Someone i am begging you to help me!!!

[waianaedawg]

PLEASE JUST TAKE A FEW MINUTES AND READ AND JUST TELL ME WHAT YOUR FIRST THOUGHTS WOULD BE...PLEASE!!!

I have a 2000 Ford Explorer V6 SOHC.

It ALWAYS started at first crank and drove great except when accelerating uphills, even low grade hills...it would jerk/shake a little. Other than that, it was completely fine.

I was driving it one day and the check engine light flashed and then stayed on. Maybe after 20 minutes after the check engine light flashed, it just quit on me on the highway. I had to have it towed back home.

It will crank over but it won't start. We replaced the coil pack and cleaned the IAC valve so far. The plugs were purchased a few months ago so they are pretty new and I figured I didn't need to replace them. Did NOT replace wires. It will start only when its sat overnight or for a few hours, but it will idle rough and you need to gas it HARD but once you let go gas it cuts out. If you can get it to start after cranking FOREVER, it will start for a few seconds and cut out.

Also, now the battery had DIED, maybe its because of the constant cranking? But maybe thats a sign for something else? I don't know.

I can hear the fuel pump prime when I turn the car to the ON position. We replaced the fuel filter but it didnt do anything. Supposedly the previous owner said the fuel pump was replaced in October 2010, dont know how much I believe her but thats just what she said.

Also, if there WERE any codes, it was erased because my husband un-hooked the battery terminal. So I don't think I can get any codes from it anymore.

I am a FEMALE and I dont know ANYTHING about cars except from what I have been reading online. Please someone help...in ENGLISH =)

 

[stk33069]

my first thought would be a fuel problem, how did the fuel filter look? dirty? clean?. did you check for any cranked vaccum lines, or ones that had fallen off. try cleaning your MAF with MAf cleaner, not sure if that will help but its only a few dollars for the can and could rule it out in the future. did the engine make any noise before this happened? how many miles does it have?

 

[lounge lizard]

could be a bad pressure regulator on the fuel rail for the injectors

 

[Tbars4]

...Get a code scanner and try to see if there are codes...Until then, you are just throwing time and money at it...

...We had another member from Hawaii go thru something similar(as well as other members)..He went thru everything to find out it was the new fuel pump that went bad...He actually had received 4 bad fuel pumps from Autozone in a couple months..

..A bad fuel pump will not turn on the check engine light..Finding the code and then the problem it represents is important and relatively easy with the vast amount of information to be found here..

 

[waianaedawg]

....

 

[waianaedawg]

my first thought would be a fuel problem, how did the fuel filter look? dirty? clean?. did you check for any cranked vaccum lines, or ones that had fallen off. try cleaning your MAF with MAf cleaner, not sure if that will help but its only a few dollars for the can and could rule it out in the future. did the engine make any noise before this happened? how many miles does it have?

Fuel filter was very dirty...husband said that rust and everything came out of it.
All vacuum lines look secure. Did not clean the MAF but I guess its worth cleaning anyway. Engine never made any weird noises at all and like I said ALWAYS started on FIRST crank. Ran perfectly except when going up hills at faster speeds, it would have that light shaking/jerking feeli

 

[waianaedawg]

could be a bad pressure regulator on the fuel rail for the injectors

....As for a bad pressure regulator on the fuel rail for the injectors...I'll read up and check to see if I have any of those symptoms. Like I said Explorer ran fine and started perfectly except for acceleration on hills. But I'll read into that...thanks!

 

[waianaedawg]

...Get a code scanner and try to see if there are codes...Until then, you are just throwing time and money at it...

...We had another member from Hawaii go thru something similar(as well as other members)..He went thru everything to find out it was the new fuel pump that went bad...He actually had received 4 bad fuel pumps from Autozone in a couple months..

..A bad fuel pump will not turn on the check engine light..Finding the code and then the problem it represents is important and relatively easy with the vast amount of information to be found here..

