Hello everyone, In need of assistance. My wife's 1999 Expedition(Eddie Bauer) has developed an issue with starting. Details: 5.4 Triton, 207,000 miles. This past year replaced starter, battery, and fuel filter. What it is doing, It will turn over fine but not start. Cycle the key 3-5 times then it starts right up. With all electrics accessories off when cycling ignition you can hear the fuel pump run. I pulled fuel pump relay and cleaned all connections. Need ideas figuring this one out. Thanks

 

A fuel pressure gauge will tell the details, but you're likely looking at new fuel pump time.

 

How long since the spark plugs were last changed?

 

Called my local FORD dealer and their mechanic said the fuel pumps either fail or work fine no in between.

 

That must have been the new guy with no experience. It's very common for an old fuel pump to fail to start reliably due to a worn commutator. Sometimes it runs, sometimes it doesn't. Once it starts, it *usually* keeps running during that operational cycle.

Anyway, you NEED to use a pressure gauge to see what's going on in your fuel system. It's taking multiple priming cycles to build up sufficient pressure to run the motor.

 

Not true, I just went through this for over a year and finally decided to replace the FP. Your Ford mechanic is wrong.


Exactly what he said

 

The scary part is they called him a mechanic even though he has no clue.

 

How are your other electrical accessories? I ask because there were problems on the central junction box (fuse panel) on the Expeditions and Navigators and engine stopping not starting was one indicator. I had mines replaced on a just bought 03 Navi but it was affecting the air suspension, power locks and other accessories.

 

I gave in and went to a trusted shade tree mechanic and let him look. Long story short, she has a new fuel pump and starts like she should have. Thanx for everyone's input.

 

So the people here and the shade tree mechanic better diagnosed the problem than the dealer's "mechanic." Now that's sad.

 

Now you know why I decided 20 years ago to become independent of dealer service departments as much as I could. Except for warranty or recall work, none of my vehicles has been to a dealer for about that long.

 

Same here, as I too had a couple of shall we say, less than satisfying experiences at a dealer or other service station. Of course all of the labor charges I've saved over the years and the tools I've accumulated instead, is nothing to sneeze at.