Starting Problems
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Starting Problems
Hello Everyone! I have a 1994 3.0 aerostar with 270,000 miles on it. Recently it started having problems starting. When I drive to the store or other short trips, it sometimes fails to start up right away. It does this about one out of ten times. It eventually does but after several unsuccessful tries. When it does this I crank it briefly and wait a while before trying again. I leave the switch on so that the fuel pump continues to pump. To try and correct the problem I have changed the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor button. I also changed the fuel pump. I only used Motor craft parts.
What can the problem be? Thanks for any help.
What can the problem be? Thanks for any help.
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Joined: Jun 2011
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Hello Everyone! I have a 1994 3.0 aerostar with 270,000 miles on it. Recently it started having problems starting. When I drive to the store or other short trips, it sometimes fails to start up right away. It does this about one out of ten times. It eventually does but after several unsuccessful tries. When it does this I crank it briefly and wait a while before trying again. I leave the switch on so that the fuel pump continues to pump. To try and correct the problem I have changed the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor button. I also changed the fuel pump. I only used Motor craft parts.
What can the problem be? Thanks for any help.
What can the problem be? Thanks for any help.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 110
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Hello Everyone! I have a 1994 3.0 aerostar with 270,000 miles on it. Recently it started having problems starting. When I drive to the store or other short trips, it sometimes fails to start up right away. It does this about one out of ten times. It eventually does but after several unsuccessful tries. When it does this I crank it briefly and wait a while before trying again. I leave the switch on so that the fuel pump continues to pump. To try and correct the problem I have changed the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor button. I also changed the fuel pump. I only used Motor craft parts.
What can the problem be? Thanks for any help.
What can the problem be? Thanks for any help.
Get a can of starting fluid, give it a blast and if it then starts you probably have a fuel problem if not, then you probably have an ignition issue.
Once you have figured out if if is spark or fuel you can then start checking the correct system for faults.
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From: Washington state
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In response to Kmea99's question about how the van responds when it fails to start, it will turn over with no problems. When it does not start it does not sound like it is going to start. I will take Roger1960's suggestion and try the starting fluid when it fails to start again. I will report any new developments later.
Thanks for the timely and helpful responses.
Thanks for the timely and helpful responses.
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In response to Kmea99's question about how the van responds when it fails to start, it will turn over with no problems. When it does not start it does not sound like it is going to start. I will take Roger1960's suggestion and try the starting fluid when it fails to start again. I will report any new developments later.
Thanks for the timely and helpful responses.
Thanks for the timely and helpful responses.
An alternative to starting fluid would be to hook up an inductive timing light to tell if you have spark.
Thanks for giving an update, far too often we never know what happens.
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Well, so far my aerostar has started every time since my last post. I did get the starting fluid in case it does not start. I am leaning towards Kmega99's suggestion about the problem being a bad fuel pump. Is there some way I can test the fuel pump and not wait for it to completely fail, if this is the problem?
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Well, so far my aerostar has started every time since my last post. I did get the starting fluid in case it does not start. I am leaning towards Kmega99's suggestion about the problem being a bad fuel pump. Is there some way I can test the fuel pump and not wait for it to completely fail, if this is the problem?
YouTube - ‪Auto Repair: Voltage Drop Testing: A Powerful Electrical Testing Method‬‏
Here is multiple videos that walk you through the complete process.
Fuel Pump Videos
I would start with the electrical testing. Since your problem is intermittent, that is the most likely candidate. (Assuming it is a fuel problem rather than a spark problem.) Also the meter you need is something you probably already have, and if you don't have one, they are fairly in expensive, and come in real handy for many tasks.
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