As for codes...like I said, I had someone come and try to read the codes but it flashed all kinds of things. He said its because my husband unhooked the battery which reset the computer and lost all codes. The codes that were flashing at him were these (but I dont think they will mean anything):
1. E- EGR Valve (exhaust Gas Recirculation Monitor)
2. EV- Evaporative System Monitor
3. Q- Oxygen Sensor Monitor
4. C- Catalyst Monitor

Thank you all for your quick reply! Its just that our Honda that we were using in the mean time...the heads blew =( I have two young children, another one due in a few months and I just wanna get our SUV fixed (without spending a ton of money that we dont have) so we can all fit and have a car again!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

 

[stk33069]

if there was that much dirt and rust in the fuel filter, my guess would be that that new fuel pump isnt to new anymore, lol its probably all blocked up causes low fuel pressure, which would cause the lack of power up hills, if you can try a test the fuel pressure.

 

[jrford]

Might be more than one thing wrong:

First sat overnight or for a few hours

This sounds like Vapor Lock in the fuel system. When hot the fuel vaporizes in the rail and it takes a long time to get liquid fuel back in there. And/Or after sitting for a long time the fuel drains back into the tank, and it has to pump it back up into the fuel rail. Either way it takes time clear it self; maybe hook up a fuel pressure meter and see what your getting, 60psi is good.

but it will idle rough and you need to gas it HARD but once you let go gas it cuts out.

Also, now the battery had DIED, maybe its because of the constant cranking? But maybe thats a sign for something else? I don't know.

These two issues sound related. What happens when the battery dies, the PCM forgets how to idle. It has to relearn the operating parameters before it can idle, normally. For me in this case once i got it to operating temps or 15min it was fine, until the battery died again. Leaving it on a charger overnight helped but a new battery (and alternator) fixed it.

Just some ideas. . .hopefully it helps.

 

[waianaedawg]

Its not fuel related...sprayed gas in it and it still doesn't start. Dropped tank and checked pump...all is good. Lots of pressure @ fuel rail. Lots of spark...what's wrong with my car?!

 

[2000StreetRod]

Compression?

The engine needs fuel, ignition and compression to run. You stated that you have good spark, and that the engine won't start with fuel sprayed into the intake manifold. I suggest that you check the compression. You probably won't obtain any useful diagnostic trouble codes unless the engine actually runs.

 

[RickOTR]

My guess is that one or more of the fuel injectors are clogged or partially clogged sense you had a lot of rust in the filter. You can have good fuel pressure but still have a bad fuel injector. I had a similar problem with mine until I replaced the injector. After that, It ran fine. There are tiny screens on the tips of the injectors and the only way to clean them is to remove them and have them bench cleaned or just replaced all together.

 

[waianaedawg]

Ill try see if they can do a compression test tomorrow. They gave up today already and decided to go diving! LOL

As for the injectors, if it was a fuel problem or a problem with the injectors...wouldn't spraying gas in the intake start the vehicle up??

 

[gmanpaint]

Spark, fuel, & air.

Check for strong spark?
How much PSI from the fuel rail?
Vacuum leaks?

Other things to look for not yet mentioned.
Blown intake gasket.
Cam position sensor.
Crank position Sensor.
Fuel pressure sensor.
Broken or frayed ignition wire.

 

[waianaedawg]

Spark from what they were saying was strong. I wasn't there when they did the tests but fuel pressure was said to be strong...I don't think they used a fuel pressure tester though. How do u check for vacuum leaks? That would be a compression test right?
Someone said crank sensor so we might try that....but I hate to keep buying parts and its not even what is needed :/

 

[gmanpaint]

The sensors can be checked for voltage to see if they are still good.

Have a read through this thread.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148433

 

[waianaedawg]

Thank u!! I was just looking for a way to test sensors without having to buy them...appreciate the link!

 

[waianaedawg]

Aww that thread doesnt have information on how to test sensors without having to buy them...is there a way though??

 

[cbrhino]

Sounds Like a fuel problem. Check and clean all the components including the MAF. The vehicle will do a lot of crazy stuff when the computer is receiving faulty information. The one thing that a lot of people forget in the fuel loop is the MAF. The only reason I say to check it is I have had to replace one in a car several times and it behaves different every time. Try unplugging it and see what happens, if it runs or does something different it is a good indicator it is faulty. You can buy a new one for about 130.00 or test it yourself try this post.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263750

I hope this helps and good luck.