Hi everyone,

My dad and I recently pulled our '89 Aerostar out of the weeds where it has been sitting for about 10 years, and have been working on cleaning it up and getting it started. The vehicle itself is in great condition, some rust on the rocker panels, but that's about it. The problem is that it cranks, but won't start.

According to my dad, the van ran before he left it on the side of our driveway, the issue then was that it wouldn't throttle up at all, only idled. I've done some general searching, and from what I've found, I think it's a fuel issue. We tried using some starter fluid, which the engine runs on briefly, but it dies after a few seconds so my thought is that fuel isn't getting to the cylinders. If it is running off of starter fluid, am I correct in assuming the issue isn't related to the ignition system?

I did some troubleshooting, and can hear the fuel pump running for a few seconds when I turn the key on and while I'm cranking the engine. My dad has also held down the fuel pressure valve with a screwdriver on the fuel rail while I crank the engine, and fuel does come out. I wondered if it might be the fuel filter not letting enough pressure through, so I checked the fuel filter in case it was clogged by blowing through it, but it seemed to be fine. I also checked the fuel pressure regulator for ruptures or leaks, and there was no fuel in the vacuum line or the top of the regulator, everything was dry.

At this point I decided to check the EEC-IV unit, as I had found out you could access the trouble codes by jumping two of the connectors under the hood and reading out the codes from the check engine light (I found this PDF helpful, if anyone else is interested). Here were the codes:

23 - Throttle Position Sensor out of range
54 - Air charge temp. sensor too high
63 - TPS signal too low
87 - Fuel pump relay/circuit fault
95 - Fuel pump: open circuit, bad ground, or always on

I did more searching online and found out that if the TPS is bad, then it could prevent the injectors from firing, which made sense to me since everything else seemed fine. I ordered a new one, installed it a few days later, and same result: engine cranks, no start. I checked the engine codes again, and it read back system ok (11), except it's still not starting, so something's not technically ok .

Any suggestions/advice would be very helpful; this is my first vehicle-related project, so I'm doing my best to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can (my dad has all the experience). Also, if I'm missing something and there is already an open/solved thread related to this problem, I would appreciate it if someone could point me towards it. Thanks!

 

I think you are still having fuel problems. With the car sitting for so long, I wonder if the fuel injectors have frozen shut. Or if the fuel lines are clogged with old gasoline deposits.

First see if the fuel pump is running. It's supposed to run for a couple of seconds each time you turn the key on. Sometimes you can hear it running, and its relay that clicks on and off. You can check the fuel rail for pressure by pushing on the little pin in the middle of the schrader valve on the front-passenger side of the middle plate of the intake manifold. You can turn the key on/off a couple of times, or after an attempt at starting the engine. If there is residual pressure in the rail (fuel squirts out when you push in the valve), then the pump is working, and the problem is in your injectors. If not, then the problem could be the pump, its relay, or the fuel filter could be clogged.

 

I can hear the fuel pump running for a few seconds when I turn the key on, as you said. My dad has checked for fuel rail pressure while I'm cranking the engine, and fuel does squirt out. However, I'm not sure about residual pressure, since when checking the pressure after cranking the engine, nothing comes out.

That would seem to make the most sense, is there a way to test this? I have heard of using a screwdriver against the base of the injector to listen for the "click click click" of the injector activating, does that work and would you recommend I try it?

Thanks for your tips!

 

Yes, you can use a screwdriver or a mechanic's stethoscope to listen for the ticking. If they opened at all, I would try shooting carb cleaner directly into the fuel rail while cranking the engine. I used the schrader valve with a push-top from a can of fix-a-flat, but put it on a can of spray carb cleaner. Disable the fuel pump by disconnecting the relay. Pull the core out of the schrader valve and screw the valve of the spray tube onto it, and push the button on top of the cleaner can to pressurize the fuel rail. Then crank the engine. If the injectors opened at all, the cleaner should eventually dissolve deposits around the orifice and pintle.

But my feeling is that you can not fix these injectors without actually pulling them. That would require you to pull the upper intake manifold. That sounds daunting, but it's really not that bad to do. You would soak the squirting end in carb or fuel injector cleaner. You can rig up some jumper wires from a 12v battery to the terminals of the injectors to try to activate them. Again, if you can get them to open at all, you can shoot cleaner into the injectors using the straw that usually comes with the can.

