Starting problems
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From: Massachusetts
Starting problems
My dad's Aerostar - 1994, 3.0 V6, extended length - will sometime just not start. Some mornings he'll go to turn it on, and it will just crank and crank, no start. I assume it's a fuel problem, but where should we look first?
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Joined: Apr 2000
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From: PNW
Starting problems
A couple things come to mind. Electrical problem such as a flaky fuel pump relay or even the fuel cutoff switch (or the wiring). If you don't hear the fuel pump turn on when you put the key in the on position, then I would suspect either the relay or the cutout switch.
Another possibility, if you think it's fuel related. Check the pressure with the engine off (key in on position but don't start) and see if pressure holds. Then start the engine and see how it does. It should be around 40 psi.
It'll take a little troubleshooting to figure out exactly what's causing the problem.
Does the engine ever stop afer it gets started?
Another possibility, if you think it's fuel related. Check the pressure with the engine off (key in on position but don't start) and see if pressure holds. Then start the engine and see how it does. It should be around 40 psi.
It'll take a little troubleshooting to figure out exactly what's causing the problem.
Does the engine ever stop afer it gets started?
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 1,746
Likes: 4
From: PNW
Starting problems
Since it doesn't cost anything, the first thing that I would do is clean the battery cables at both ends - at the battery terminals and at the starter and engine block - regardless of how good they look. Just follow the cables from the battery to where they end and take them off and clean them real good (disconnect the battery first). I've been burned many times by cables that look good. Clean the battery posts too. Also, clean the cable ends at the starter relay. Then see if that's any better. Check the cables near the battery terminals. Sometimes the cable can corrode inside the insulation and it's hard to detect.
Can you start the engine if you try to start a couple times in a row? If so, it's usually an indication of a bad spot on the starter. Or, try measuring the voltage at the battery when starting the engine. If it drops really low, then it's probably the battery. They can short internally and work just fine powering small electrical loads but when you try to draw a lot, they can't supply enough current to turn the engine over. Let me know what happens, there are a couple other things that can be tried.
Can you start the engine if you try to start a couple times in a row? If so, it's usually an indication of a bad spot on the starter. Or, try measuring the voltage at the battery when starting the engine. If it drops really low, then it's probably the battery. They can short internally and work just fine powering small electrical loads but when you try to draw a lot, they can't supply enough current to turn the engine over. Let me know what happens, there are a couple other things that can be tried.
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