• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Won't Start, Crank will Turn - Possible Fuel Issue

BriceRice

CEG'er
Joined
Jun 25, 2003
Messages
118
Location
Dayton, Ohio
Well the story continues with my 3L install. Finally got the car started and running, had an idle issue and still had to replace the radiator. I started the car numerous times and had it running, drove it around the block 5 times or so; party on yeaaa. Well I drove it to autozone to check the codes, I bought a new egr valve, and there was a possible leak on the lim/uim. So I took off the uim and lim for the 35465 time. When I was re-installing the lim the fuel rail was pushed to the side, while I was tighting a bolt the rail moved and touched the wrech making a spark kind of sound; saw I didn't take out the battery ( crap ). So I continued on and installed everything including a new egr valve everything is in placed every wire every plug ( checked a million times to be sure ). Replaced the radiator, filled it up with antifreeze and no leaks, party on.... Go to start, and it wont start. The crank is turning but no start. Checked the spark plug tubes and they are dry as can be and no smell of gas. When I turn my key I can hear the humm of the fuel pump, so I didnt short that out. I have checked all the fuses inside and out. I think it is something with the fuel in someway, any ideas? Fuses to check incase I missed one, ( I checked the fuse box under the hood and the set under the dase ). The car started numerous times and ran before I made these changes. I'm stumped. Need Help@!@
 
Brice, have you checked that the ground strap is connected to the coil pack? It is a solid wire-mesh strap thatneeds to be hemmed in between the coil pack and it's mounting pedastal(SP>). This will cause the coil pack not to fire. You could also put a volt-ohm meter to the crank sensor and make sure you are getting signal. you'll need an extra set of hands though. One set to hold the meter on the wires of the cps and the other to crank the car over.
Also, check your connection to the alternator. One of the wires in the plug to the alt. is called an excitor wire. Basically if you have a bad connection there, it won't allow you to start the car. Does your battery light come on with the key turned to the 'ON' position? If not then this, believe it or not, could be your issue. You can check the wire harness at the alternator for current.

One wire should always give you ground, another should give you switched power(i.e., power when the key is 'ON') This is the excitor wire.
And IIRC one should show power all the time. But don't quote me on this. It's been awhile since I've looked at the schematics.
Give this stuff a try and post back.
 
Brice, have you checked that the ground strap is connected to the coil pack? It is a solid wire-mesh strap thatneeds to be hemmed in between the coil pack and it's mounting pedastal(SP>). This will cause the coil pack not to fire. You could also put a volt-ohm meter to the crank sensor and make sure you are getting signal. you'll need an extra set of hands though. One set to hold the meter on the wires of the cps and the other to crank the car over.
Also, check your connection to the alternator. One of the wires in the plug to the alt. is called an excitor wire. Basically if you have a bad connection there, it won't allow you to start the car. Does your battery light come on with the key turned to the 'ON' position? If not then this, believe it or not, could be your issue. You can check the wire harness at the alternator for current.

One wire should always give you ground, another should give you switched power(i.e., power when the key is 'ON') This is the excitor wire.
And IIRC one should show power all the time. But don't quote me on this. It's been awhile since I've looked at the schematics.
Give this stuff a try and post back.

Thanks for the detailed post. I did Not have the wire-mesh on the coil pack. I took out the crank and cam sensor and I'm going get those tested. When I get those back in I'm going to put that wire on. But it started without it on; which doesn't make sense to me. I tested the pressure thing (forget what its called) on the fuel rail and it sprayed all over me, so it is getting fuel. It is not getting a spark. My battery light does come on after I turn it to the ON position.
 
Sensors are fine, put the coil back on with the ground and still a no go. I am seriously stumped now; I have no idea. Need HELP!!
 
OK, How about this being a PATS System issue? What is the factory alarm light on the dash doing when there is no key in the ignition? How about when it's to the 'ON' position. Post back if it's blinking fast, slow, normal, solidly lit, or no light at all. Let's see where it takes us.
 
Last edited:
Well I went to go check the PATS system like you said and it started. Don't ask me how or what i did becuase it just sat there after i tried all those things, it just started up which is awesome but sucks at the same time becuase if i run into the problem again i wont know how to fix it.
 
Back
Top