One of my friends has a 2004 Freestar Van with the 4.2L, It will start sometimes and not others. He will let it set over night or a few hours and it will then start, outside temp does not seem to matter. He had it at a Ford dealer and it would start every time for them, they told him to bring it back when it was not starting - so he had it towed back and it started for them. He went ahead and replaced the fuel rail, injectors & fuel pump. Nothing has changed, seems to me to be a electrical issue, but checking connections & jiggling wires when it fails to start. Could there be a relay that is not working "randomly"? Any Ideas would be appreciated ! I know this is the truck forum, but you guy's have always been a wealth of info.

Thanks.

Paul

 

Try checking the fuel pump and injection relays should be in fuse block under the hood if I know ford well enough!! Also the ignition switchunder the drivers side dash could be another potential cause in my F 150 the two relays for the fuel system are both the same and there the 2 biggest relays in the underhood fuse box they're probably similar for you also depending on age and millage if it has CMP ignition Coil multiple plug like mine so you'll have one central coil pack with 6 towers and plug wires running to each cylinder then if it has over 60,000 miles on it its very possible this could do it usually mounted on top of a valve cover mine is on the passenger side one but mine just went out on 2 cylinders and I pretty well knew right away what it was!!! I would start with the ignition switch and go from there does it crank and won't start or it doesn't do anything when it acts up if it does nothing it could be either the starter or the ignition switch I would see if there's power to the crank and ignition wires when it acts up with a meter!! If its electrical and intermittent I'll be honest it won't be easy to figure out unless it acts up long enough to find the problem!!! hope this helps ya a little!!

 

Thought of something else if it doesn't crank at all there's usually a high current relay mounted to either the firewall or to one of the fenders!! It has 2 big posts for battery cables to attach to and one small post with a small 16 gauge or do wire that comes from the ignition switch so if it doesn'.t crank try taking the small wire off and test for 12 volts through this wire with key in and turned to crank position if you have voltage but the relay doesn't energize then the starter won't get power so check this first!! Ford actually does this to help save the ignition switch as its harder to get to than this relay the relay is also the cheaper part to replace!! Intermittent electrical issues in cars and trucks are almost always a sign of a bad switch or relay!! Relays are reknowned for this type of failure so like I said start with the easy and work your way in till you find it!! I had 2 relays on my moms old Volvo 740 GLE that both went out at the same time and in the exact same way your describing it took me over 6 months to find them working on the car almost every day after work because as soon as I started testing the relays would start working again!! So as a general rule if it has decent millage on it or it's around 10 years old or more its time to replace all switchs and relays having to do with engine management and control!! Again hope this helps!!!

 

Thanks for the info, carelecjosh1000 . I also think it is a relay, motor cranks but won't start, so it is either not getting spark or is not getting fuel. I am not well versed on the newer motors so did not know how to help him the best. But - FTE members are the best, thanks again, I'll have him start replacing relays one at a time and see what happens.

Paul

 

Yeah have him start with both fuel relays cause thats actually what was wrong with my moms car years ago both went bad at the same time I just did em on my 02 F150 and they where like 10 Bucks a piece from Rockauto.com I think!! Then go from there!! Also tell him next time it acts up look at the dash and see if the theft light is blinking really fast if so it could be the pats antitheft system either he has some sort of credit card or something else with a magnetic strip on it can actually cause the chip in the key to excite prematurly or the transponder ring around the ignition key lock cylinder could be getting weak so it not sending the correct single to the key witch in turn sends a different code back based on the code it receives!! Problems with the Pats system are very unlikely but it can happen especially if the van is really getting up there in age!! If you do get the fast blink pats is preventing fuel and spark from getting where they should if you can't find any credit cards or any other magnetic device within reasonable proximity to the key cylinder and that could be laying on the center console or passenger seat turn the key to off then turn to on and wait to see if the theft light goes out if it does then the antenna ring around the key cylinder is going bad and unfortunately it has to go to the dealer so they can reset the system otherwise pats won't recognize the new transponder ring!! Like I said its much more likely to be a bad relay or switch but check in to it anyway make sure it goes solid then off not to fast blink or thats were your issue is!!! Pats won't disable the starter it just lifts the ground from the fuel system relays so the engine won't start!!!