Hey All - was hoping to get some input on my Expedition. Drove it today, and stopped on way home to pick up some items to fix a plumbing leak at my house, and when I came out it would crank but wouldn't start/fire. So I came home, got some tools and went back to do some testing. Here's the testing I did and results. Not sure if it matters, but it has 217k miles on it and it was running fine when I shut it off.

1. Went to back cargo area and hit the reset button on the inertia switch to ensure that wasn't causing the issue. Tried starting after that and no change - would crank fine (cranks as fast as it normally does when it starts) and no firing.

2. Tried to open the fuel tank door and remove cap to listen for fuel pump running - did this several times and couldn't hear it turn on.

3. Popped open passenger kickpanel and located the dark green/yellow wire (one I found was in a plug up near top of the fuse box). I backprobed that wire with my multimeter - when key was turned to "ON" position, I'd see the multimeter jump up to 11.25-11.5 volts, and it would only stay there for maybe a second and drop down (I think it dropped to zero but not recalling).

4. Opened the hood, located the schrader valve on the fuel rail, and tried to bleed it off. I didn't have a fuel pressure gauge, but I would hit the valve inside and wouldn't hear anything bleeding off. I was expecting it to be like a tire where you push the middle "valve" and you would hear the pressure being released. Also tried holding the valve open while turning car to on and still heard nothing coming out.


So any ideas on what to check or conclusions as to what the issue might be? I'm probably towing it to my mechanic tomorrow as its near impossible to diagnose effectively in the middle of a parking lot, and based upon the fuel pump relay test and no pressure at schrader valve I'm 99.9% confident this is fuel related, and I'm leaning towards it being a fuel pump, but really need to get it somewhere that it can be diagnosed correctly (12 year old assistant in middle of busy parking lot isn't conducive to automotive diagnostics.)

Also, not sure it matters but earlier this week (Monday I think) when I got gas, I started it up and the first time it would try to run and be idling near 400-500 RPMs, then it stalled out. I turned it off and restarted the car and it ran perfectly fine until today.

Appreciate any insight or input you might have into the matter.

Thanks.

 

The fuel pump only receives power for 2 seconds after the key is turned on. So what you need to do is to bang the bottom of the fuel tank while a helper turns the key on. This will sometimes jog the fuel pump into starting and allow you to drive it home or to a shop instead of getting it towed.

 

Thanks that's a great tip and definitely useful if I ever find myself in a similar situation. As for the expedition, I was able to get it towed for free thanks to a buddy who has AAA membership.

 

Been there, done that....


Just don't bang that plastic tank too hard.

 

Just got the car back from the mechanic - new fuel pump, fuel filter blew out the lines (didn't think they were clogged but it wasn't going to hurt anything) and then put some fuel system cleaner into the tank.

Now it fires right up and seems to have a little more throttle response, although that could just be me overjoyed to have it running again. Of course the original fuel pump final gave up after 217k miles, so who am I to complain?

 

You might want to take a couple of voltage readings on the DG/YE wire and write them down. If the relay contacts get pitted the pump may start to get a degraded supply of power. There was someone on one of these forums that had a friend change their pump 3 times before finding a bad relay. An adequate fuel pressure gauge is available at Harbor Fright for $20. You can hook up a jumper wire directly from the battery to the DG/YE wire to test if the pump starts running which would indicate the relay is probably bad.

 

Great idea about the readings. I did them yesterday and saw 11.5 volts but I think my multimeter isn't fast enough and I never did a baseline test with a fuse and the ground point I used. Probably would be best to run a ground from negative terminal as that takes any potential ground loss out of equation. Still I tested voltage in the fuel pump relay output and saw 11.5 volts but then when I pushed schrader valve on fuel rail nothing came out, even if I held it open and cycled key off to on multiple times. Will keep an eye on relay but I also found a post somewhere on how to jumper past the relay in a pinch t get the car home. Still can't say I'm overly surprised to see the fuel pump go after 217k miles as my experience has been them lasting about 100k or slightly more.

 

I have a 2002 Excur and 2003 Exped, both have the fuel pump relay on the back of the fuse panel. Just finished rewiring the Excur and am working on the Exped. I added a new easily replaced 40A relay that is triggered by the OEM relay. If I measured right the OEM relay had 15A thru the contacts and now has .2A to trigger the new relay. Should help the OEM relay contact life. Also, 2 new switches: one to return the circuit to original and the other to supply 12v directly to the PK/BK fuel pump line for testing.

 

If you have checked all of the electrical and results point that they are operating as designed.
>You will find in the driver rear fender well there is a fuel pump driver module

These control the pressure from the pump; IE: Ford fuel pumps run full pressure all the time. The earlier Expeditions had limited issues compared to the F150's but pull it off, you will see that likely it is destroyed from corrosion.

 

Here is the Amazon link to the Dorman part:
I would go OEM but you can almost buy 3 of them at this price for the Ford price.

https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-590-00...ype=automotive

 

I do not think our 2002 Excur or 2003 Exped has this module.
The wiring diagrams show a direct wire from the inertia switch to the fuel pump.
I think this module was first used in 2005 models.

 

I agree that was on third gen starting 2005 and I think Ford quit using them in 2006, but definitely don't have on on my 2004.

 

Copy that, did you figure it out