1996 f150 crank no start.
hello the other day my truck ran no problem. Then went out in the morning the next day and it would just crank.
a few weeks ago I did a “6litre tune up” with a timing bump. However I kept the plugs that were in it cause I recently changed them.
new plug wires
coil
cap and rotor l
was running great until it just quit.
will not start with eather spray. So I figure it’s ignition. I checked my spark, I have it but it’s orange not a nice blue. I’m gonna go to the parts store today and get some copper plugs and see if that helps. Anyone have any ideas ?

 

Scott, welcome to FTE

What type of plug did you have in it before the copper you are going to install?
If not copper that is the first place to start as some have had issues with them fancy forever plug.

What I dont like is it did not ever try to start with a little spray
I might try the spray again just to make sure you get nothing.
Dont know how / where you checked for spark but if you checked it at the coil wire to ground that is good as you know you got spark to the end of the wire.
Now if you did not go to ground and just pulled it out of the cap a little and seen it spark the spark may not be getting to the plugs and you need to check there.
As a guess if you checked at the cap the cap or rotor went bad and spark is going to ground inside the cap and not making it to the plugs.

You may want to pull the plug at the coil and make sure it is clean and has a good connection.
Same for the connection to the TFI on the dist. or is yours on the inner fender? as either could make the spark weak.
Beside the plugs the only other part I would throw at it at this time would be the TFI in the dist. / fender as it controls spark.
Dave ----

ps just thought of this any codes?

 

im not sure what plug i have I’ll have to check.
ill clean the plug to my coil and TFI that’s on my inner fender.
I have had a CEL on since I got the truck but my OBD2 port won’t connect to my scanner, to test spark I unplugged one plug and but it to the engine block. It came back a yellow orange,
cap and rotor are brand new
brand new summit racing coil
and brand new ford wires
how would I go about cleaning the plugs for the TFI and coil? Would brake cleaner work for that?

 

I would try cleaning the coil / TFI plugs first and see if it will start and what color the spark is at different spark plugs.
Thing is not to do too many things all at once as you may be adding problems to what you have now.

Depending how dirty the plugs are I would use that or carb cleaner and then maybe small files I have.
Or fine grit sand paper and a thin flat stick to work it in & out till clean.
When going back together use some dielectric grease on the plugs to help protect them.

So you had a weak yellow spark at a plug did you check more than 1 plug? If not check a few others for spark.
If you cleaned the coil & TFI plugs and the spark is still weak / yellow if you have the old coil give that a try to see if the spark gets better.

If still weak spark I would look at the pick up coil in the dist. it most likely has rust on it so I would take fine sand paper and clean it up.
I dont know if there is a air gap setting or if it can be adjusted but maybe look into that.

Other than the pick up coil the only other thing I think of for weak spark would be the TFI. If you have another swap it is and see if not it then you got a spare for when 1 goes bad.
I got nothing else after all that.
Dave ----

ps that CEL have you tried hitting one of the parts stores to see if they can connect?

 

so I found a different plug to test and got nice blue spark. My spark plugs were all kind of fouled maybe from running sea foam in the gas to clean out the carbon. So I’ll run to the parts store and get some new plugs for sure

 

1996 is an interesting year for 9th gen Ford f150s. It was the first and only year of OBD2 in the f150... They're kinda rare and unique. There's not much parts support for them.
Your "my scanner won't connect to the ECU" is a good hint of the problem. Another member ran into this problem about a year ago and we worked through it and found the problem, unique to the 1996 f150s.
On the other members truck, the Differential Pressure Feed back sensor (DPFE) shorted out internally and was overloading the 5v voltage regulator in the ECU, causing it to not communicate with the scanner.
We diagnosed the problem by having him disconnect the DPFE sensor and trying to start the truck. His truck started up perfectly once the DPFE was disconnected.
I would suggest doing the same thing and seeing what the results are.

 

The most common cause of not being able to connect a code reader on 1996 OBD-II trucks is Fuse 16 is open. It shares power to the cigar lighter and the data link connector. Great advice above to verify the DPFE sensor is not shorted as well (that is a new one for me).

 

where would I go about finding that sensor?

 

Passenger side of the engine, near the EGR valve:

 

checked the fuse. Wasn’t in. Put one in and blew immedielaly

 

I unless the sensor and still only cranks. Abby other ideas ?

 

Did you replace the spark plugs?

Have you tried a squirt of starting fluid then cranking the engine?

If Fuse 16 blows with a new fuse, the circuit has a short to ground. Remove the cigar lighter, then install a new fuse. Other option is to invest in a cheap meter to measure the circuit resistance and diagnose where the short is, also to save the cost of multiple fuses.

 

Okay thanks you I’ll make sure to try that

 

Any progress with this one?

 

Scanned the code couple o2 sensor codes
and a cylinder 4 misfire