She quitted on me, crank but does not start

[F. Chang]

Hi,
Help please! My 94 Green Taurus SHO with ATX stopped working last month. The following is what happened. She suddenly lost power on the road with speed of 25 miles/hr. Before that happen, I remembered that I ran over a shallow hole on the road. I kept driving for about one mile before she quitted. I stopped on the roadside and tried to start it up. But the starter cranked once without firing up then died. I sent it to a garage and changed the starter. Starter can crank now but cannot fire the engine up. The technician check the error codes, they are about cooling sensors?! He changed the sensors. But My SHO still cranks without firing up. The technician said: spark fires, gas pressure is OK, but sparks are “too” wet, maybe. She had been sitting in the garage for 3 weeks. Could any of you help me out? Your help is greatly appreciated!

Best regards,

Fred Chang

 

[luigisho]

Fred,
How about checking the codes and posting the results? That could prove useful. You can easily check them yourself. Look at EEC-IV at http://www.dalidesing.com there are some good instructions over at http://www.shotimes.com Look in the Care and Feeding section.

 

[F. Chang]

Hi:
Thanks for your replying. The technician told me that the errors readed on his "checker", a Snap-on made, are: 1. ACT out of self-test range. 2. Engine coolant temperature (ECT) sensor out of self-test range. He changed the ECT sensor, but the error stays.

Best regards,

Fred Chang

 

[luigisho]

It sounds like a crank sensor. Are you sure there is spark at the plugs? That's the first thing to check. I'm not familiar with the ATX tranny and how it interacts with starting. Maybe the torque converter or the o/d stuff is the problem. I'll have to poke around a little. Hopefully someone will chime in in the meantime.

 

[F. Chang]

Hi,
The technician told me that my SHO got spark in the plug. The technician is confused with it too. He changed the ECT sensor but the code is coming back.

Fred

 

[projectSHO89]

Tell the technician that neither of those sensors (the ACT and the ECT) will cause a no start condition.

The ECT code will occur if he tries to run the KOER test with a cold engine. However, your's isn't running....

Checklist:

Fuel pressure 39 psi at the fuel rail.

Check timing by connecting the timing light to the #1 or #5 plug wire. Verify spark at 10 degrees BTDC (SPOUT removed).

Unplug the CID sensor. Try several times and see if it fires.

Test the CKP sensor with a meter/light at the DIS. Look for three zero to 12 volt squarewaves per crankshaft revolution.

Give him a printout of this, it may give him some ideas that he hasn't tried.

FWIW, the most common cause of your symptom is probably the CKP (PIP, CPS) sensor, but there are many different things that will cause it.

Steve

 

[F. Chang]

Steve:
I will. What if the CKP sensor is OK, could there be any other possibility?

Thanks!

Fred

 

[luigisho]

The crank sensor sounds like the most likely culprit, although I don't think there should be any spark with a faulty crank sensor.

 

[blewbyu]

If you have spark, it cannot be the cps. When I had this exact problem, gas, spark, but no voom voom, I cleaned my AIB valve, and she started right up. It is right behind the throttle body, I actually switched it with another out of my garage, If you still have not solved the problem, give it a check, what can it hurt. If your cam snsor is unhooked, it could not know when to fire, but I really do not think that is the problem, but you never know without seeing the car. best of luck Craig

 

[F. Chang]

Hi, guys:
Your inputs are greatly appreciated. She had been transfered to a Ford dealer for a week now. But the dealer told me this afternoon that he still cannot figure out the problem. I will ask the technician to do what you suggested. Hope I can get my SHO back soon.

Best regards,

Fred Chang

 

[F. Chang]

Hi, Craig:
What is the AIB?

Thanks!

Fred

 

[DavidT]

sorry to not have a solution,
but,
for what its worth,
you are wasting your time and money at a Ford dealership. You would probably have better luck having some of the SHO enthusiasts on this forum coaching you through step by step procedures.

