Car Not Starting , Need Help

[Leo]

To be a wise guy I would like to note that my outdoor kept '06 Grand Marquis was used to rescue someone in a 2013 Caddy this morning.

I do not know for sure about the year of the OP's taurus, they made a change sometime around there. If it has a main fuse box under the hood, there are some small relays under the cover. Of course, look at those fuses while you are there. Look in the owners manual and one of those is the PCU relay. Mark it so you do not get confused. Take the relay out of the A/C fan slot and plug it in the PCU slot. If it fires up, that is the bad part. Like $12 to replace.

 

[printcraft]

Nothing to add short of the previous mentioned items.
If it starts with starting fluid your pump could have taken a ****.
See if you can get a fuel pressure gauge from autozone or orielly or what-have-you and see if you are getting pressure.
Ignition control module????

Get a can of ether and spray into your air box. If it starts, fuel pump took a dump. To all u haters of ford at least we didn't need to be bailed out by taxpayers money that will never be recovered

This^^^^^^^^ I driven and had (still currently have one) GM for decades, I'll never buy another new GM because of that scam.

Also.....

Fix
Or
Repair
Daily

 

[Frosty]

Nothing to add short of the previous mentioned items.
If it starts with starting fluid your pump could have taken a ****.
See if you can get a fuel pressure gauge from autozone or orielly or what-have-you and see if you are getting pressure.
Ignition control module????




This^^^^^^^^ I driven and had (still currently have one) GM for decades, I'll never buy another new GM because of that scam.

Also.....

Fix
Or
Repair
Daily

you need kicked in the nuts... But for more than just this!

 

[long coat]

Does the car have a ICM/TFI. I have had them go bad and still have spark.

 

[snapping turtle]

My old ford ranger would freeze up fuel lines very easy. Push into garage add heat and time and start.

 

[amboran]

My Taurus acted like this.I took out 3 plugs-squirted some gas in-reinstalled plugs and it tried to run.Verdict:bad fuel pump(after 161K miles).New fuel pump and she's running fine again.First On Race Day:-)

 

[pute62]

Why would they mix water with the gas? Several stations had water get into their tanks but that's a bit different from watering gas down... He said the battery was good, said it was cranking fine.

i take it you've never bought gas at the Admiral Gas station on 21st street?(or Swifty on Post). Even McClures are prone to this. Ask me how I know.

 

[public servant]

I'm done with this headache for tonight.

You're a fellow Mars Hillian. Drag that ***** into the back yard and put it up on blocks like the rest of us. We'll look at it after the spring thaw.

 

[Frosty]

i take it you've never bought gas at the Admiral Gas station on 21st street?(or Swifty on Post). Even McClures are prone to this. Ask me how I know.

i can't say that I have. I can say I never will after hearing this!

 

[GLOCKMAN23C]

Does it have a fuel cut off button somewhere in the car? I've had a couple of Fords that had one and my car stopped working one day, checked everything that could have been wrong, even dropped the tank and after all that just had to push a dang button and the car started right up. Also I want to mention to the Ford haters, I understand and have even cracked the jokes associated with these cars but I've actually had more luck with Fords then any other brand I've owned.

I crack jokes, but I hate equally, well maybe not equally. I own a Ford, a Chevy, and a GMC. My ford is 30 years old, and ran when my truck was down. They all break and keep me employed.

 

[darkkevin]

[video=youtube;G-tCIRJH9p0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-tCIRJH9p0[/video]

 

[88E30M50]

When attacking a problem like this, first thing you need to do is get straight what you know about the problem. If the car is cranking, then it's not the battery that's keeping it from starting. It takes lots of juice to crank an engine and if there is enough juice in the battery to crank, there is enough to supply the electrical system as well. After that, you need to figure out if any of the big three are missing. The big three for an internal combustion engine is air, fuel and spark. Do a quick check on the air filter, but you will probably find it to be fine. I'd check fuel next. If you have a gauge, or can rent one from Autozone, you can check fuel pressure at the rail. If not, you can look for anecdotal evidence of fuel getting to the engine from either pulling the plugs or even just the presence of a strong smell of fuel. Pull a plug and see if it's wet. If it is, then you are most likely not looking at a fuel feed issue. If it's bone dry, then it may be fuel related.

If the plugs are wet, try to pull all of them and either clean or replace them. Sometimes, cars can flood in cold weather and all of the cranking trying to get it to run only makes it worse. I have a 92 BMW 525iT that is touchy when it gets really cold. If it does not start immediately, it can flood and will not run for days. But, on many modern cars, the engine computer has a flood clear mode that can help with that situation. If you crank with the gas pedal pushed all the way to the floor, it signals the computer to shut the fuel injectors off and will clear a flooded engine.

If the plugs are wet and the engine still does not fire after they've been replaced or cleaned (brake cleaner or carb cleaner works), then it could be a sensor somewhere. A crank position sensor will kill a car when it goes bad, but those are fairly robust. One more thing to check is the throttle body. I've seen engines that will not run because the throttle body was totally gunked up with crud.

If the plugs are dry or at least, not soaked, you might want to change your fuel filter if that has not been done recently. Water tends to accumulate in fuel filters and when it gets really cold, it can freeze and block the filter enough to impair an engines ability to run. If the car has not had a tune up in a while, changing the fuel filter and putting a new set of plugs in will help the engine run better even if they ultimately prove to not be the issue. Also, those should be fairly low cost parts to throw at the problem if they are due for change anyway.

