Spark, fuel, but no start

[Deathacus]

Hey there! So um...My car is stuck at work, again. It's been about 5 months since any major issues, so it was about time.

She's a '94 3.0 MTX and she cranks with no problem, but not even a puff of ignition. Not even with ether.
I've checked what I could, she's got fuel at the rail, 40lb KOEO, I filled the tank and dumped a bottle of Drygas to be safe. Plugs look a little hot but they got spark, although they all looked dry when I pulled them out. Checked compression on the front head, 180lb across the board (cheap gauge so I don't know how accurate the numbers are, but at least it was super consistent). Changed the cam sensor, 'twas drenched in oil but i dried what i could before putting the new one on, still nothing tho. The CHECK ENGINE light is on intermittently, but I couldn't pull any codes. Also the light is now very dim KOEO. Alternator light's been intermittent too, but I checked the system several times before and never had an actual problem. Before all this I had an occasional up and down idle but never any problem starting.

I'm at a loss. I don't know what else to do without throwing parts at her. If fuel spark and compression is all she needs then why is she not giving what I need?

 

[Irish Pride]

Use some starting fluid in the intake to see if she fires over. Sounds like the injectors aren't firing. Could be a bad ground or PCM. If she fires with starting fluid then reach behind the glove box and give the PCM some love taps.

-Chad

 

[Deathacus]

Nothing with the starting fluid.

 

[Irish Pride]

Air, spark, fuel. Those are the 3 things needed for it to run. You are missing at least one, possibly two. If it doesn't crank with starting fluid then you don't have spark. If you cannot pull any codes with a random CEL then my first option would be another known good PCM.

-Chad

 

[Deathacus]

Well, don't see air being a problem, filter ain't clogged. Any way to test weather fuel is getting through the injectors?

 

[zoomlater]

does the tach move when tryng to start it

 

[Deathacus]

Oops, didn't pay attention to that. Would that be indicative of a bad crank sensor?

 

[zoomlater]

usually a bad cam sensor, they can be bad out of the box. Try unplugging the cam sensor and starting it, it could take a few tries

 

[rubydist]

If you spray starting fluid in the intake that it doesn't fire at all, that tells me there is no spark, or not a decent spark. I would start there.

 

[Blackdr16]

When you try to pull codes are you getting anything at all (such as the self check diag mode active code) or nothing? Good indicator of PCM health (or if its getting proper voltage to function)

 

[Deathacus]

Nope, no codes good or bad.

does the tach move when tryng to start it

Yes, tach moves

 

[Blackdr16]

Sounds like a faulty PCM. At the age most of ours are, capacitors start leaking and cause this type of issue. There’s more ways you can probe the harness for correct voltage, etc but you might be better off getting a new / rebuilt one to save time as it’s pretty likely the culprit. I hesitate to buy used anymore, gone down that road and had a used fail a short time later.

CCRM could also be at fault but if you hear the fuel pump kick on and stay on as well as the radiator fan, it’s not receiving any control back from the PCM which in most cases indicates PCM failure.

 

[SHOCH]

All of the above, 30 yr old electronics

 

[FastCAD]

start with the CCRM (below the rad. cover drv. side). Turn the a/c ON turn the ign. key ON do you hear the fuel pump? is the rad. cooling fan running? If NOT then the PCM will not get a signal and will not give any codes good indication the CCRM is bad. if fp. & fan are running then the culprit most likely is the PCM. Once you get the codes running you can better diagnose other issues.
Hope this helps

 

[Deathacus]

UPDATE: Swapped the pcm for a reman X2J. Its an.....improvement(?)
Now the CCRM responds fine, the dashboard lights aren't dim, and she kinda sorta tries to fire, an occasional puff or bang out the pipe but still no start.

Also the plastic trim atop the firewall broke so now I'm ******

 

[Blackdr16]

Any codes you can pull now? Will it run on starting fluid? (Validation of spark / timing)

 

[zoomlater]

UPDATE: Swapped the pcm for a reman X2J. Its an.....improvement(?)
Now the CCRM responds fine, the dashboard lights aren't dim, and she kinda sorta tries to fire, an occasional puff or bang out the pipe but still no start.

Also the plastic trim atop the firewall broke so now I'm ******

The trim panels below the wiper blades? Those are the same as on a regular Taurus so they are readily available

 

[FastCAD]

The trim panels below the wiper blades? Those are the same as on a regular Taurus so they are readily available

What is an XJ2??

 

[Deathacus]

Any codes you can pull now? Will it run on starting fluid? (Validation of spark / timing)

Can't keep power to her long enough to hold any codes. She did a little better on starting fluid, until we got flames out the intake. Couldn't get an accurate or consistent reading with my xeon light, but i pulled the timing cover and both cams and the crank are in time.

The trim panels below the wiper blades? Those are the same as on a regular Taurus so they are readily available

Still mad tho

 

[zoomlater]

What is an XJ2??

not sure of your question, I was responding to the trim panels that got damaged