 

[DavidT]

Idle AIr Bypass valve (or IAB)
Check Shotimes.com for step by step procedure in how to clean it. Even a novice (like myself) can do it thumbs_u

 

[F. Chang]

Hi:
My SHO is still sitting in the Ford dealer's shop. Any one could inform me someone good at SHO that I could contact in my area. I live in Hudson county of NJ. Thanks! BTW, is it normal for a Ford dealer to take that long time to diagnose a SHO?

Best regards,

Fred Chang

 

[F. Chang]

Hi, guys:
Thanks for all the inputs. My SHO is back. After 10 days sitting in Ford dealership, I was told that the problem is "timing belt jumps off". It costs me $850 plus a broken Fog lamp. I really do not have any commend on Ford dealership. Does any one know in what situation the timing belt will "jump off"? My last major fixture was $1000 water pump replacement on May 2002. Could anything the dealer did not do correctlt to cause the timing belt "jump off"?
Really appreciate all the help you provided.

Best regards,

Fred Chang

 

[rendyx]

I have heard about conditions which will cause the timing belt to skip a tooth, which I assume would be the same as what they found. The broken fog lamp can be fixed fairly easily, so don't bother paying them to do it. Is the glass cracked, or is the bulb out? If it's the glass, I'd consider some new fog lights that are acutally useful (stock SHO ones aren't). If it's the bulb, you'll have to look around for the correct type (take out the old one), and replace it. It's best to remove the whole fog light that is broken and take it inside, then play with it. This is what I did with my water-drowned bulb. But for the problem you are probably worried most about, check this link:
http://www.shoforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000946#000004

Good luck, and just a comment from me who is scared of some parts of this car too, once you get in there, and play a bit, it's really not too bad. But if it's the timing belt, be careful, take your time, get help as needed from SHO people, and remember you have non-interfacing valves, so you shouldn't be able to **** the motor if the timing belt snaps!

 

[Bizzy]

Fred, I feel your pain in regards to the costs of repairs. There was a day when I also trusted the Ford dealership to do work on my car thinking.."who would know better?" Boy was I wrong.

There are so many SHO gurus here on this forum and a large majority of them are on the east coast. First things first...if you have a problem with your car, try to ask here first. Be as descriptive as possible. Believe me, our cars can make some pretty funky sounds sometimes and with as many members as we have chances are that somebody has probably heard the same sound before.

Second...Never, never, never take your car to a Ford dealership. Most don't even know what a valve lash adjustment is not to mention a few other things. Just for example, it took the most reputable Ford dealership in my area 2 months to get the proper subframe plate nut recall parts in their shop for my car..and when they got them they installed one upside down. Eventually my subframe dropped and caused a serious safety issue for me as I almost got into an accident because I couldn't straighten the wheel up after making a turn.

You're in NJ...you have so many gurus in your area. Kirk Doucette in MA who does wonderful work, Fred Hurder Jr. in RI..I'm taking my car to him and I live in MI. Mark Nunnally in upstate NY did my clutch replacement and is also a wealth of knowledge. Naval Aviator is in VA, but he's in the military and I'm not sure how much he's around and where is ProjectSHO89? I don't remember but that man knows his stuff! Anyway, there are many that I didn't even mention that are within driving distance of you and all of them would be willing to lend a hand or share knowledge with you I'm sure. There isn't much these guys haven't seen.

Point is, everybody here that reads the tech forums is willing to give you help and advise. If that fails, call upon the people that are close in your area. If the car is driveable (which in this case it wasn't) take it to someone close. It's well worth the drive to have someone who really knows the car put the magic touches on it.

Best of luck to you!

Edit: I see ProjectSHO89 is in MO...but he's still a wonderful source of info.

<small>[ January 03, 2003, 09:13 AM: Message edited by: Bizzy ]</small>

 

[KazMan]

if you already spent 1000 on a waterpump replacement....wasnt your timing belt replaced also? If it was..and the belt is the problem..the dealership should warrenty the work for 2 years...I know my local dealership does. They should absorb some of that cost.