1992 Aerostar with 163,000 miles. Was fine until a couple months ago. Now it won't start cold without a shot of starting fluid. Once running it will restart fine. After the starting it with the starting fluid it throws a check engine light that goes off after a half mile or so, but while engine light is on it lack power and will bog if you step on it.

Shop checked temp sensor okay so concluded the computer should know to give it extra shot of fuel on cold start. But there also are a couple air temp sensors per Chiltons.

I took the ignition module to have it tested. They ran the test 3 times and it came up good every time.

Shop is thinking it may be the fuel pump, but that was replaced some time ago (see below) and why would it run at all if it's the fuel pump.

Car has been run all of 600 miles in last two years and often sits for weeks. It always had a come and go rough idle problem. I just ran it on two 15 mile runs, it sat for 8 hours yesterday and started right up, but next morning needed starting fluid (was 60 F when I tried starting it).

Just can't figure out why it would only not start after an overnight cold soak.

Stuff that has been replaced include:

2000 miles ago: fuel filter, new battery.

18,000 miles ago:

-Rebuilt distributor
-Cap, Rotor, plugs, wires
-Fuel filter
-New ignition cylinder in steering column
-Newer coil
-New idle air control valve

35,000 miles ago: New ignition module

44,000 miles ago: New Motorcraft fuel pump

~60,000 miles ago: New oxygen sensor

 

I remember this behavior from my 6cyl. 2.8L Fiero. The TFI-IV ignition control Module could be weak from age or off low aftermarket quality.
For FORD:

Next time your Aero* does not start, open the Doghouse unplug the Connector to the Modul, then unmount the Module from Distributor. Put it all back together and try to fire up the engine. If it starts, the Module is bad or weak and will intermediately fail next time again. The solution for me on my Fiero was a new quality Ignition control Modul, alot off dielectric Grease and a tight installation. Does not know if it works for 92' Aeros too but maybe worth a try.

97' XLT RWD 120700miles, oil-leaks solved..

 

Thanks Waterbear. By '92 Ford had moved the ignition module to the inner fender. I can remove it in half a minute as it has one screw to remove the heat sink and take it with the heat sink out. Had it tested while it sat in the heat sink. The store tested the module three times and it was fine then Van still would not start cold. Well maybe greasing up the interface between the heat sink and the module would be a good idea too.

 

warm in the parts store. TFI heated up to normal temp.

heat it with heat gun when the engine won't start. if starts, temperature intermittent TFI. NOT one of Ford's better ideas, they self destruct too often. Half my family has had to walk because of a TFI gone bad. We started carrying spares in the rigs.

run a code test, many do not set the CEL
http://oldfuelinjection.com/?p=13

has to be a fuel enrichment problem at cold temps, how cold is Redford now in AM?
ECT and IAT (ACT) are the primary culprits in this problem and not a good test for an intermittent one.
one other possibility is low fuel pressure at cold crank. remember cold crank voltage drops, fuel pumps turns slowly, low psi.
measure the fuel pressure at the fitting on the fuel rail.
4.0L it's about 1/2>3/4 way back on passenger side fuel rail, looks like a tire pressure fitting.
Autozone rents out FP testers for free, make sure it has the correct fitting, they disappear out of the cases.

Starter fluid does nothing in an insufficient ign. spark vol. issue

cold start strategy in a Ford EECIV ECM is a pretty dumb simple algorithm

http://oldfuelinjection.com/?p=64
Start / Crank
This is the start (I know, bad joke). The EEC needs to senses several things to start an engine:
* Power to EEC and fuel pump(s)
* Slow and irregular PIP signal from the distributor
* MAF/MAP low and irregular
* TPS is closed
* HEGO shows lean

These tell the EEC that you have just checked the dash, want the engine to start, and have turned the key. Even though you�ve heard the fuel pumps whirr, the injectors haven�t released any fuel until it senses engine rotation. Even when the engine does turn over EEC hesitates almost a full second to begin fuel and spark; this is to support oil lubrication. ECT and ACT determine the amount of fuel; the colder it is the more fuel it dumps in. The Idle Air Bypass is opened 100% to allow for operator error free starting. Spark control is taken over by the TFI, as long as you hold the key in the start position. What if things go bad, your ignition system could not light the engine, and it become flooded? Press the accelerator to the floor while starting, the full open TPS reading will tell the EEC to cut the injectors back to almost nothing. When you decide the fuel has been flushed out release the pedal and the EEC will fire the injectors and the engine fires up. Once the key springs into run, timing is determined by ECT and ACT, the PIP steadies out, the MAF/MAP builds, and the system bumps into the next strategy.

