for posting.

 

[manaen]

Excellent!! congrats on the fix

 

[jwrezz]

Not to hijack the thread, but this is close to, but not a problem I'm having. Truck was running great, just died all of a sudden. Cranked but no start. I immediately thought fuel pump as it it has over 150k on it. Got it towed home, and as I thought no fuel pump sound as I turned the key. Hoped it was something simple like a fuse, and I was right. But it is FAR from simple. It's the big fuse in the power distribution box. The one that according to my manual, is "PCM POWER". It's a 30amp and I had a spare so I put it in. Cranked, no start checked it and it was blown again. Any ideas any one?

 

[budwich]

I would start your own thread especially since the original post was fixed by a fuel pump replacement. As for ideas... yep you got a short... your problem will be "tough" as the fuse feeds a "ton" of circuits. Most likely approach would be to start unplugging things to get rid of the short. Use a meter to measure resistance as you unplug things. start maybe at the fuel pump relay.

 

[jwrezz]

Thanx, budwich. I see from my searches that you have some knowledge in this area. Here's my new thread:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217692

 

[vinny64a]

Fixed?

I have a similar issue with my 98 explorer. Thansk ...

 

[Jetsettingfire1]

Ok, Heres the deal. A lot of Fords are doing this, I own a 1994 Ford Ranger V6 4.0 XLT, not an explorer, but almost exactly the same components. Its doing the buggy start up as well. What I have to do to make it go, is tap the relay box under the hood, the relay clicks and the fuel pump engages. I can hear something else under the hood receiving juice at that point. Afterwords it starts up fine. Ive replaced the relays in not only my vehicle but my fathers as well. It works fine in his 1993 Ranger now, but I am still tinkering with it in my vehicle. I will try to buy a new relay tomorrow. If it works Im selling it.
So, try that out too, tap the relay box (not hard) but things in there should hopefully actuate the pump and everything else on that line.
Fords are a huge headache, all the small things break. Engines great, tranny is good, great suspension. But they went cheap everywhere else. Mazda is crap too. Company stocks are proving this. Thank god for the plastic Mustangs running around, or there would be Ford no more. My frustrations set in today. I will update the results. Hope that is some encintive to not begin digging under the hood just yet. And if your fuel is low, or near empty you should still get some turn over.

 

[jwrezz]

Funny thing, I brought it to a friend's shop and asked him to "keep it under a few hundred" ( I had some other things I wanted him to do any way). He's not confident in his fix, but all he did was remove the power dist box and look under, put it back on it's bracket to keep looking, but that was enough to jiggle what ever it was back into place. He drove around about 30mi just to see if it was ok. I took it into the woods today for it's maiden voyage since all the work I had done. I bounced it around pretty good, but every thing seems fine. So at least I know if it happens again, what may fix it! But yeah, just what you said, Jetsettingfire1

JR

 

[Jetsettingfire1]

Yup, sounds like this glitch has left many people wondering. Not to mention the cost some have spent trying to figure out what the problem actually is.
:thumbdwn:Ford for this one!

 

[jwrezz]

But this didn't happen to me until 12 years and 150,000 miles in. I mean it's not just ford that has stupid little stuff like this happen to their cars as they age. VW, subaru, GM, they all have tales of crazy little happenings, especially w/ the electrical systems.

 

[Cobraguy]

Bama...are you listening to Budwich? He is trying to get you where you need to be with this without a ton of extra work and expense.

 

[AlabamaExplorer]

Please see post 22 as this was fixed over 3 months ago.

 

[Cobraguy]

Oh well hell. Maybe if I would bother looking at ALL the posts, I could save myself some writing! Glad to see you got it fixed.

 

[Jetsettingfire1]

Cars in general, along with computers are terrible investments. As far as reliability is concerned.

 

[jwrezz]

Cars in general, along with computers are terrible investments. As far as reliability is concerned.

here here!

 

[vinny64a]

Thansk for information. First the crank sensor went and was replaced. I thought that fixed it, but no. Then after a few week of wondering if the truck would start, it died at a traffic light and would not start. After a tow to the shop, the found the fuel pump finally died. So $850 later, the truck is now starting each time and things look good. I do not want to put anymore money into this vehicle.

 

[WishfulMech]

In case your problem still exists the engine light is on either because your O2 sensor is broken or reading too much o2 in ur exhaust with is either too lean a mix going into ur engine or too rich but 7 out of 10 at least for me on old cars is ur exhaust manifold is loose and sucking in air messing with ur sensor just put ur game next too where the exhaust pipes connect to ur engine and feel for exhaust being pushed out.

Ps just in case **** gets hot quick and watch out for moving parts just in case u feel like keeping all ur fingers.

But ur problem sounds to me like either ur plugs are fouled your wires got a short or ur distributor cap might have a fault.

For plugs u have to pull them out and make sure they are clean and gapped. For wires look for a bulge where the wire could short and the cap look for marks from sparking. Good luck hopes this help.

 

[ma2kreis]

New to this, but this is my problem...

Hi there, I'm new to posting on this forum
(but certainly not new to gaining insight from it)

I have the same problem, my 1998 Ford Explorer (4.0L SOHC V6) cranks but wont start. I hear the fuel pump prime when ignition is on, we squirted some starter fluid into the intake and the engine coughed to life for like, a second, and died. I haven't pulled the plugs to see their condition, but my friend says the plug wire sparks upon startup, so I ruled out electric. I have even wiggled the Crankshaft Position Sensor, and it made some sort of electronic noise somewhere within the engine, couldn't tell where though. I have unplugged the inertia switch, and plugged it back in, disconnected the battery for a few minutes and reconnected....... Tomorrow I want disconnect the fuel line after the fuel filter and see if the fuel pump is priming the lines so I can rule that out, and also go out and buy a voltage meter and maybe a fuel pressure gauge to hook up to the Schrader Valve (is that the proper way to test fuel line pressure?) I sorry if any of this is vague, I am open to any and all advice. I can only so much as a 19 year old, highly motivated, slightly mechanically inclined kid with your standard set of wrenches and sockets can do.

And tomorrow I'll also pull some Relays and fuses and see if anything changes or if anything is blown. I would really like some help diagnosing this problem, the car was running just fine, starting up just fine, until one day, I parked it, got out for 15 minutes, got back in, and tried to start and it wasnt happening. I'm just totally frustrated because the car gave me no warnings/signs of this problem before it happened, so I'm wracking my brain trying to find out as to what would cause the car to just up and do this.

 

[drbenz]

As you have read from previous posts there are several things that can cause the engine not to start. You have the basics in mind already but remember that a lot of intermittent problems are caused be poor electrical connections. There is one relay for the pcm and another for the fuel pump and I have seen some issues with a relay working (as in you can hear it click) but the component still doesn't work due to either a defective relay or the pin connections under the relay that have loosened up. The pins most likely to be a problem are the ones that carry the heavy current load (thus the need for a relay in the first place). An inexpensive test light and a fuel pressure tester can go a long way to diagnosing most no starts.