I have an E-150 van with a 351 V-8 Engine and Fuel Injectors. I don't know a lot about motors. Your forum is great. I learned a lot from reading the posts, so I joined. I was having difficulty starting my van, a few weeks ago and it was getting worse daily. I have had to replace the firing module in the past so I replaced it. No fix. My battery was also draining daily, so I was advised by a mechanic to install a new Alternator. I did. No fix. I installed a new distributor cap and rotar. No fix. so I installed a new voltage regulator. Yeah! It ran. A few days ago I was in line at a drive-in and turned my van off. I couldn't restart it. Towed it home. Another mechanic said Oh! it's the pick-up coil. I replaced it being careful to mark the rotar and base. No start. Another friend said "Ignition coil", and I rplaced it. Well good people I'm here because I'm almost out of funds and friends who are mechanics.
I'm working on it alone, and as best I could tell, I'm not getting a spark to the ingnition coil or the spark plugs. I put a tester on the voltage regulator and one side is live. From there I don't know. HELP! I missed 5 days of work.

 

i'm use to workin on older vehicles so i dunno if there is a condensor on the distributor right round wher the module is

 

Hey thanks for the tip 95BlackF150. I'll see if I can find a condenser around the distributor. There is one near the ignition coil. Could that be the problem? I was going to replce it when I got the new ignition coil but the parts store was out of them. It would be funny if after all that, the problem turned out to be a little condenser. bobsvan

 

The condensor didn't help. The guy at auto Zone said it was probably the Ignition Module. Although it was almost new I exchanged it because it had a lifetime quarantee. I put the new module in and it still doesn't start. I did hear some kind of popping noise as I tried to start it. I'm charging the battery. Does anyone have any idea what would keep a 1991 E-150 van with a 351 engine from firing. What I replaced: alternator, distibutor cap & rotar, pick-up coil, ignition coil, voltage regulator, and the ignition module. The battery is good. I pulled and looked at all the fuses in the panel. What's left. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Thanks, bobsvan

 

computer be only thing i can think of thats left

 

You need to be sure you are getting or not getting spark. i had a lot of trouble with my truck recently I thought I was getting spark when I was only getting spark some of the time. Autozone sells a cheap spark tester that works great. My problem turned out to be the module, it was only 2 months old, and it also had a lifetime warrenty from autozone.If you are getting spark you may not be getting proper fuel pressure.

 

he replaced the modual twice

 

I replaced the computor in my truck. Mine was about $98.00 from autozone. They sell reconditioned units. It seems to work ok.

 

if you think there is a problem with no spark then take a spark plug wire, connect a spark plug to the end and ground it. crank the engine and see if it sparks. keep us posted!

 

Thanks for the great advice guys. After replacing the module, I now hear a popping sound coming from the carberator. That means I have gas and a spark doesn't it? I'm thinking timing now. What do you guys think? I was reading the thread about timing and how to set the BTDC. I am working alone. I have been doing a lot of reading and read somewhere that you can remove plug #1 and put a piece of tissue paper over the hole, and crank the engine by hand until you see the paper move. then replace the carberator with the rotar facing plug #1. Where is the "crank bolt"? bobsvan

 

the crank bolt is the bolt in the center of the crankshaft pulley. thats the pulley on the very bottom of the engine. if you dont remove all the spark plugs there will be a lot of resistance to you turning the engine over by hand (due to air being compressed in the cylinders and the valves being closed). if you dont take the spark plugs out you can over torque the crank bolt and could possibly break it off.

does the engine try to fire when you crank it over?

a better idea is to use a compression tester gauge on the #1 cylinder while cranking it by hand. when the pressure increases to a maximum the piston is at the top on the compression stroke. this is when you want the distributor to point to the #1 spark plug.

i cant imagine why you hear popping sounds from the carb. ??? i cant relate anything i know about carbs with popping sounds.

does the engine fire at all when you crank it?

 

another question is does his van have a crank or cam sensor

 

I wish I could give you guys better answers. I don't want to take it to a repair shop, pay a big bill and find out it was something that I could have done. I relaced everything I could think of, or that was suggested to me. I'm not sure whether it's really getting enough spark or if it's getting gas. The pops from the carberator led me to believe that something was igniting. I plan to do two things today: #1. I'm going to remove a plug and put it in the end of the wire and place it near the engine block and see if I am getting spark to the plugs. If that test proves positive I will do the suggested method of removing the plugs and turning the crank bolt to find the beginning of the firing order.
#2. I will remove the fuel line somewhere near the fuel injectors and see if fuel is being pumped through.
After that I dunno. Bob, bobsvan
P.S. On a positive note: I am getting into better condition, riding my bicycle everywhere. LOL

 

yeah if all else fails just grab the wire and have somebody crank it LOL :P that way you KNOW its getting juice or not would think bout crank/cam sensor i just did at 6 am LOL

 

Hey! Thanks for the suggestion about a crank sensor. What does it look like and about where would it be?
Bob bobsvan