Be sure to not jump to conclusions and throw big money at the problem until you are sure it will fix the issue. Putting a fuel pump in before changing the filter and checking pressure is gambling. If the car has a fresh filter and the fuel pressure is still down, then consider it but don't guess with your wallet. Same goes for the sensors and other stuff that costs a bunch. Prove them bad before throwing big money at them.

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

I pulled the three front plugs and they weren't gunked up but they were moist , smelling of gas .

I'm DEFINITELY getting spark !!!! Word to the wise , the rubber on a pair of channel locks isn't good enough insulation to keep from getting shocked . Hey y'all watch thizzzzzzzzzzzzz ouch !!! MUTHASONOFOMGBBQ!!!!!!

I checked the shrader valve a couple of times and got a good gas discharge both times .

I hooked up an OBD tester and didn't get any codes from it .

I sprayed starter fluid into the air intake twice for about 3 seconds each but it still didn't start either time . The air filter is dry and mostly clean .

This weekend I'll replace the fuel filter like I probably should've done today .

After all this I'm thinking it must be some sensor or relay but I'm not a mechanic either .

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

You're a fellow Mars Hillian. Drag that ***** into the back yard and put it up on blocks like the rest of us. We'll look at it after the spring thaw.

Brother if it weren't my daily driver you know I would , cause that's how we roll in the Hill .

 

[Frosty]

I pulled the three front plugs and they weren't gunked up but they were moist , smelling of gas .

I'm DEFINITELY getting spark !!!! Word to the wise , the rubber on a pair of channel locks isn't good enough insulation to keep from getting shocked . Hey y'all watch thizzzzzzzzzzzzz ouch !!! MUTHASONOFOMGBBQ!!!!!!

I checked the shrader valve a couple of times and got a good gas discharge both times .

I hooked up an OBD tester and didn't get any codes from it .

I sprayed starter fluid into the air intake twice for about 3 seconds each but it still didn't start either time . The air filter is dry and mostly clean .

This weekend I'll replace the fuel filter like I probably should've done today .

After all this I'm thinking it must be some sensor or relay but I'm not a mechanic either .

id look into the intake system, check the air filter, then check to make sure you didn't suck up a kitten or something into the intake tube, chipmunks and mice like a nice warm engine and can build a nest fast!

check your exhaust pipe to, if some jackrabbit shoved a potato in there the other night or something like that it would kill it to.

 

[remauto1187]

just because that spark knocked the bejesus out of you does NOT mean it is good to go. That spark should jump a decent gap and be BRIGHT BLUE, not white, not orange. Take your ditributor cap off (i believe you said in a prior post that it did have a distributor) and see if the rotor is turning when the engine is being cranked. If it isnt then you my friend have a bad timing belt. A bad igintion module can cause you to get intermittent spark but not enough to fire the engine. Ignition module is essentially solid state breaker points. The Taurus requires a special tool to remove the screws that hold it in place. Plugs are wet so MOST LIKELY you are good to go with the fuel pump.

The popping you mentioned while the engine is being cranked is stereotypical of a bad timing belt. Usually a ignition module just dies and never again allows and spark to be produced but I have seem them work intermittently before as well. Last advice is cracked distibutor cap possibility.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

Definitely sounds like timing is off with the popping, you may check the IAC valve, just replaced the one on my brother's Dakota, and don't always trust new parts, the first one we tried was bad right out of the box. I had a 99 Ranger that had to have the IAC cleaned about once a year because it would start to gum up and wouldn't start or idle unless you held the throttle just barely open.

 

[remauto1187]

Definitely sounds like timing is off with the popping, you may check the IAC valve, just replaced the one on my brother's Dakota, and don't always trust new parts, the first one we tried was bad right out of the box. I had a 99 Ranger that had to have the IAC cleaned about once a year because it would start to gum up and wouldn't start or idle unless you held the throttle just barely open.

If the IAC was being commanded by the PCM to move to a certain Idle position and it did not reach that position the "check engine light" would be lit up like a Christmas tree and a code would be set. OP says no Check engine light.

 

[usafmora]

Timing chain/belt. You can have all the gas, air and spark you want but no timing and it wont run.

 

[sepe]

i take it you've never bought gas at the Admiral Gas station on 21st street?(or Swifty on Post). Even McClures are prone to this. Ask me how I know.

Unless you saw them adding water (or were the one doing it) you're pretty much wrong. Their tanks can end up with condensation, they can have leaks or seepage, and they can get crappy fuel (tanks can get contaminants from ground water if the tank leaks, really heavy rain and standing water, large amounts of melting snow...usually seen in tanks that are in need of maintenance). The Indiana Department of Health, Weights and Measurements is quick to shut down gas stations to investigate if reports are made. Don't have to ask me how I know because I'll tell you. A friend of mine owns a Marathon station (his dad has been in the gas station/towing business for over 30 years as an owner) and his family know owners of Marathon stations all over the state. They knew of the Marathon (on North Tibbs) and Sunoco (in Upland, had gasoline mixed with kerosene) in 2011 that had issues with water in their tanks (the water sinks to the bottom of the underground tank and all of them will have some water, to an acceptable level). The Marathon paid for repairs.

Northern Indiana had problems with multiple millions of gallons from a refinery (not water) going to BP stations and independents. It was a BP refinery. BP recalled the fuel and paid for repairs.