My 1995 F-150 (4.9L straight six) has a starting problem. After sitting for about 8 hours or more, the starter always cranks strong, but the engine may not start, or take many cranks to start. The problem is almost exactly as described in Ford F-150 Intermittent Crank, No Start. I replaced the Idle Air Control valve as describe in the service bulletin described in the article, but that didn't help.

• After it starts, it runs great, and never stalls.
• If the engine is even a little warm, it always starts right up.
• The longer the engine sits, the harder it is to start unless it's outside in the sun (or so it seems based on recent experience). Sometimes it won't start until the outside air heats up and the dew lifts, so I'm wondering if humidity is the problem. Maybe a hairline crack in the distributor cap? As the air cools and humidity decreases here in Florida in the coming months, it will be interesting if that has any effect. (Hopefully the problem will be solved before then!)
• I haven't tried parking it overnight with the front of the vehicle downhill, but today at work I left it in the sun 8 hours, instead of the parking garage, and it started right up.
• I've had the Ford dealer check it out for several days, but they were unable to reproduce the problem. They said they couldn't get an ECM error code and nothing else they could do.
• When it's having difficulty starting, I turn the key on/off several times, but that doesn't help. I'll turn the key accessories on for a few moments, before trying to start, to let the electronic fuel pump (new fuel pump) prime the system, but that doesn't help. I get the same problem with both fuel tanks.

Any clues are appreciated.

 

Check the fuel pressure and check for spark when the problem occurs. It appears to be reproducible, should be easy to figure out if you are missing fuel or spark. Lord knows we have enough hot air in this country to support combustion.

 

Thank you rla2005:

I like your idea of checking the spark and I'll try that.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, but I remember years ago checking the coil by just unplugging it from the distributor, laying it aside near a ground, and having someone turn the key on and off real fast. If I saw an arc, I thought the coil was working. I'll look at my F-150 repair manual and do right next time it won't start at home.

When I have problems like this, I always tell myself it's simply either not getting gas or electricity, and take it from there. I"m leaning toward a non-fuel issue, since the rear fuel pump is new, and I try to use that one when starting. However, it almost seems like it it's losing its fuel prime after sitting a long time, so I can't rule out a fuel issue either. I keep meaning to park backwards downhill in my driveway to see if gravity is contributing to that!

Thanks again. I'll let you know how it works out.

 

I checked the ignition coil and ignition module (tested at Advance) and they were good. I was out of time and patience checking it myself, and I'm up against a wall as far as automotive electronics. A local AAA certified and ASE mechanic determined I needed a new distributor and pickup for $378 parts + labor. It now starts and runs great.

 

Glad to hear you got it resolved. Thanks for replying back!

 

You're welcome rla2005:

I figure this forum is most useful when we post our solutions as well as our problems, and it's just good karma. I wish I could have provided a detailed description of how the culprit was determined.