Intermitent hard starting, engine cranks.

[roadrat]

2001 Explorer Sport model 2door 4wd 4.0 v6. Last two months having this problem with starting. It is getting more frequent. Most of the time it will start normal at about 3 sec of cranking. But once in a while it will crank and crank. It will always eventually start, at least has so far. It seems like it isn't getting gas when it decides it doesn't want to start.

Intermittent problems are tough to fix. I was going to wait untill whatever it is quits completely but decided to try a google search on the problem tonight and found this forum.

Now I read about a lot of early 90's having a bad relay. Does the '01 have the same problem? Where is this relay located? I don't mind spending the 20 bucks or so to try it.

Everything else is fine. There are no engine codes. The vehicle has plenty of power, doesn't stall or heasitate. I don't think it's spark related. Even after a hard start episode, once it does finally start, in runs perfectly.

This is not temperature related or humidity related. Episodes happen cold, hot, dry, rain, or even snow. It was once a week but now is about every 6-10 starts.

Thank you for any help in this matter.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! It could be the fuel pump relay or the PCM relay. They are located under the hood.

 

[roadrat]

Thank you for your response. I boought a relay on the way home tonight. But (what seems to be a nagging problem with this vehicle), it turns out to be the wrong part. So I ended up switching the AC clutch relay with the feul pump relay (same Ford part #) and I'll see if the problem corrects itself.

The relay they sold me was larger and would work as starter relay or PCM relay so I will keep it as a spare rather than return it. Using Murphy's law, now that I have a spare, these relays will NEVER fail.

I don't know why alldata or whatever database these parts dealers use but they are always wrong with the Explorer sport.

Well I just noticed this is sport trac, not sport forum so I'll write in the proper place next time. Electrical and engine probably the same anyway.

 

[04trac]

just a suggestion, but try replacing the battery...i had what sounds like the exact same problem, but a fresh battery in and it vanished...

when it eventually starts do your guages pin themselves at zero for a bit then jump to wherever they should be and your trip odometer reset to "0.0" if so we had the same problem....either way, sounds the same as what i had

 

[roadrat]

Thanks for the reply. The odometer on this '01 is mechanical. If this happens again, I'll watch the guages. So far, since swaping relays, it has started each time, which is now about 12 straight.

About the battery, I had a '93 GMC Safari that would only start with a certain battery. The other two I had from a Corvette and a Tarus would only crank like the problem I had here. I never understood why since all batteries (I thought) were good. This did cross my mind but it would cause all the computer functions to reset and would have to re-learn if I swapped it.

I don't know if this is the original battery. If it is, maybe it's time.

 

[04trac]

i dunno how much it would have to re learn, mine was getting really bad, swapped it, running fine now, no "learning time" for the computer...

i dunno, i'd have the battery tested at the least