Fuel Pressure regulator. It's the round thing on the fuel rail that has a vacuum hose attached to it. Read more about it here:

http://fordfuelinjection.com/?p=41

 

ok thanks.

 

on my car i pushed a stem that is attached to the fuel line that should squirt out gas and it didnt. that means it could either be the fuel pump or the FP regulator?

 

It could be one of several things. First, make sure the fuel pump is running. Pull off the gas cap and listen at the tank while you have someone turn the key on. You should hear the pump run for 1-2 seconds then stop. If not, then you need to check to make sure there's power to the pump which could be the FP relay as mentioned earlier, or even the Inertia switch (a magnetic switch that triggers in an impact to kill power to the fuel pump) It can be sometimes triggered by hitting a hard bump in the road.

If you do have power to the pump, try pulling the vacuum hose off of the FP regulator and look to see if there's any fuel present. There shouldn't be. If there is, that's a sign of a ruptered diaphragm in the FP regulator. But it can be bad even if there's no fuel present in the vbacuum hose...that's just a sure sign.

And of course, it can be a bad fuel pump as well. They often seem to crap out at around 100K miles. It can be a PITA to replace simply because it usually means dropping the tank. I don't know how it is in the Contour, there might be an access cover under the back seat which makes the job a heck of a lot easier.

 

well i know that the pump works cause i have heard it engage. and i know im not getting pressure but i will check the vacuum hose and see if there is gas in there. if there isnt and the FP regulator is bad is there a way to test it?

 

Well...I usually test it by the substitution method, by installing a known good one. (But I generally have a few spares of just about everything laying around...)

Some of the diagnostic methods I've read about describe ways of testing the FP reg. by disconnecting the vaccum line with the engine running, which totally ignores the fact that it can be the reason the engine doesn't run in the first place...

Read through this and see if it helps you a bit:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/2003/us60324.htm

 

well i went and got new fuel pump /new pmm module/ new relays and installed them on the ford contour98 2.0 automatic and it still will not run. im not getting any power to my fuel pump fuse. what can this be?

 

You did check the Inertia Switch as I mentioned earlier, right?

 

well i reset the switch. im wondering if i should try and unplug the power switch going to the inertia switch. i can run a jumper wire from a hot source and power up the fuel pump continously but it still will not crank. it willl crank only when i spray gas into the throttle body then it will run for a few sec' and thats it. thanks for the help tigerdan

 

Okay, try jumping the fuel pump at the self-test connector (as in the pic below)

Stick a jumper wire into the plug for the fuel pump as shown in the diagram, turn on the key and then ground the jumper wire. The fuel pump should run. If not, then there's a problem with the pump itself or its associated wiring.

 

ok tigerdan. i am going to try the self test run and see if the fuel pump runs or not.ive been working on it most of the day still with no luck.im wondering to if maybe the crankshaft sensor could be bad? ill post back with results.. thanks again..

 

Happy fourth of july FTE. Any way i wanted to post back on my results and you will never guess what it was! After trying another pcm,another fuel pump,a dozen diff relays, fuses 100 hours of trouble shooting a freind of mine came over with a scanner to scan it but first had me put the plenumchamber cover on the throttle body first, and it fired right up and is running great.. I never new this air intake plenum chamber cover had to be on for it to run.. dummy me.. anyway many thanks tigerdan. Haynes repair manual should add that little valuable bit of info in their manual.. thanks guys..

 

well good to hear that its running good now

 

hey well i figured out what was wrong with my car its timing. and i was wondering how to retime it? and the cylinders in a ford contour go
123
456 right?

 

The only Contour I've seen under the hood of was a 4-cylinder, and I believe that's what everyone here has been referring to... (after all, this is the 4-cylinder forum)

I didn't know they put a V6 into the Contour, and I don't know which one it would be. 3.0 maybe...?

But your diagram on cylinder numbering should be correct. Your car is a '96, right? So it should be OBD-II which is DIS ignition and non-adjustable timing.