 

Thanks for your advice, I'll take a listen and see if anything's happening. Based on what you've said, I'm leaning towards pulling the injectors to give them a good cleaning; I'm planning on making this my daily driver so I may as well clean them fully now. I'll post back within the next day or two if anything interesting happens.

 

87 - Fuel pump relay/circuit fault
95 - Fuel pump: open circuit, bad ground, or always on

You have a bad fuel pump or the fuel pump relay is bad. The second code really points to the pump itself. The system tests the pump with a biased circuit. If the relay is bad, it can cause the same code. A new relay would be the place to start. They are cheap.

Having six plugged injectors causing a no start condition is statistically almost impossible.

 

Thanks for your post, KhanTyranitar.

I was finally able to find time this week to pull the injectors and give them a good cleaning, I also tested them with a 12v battery and they all seem to be working fine (clicking when I apply power). If the injectors are in working order, is it possible that the fuel pump is not providing enough pressure to the fuel rail and injectors?

If either of these is true, would I still be able to hear the pump activate? I can hear it when I turn the key, and there is some pressure on the fuel rail (my dad tested while I cranked the engine), though I'm not sure how much. I checked the inertia sensor next to the passenger's side door, and it is also fine. My thought is that the fuel pump might be clogged somehow from sitting for so long with fuel in the tank. Does this sound logical?

Thanks again for the help!

 

Absolutely.



When I put new Walbro pumps in there are very quiet. You should be able to hear the pump, but it should be very quiet. If you can hear it easily, it may be failing
Old gasoline gunks stuff up. Ethanol makes it worse, as ethanol is very corrosive. My guess is that you should start with a fuel filter.

On building pressure, some pressure is not enough. It has to have 40 psi baseline, minus manifold vacuum. If you get less than that, you have an issue. But even a standard test often shows sufficient pressure, the pressure must be able to maintain under full engine load.

The code given indicates that the biased fuel pump circuit is drawing too much current, a bad pump will draw more current than a good pump.

 

Thanks for your insight, I actually dropped the fuel tank a few days ago to replace the fuel pump and clean out any debris in the bottom of the tank. I checked the fuel filter, and could blow through it with slight resistance, so I decided to just remove the pump. At the moment, I'm trying to find a good-quality manufacturer for a new pump. Any suggestions?

I found one by Spectra Premium here, but I haven't been able to find anything good or bad about the quality of these pumps. I've heard awful things about Airtex, so I'll stay far away from them, but I would like to replace the entire pump/gauge assembly, something I haven't seen from Walbro, Bosch, or Delphi, all good manufacturers (from what I've found). If I can find just the metal drop-in assembly, I can install a pump into it.

So I've found out; the inside of the metal tubing coming out of the tank is actually rusty. This is why I was curious if it was a good idea to replace not just the pump, but the metal assembly as well, since it seems that the tubing is attached to it. In addition, some of the rubber at the bottom of the unit is soft enough to the point where I can wipe it off.

I have a good idea that some of that rubber is sitting in the bottom of the tank, what is the best way to clean it out? My dad told me putting anything involving water into it is a big no-no, and that I should use something like Brakleen. Is this true?

 

Walbro is the best option. Bosch is garbage, as is Delphi. Airtex, Spectra, and all the others are cheap Chinese garbage that is often made by the same junk company regardless of who's label is on it. Walbro is made in the USA, and exceeds the OEM specs. Replacing the whole assembly is not necessary unless the fuel level sender has gone bad. For the record, replacing the fuel filter is mandatory. Get a new one.
Don't worry about it, so long as it is clean, surface corrosion won't cause any problems. If anything does come loose, the filter will take care of it.

You don't want to use water, you can clean it out with Brakleen, gasoline, kerosene, or other gentle petroleum based solvents. If there is too much debris it can clog the intake strainer, and cause pump failure. So good idea to get it clean.

 

Thanks! I found a replacement Walbro pump, so I'll order it and a fuel filter within the next few days and post back any results.

I also need to replace the brake line going to the left rear tire, so I decided I may as well do that while the tank is off since the tank covers up a good portion of the frame rail. I'm hoping not to run into any problems there, I'll just get a roll of bendable line from our auto parts store in town (unless you have any other suggestions).