 

3.0 V6, but if ignition module is not working cold, why will it start with starting fluid and then a few minutes later it will restart. Still, worth a shot. If only I still had the 4.9L F150, same ignition module and could switch out and try. Doubt the Ranger 4 banger is same.

 

exactly, i had to change my collected modules in an alternating sequence. everytime one has failed to start the engine after cooling down from a longer drivecycle, the next one did but only until it had cooled down itself and wouldn't start again. From my experience the better ICMs i had were simply to detach from and reattach right away back to the heatsink to get the engine start (incl. connector unplug - plug). The weaker ICMs needed some time to recover (in the glove box).

 

I'm leaning toward low fuel pressure when cold. Check the pressure when cold: Install the pressure gauge onto the Schrader valve on the fuel rail, turn the key to the ON position to let the pump run for a couple of seconds, and read the pressure. It should be close to 40 psi. If not, turn key off and on again, and see if the pressure eventually builds up. If so, the pump is weak. If the pressure never builds up, the regulator is leaking.

I relocated my the TFI module in my Mustang from the distributor to a fender area. I did this as a safety measure, as the original one was still working.

 

Shop just called me, said it was the Mass Air Sensor and the replaced it and it is working fine. I told them to try starting it the next couple mornings to be sure then I'll pick it up.

 

Glad to hear you got it fixed! Hope your Aero will awake now

 

Well it wasn't the mass air sensor after all. Wouldn't start the next morning. So I had him return it because I wasn't going to pay for a part I don't need. Finally got it fixed though. It was the Engine Control Module and that was $119.00 at O'Reillys. Started up fine the last two mornings. I got over 6 weeks of free storage out of the deal anyay because we don't drive it and I have 6 vehicles at my house including the Aerostar.

 

I didn't see that coming.

 

Yeah, the shop said it was getting hard to start even once it had been run. Anyway, i am happy, am getting a set of "virgin" tires (take offs as i always called them) for $220 out the door. So it will be in good shape when I give it to this needy person.

 

So replacement ECM was installed on July 25. On August 21 the starter died. Then on August 28 the ECM died. Am getting another ECM on warranty. I hope this is not a case of where the ECM is going to keep dying every few hundred miles.

 

Sounds like a fuel pump problem to me. Rule out the TFI. TFIs on remote locations do not fail very often at all. Owned a '92 Aerostar for years. Never had to replace the TFI. ECMs rarely fail either. Who is doing your diagnostics? Replace a part, problem comes back, the part you replaces was obviously not the source of the problem, so replacing it again is not going to fix it.

The fuel pump I think belongs near the top of your suspect list. But first off, you said that the CEL comes on when this low power condition occurs. What codes is it storing. Pull those codes and see whats going on.

Most aftermarket fuel pumps do not meet the original OE requirements, are not designed to withstand ethanol in the fuel, and CAUSE all sorts of intermittent, and frequently hard to diagnose issues.

Hook up a fuel pressure gauge, and see what the pressure is doing at startup, and when this low power condition is taking place. My bet is the pressure is falling.

 

Fuel pump works, fuel pressure good, TFI (is that the ignition module, yes is fender mounted, and replaced 40,000 miles ago) was tested and good.

Use of a spare ECM the shop has resulted in the van starting every time, so appears that the ECM was bad. Not to say something else isn't making it bad.

CEL came on when I used throttle body cleaner in leiu of starting fluid, think it just messed with the sensors, as the CEL turned off after half mile driving. With real starting fluid it did not turn on CEL. Shop tried to pull codes; there were none.

Fuel pump was replaced about 40,000 miles ago and is a Motorcraft. That was after the shop went through two defective Carter fuel pumps in a row and wanted to make sure I didn't come back again.

I will add that some time before the first ECM failure (and I don't know the time frame, but not immediately before) the Aerostar was used to jump another car and the idiot put the cables backward on the dead car so that is supposed to be bad for the ECM, but I'd have noted that if it was no start right after that. I think there was a few months between though only a couple hundred miles.

Either the jumper cable incident messed up something else that now is messign with the ECMs or the replacement ECM was defective. I understand the OEM ECMs did not last that long, but would typically have issues after 10 years and so many miles.