'98 Windstar died, would crank but not starting
lidation
05-10-2010, 03:37 AM
My '98 Windstar has 104K miles. Never had a starting issue before. But a month ago it suddenly died while idling. I tried to re-started it, it cranked but would not start. The battery is 1 year old and should be fine. For the past few weeks I tried a few times to restart the van but it only crank but would not start. I have almost full tank of gas there.
What could be the cause? Could the gas filter be so clogged up as to not even start the engine? Give me some possibilities pals! Thanks!
What could be the cause? Could the gas filter be so clogged up as to not even start the engine? Give me some possibilities pals! Thanks!
mark_gober
05-10-2010, 12:16 PM
My '98 Windstar has 104K miles. Never had a starting issue before. But a month ago it suddenly died while idling. I tried to re-started it, it cranked but would not start. The battery is 1 year old and should be fine. For the past few weeks I tried a few times to restart the van but it only crank but would not start. I have almost full tank of gas there.
What could be the cause? Could the gas filter be so clogged up as to not even start the engine? Give me some possibilities pals! Thanks!
Lidation,
It could be several things. Let's cover some basics first.
The engine only needs three things to work. Fire, Fuel, Air. Air is almost always a given, so we'll focus on the other two.
Fuel is pretty easy to check. Climb down by your back bumper and have someone turn the key to "on" (not start). You should hear your fuel pump energize for about two seconds and then turn off. It'll be a quiet hum. If you don't have it, check the fuses or the inertial switch which is designed to shut off your fuel pump if you are in an accident. It's probably located in the jack compartment in the rear of the van. If you do get the hum, go to the engine compartment. On the fuel rail (shiny tube that feeds both sets of injectors), there will be a shrader valve (looks like a tire pressure valve). Remove the cap. You can use a writing pen and depress the valve and have someone turn the key to on (once again, not start). You SHOULD see fuel come out of the valve in good quantities. Don't depress the valve for too long, just long enough to know that fuel is being delivered to engine. (note, this puts fuel onto the engine, so make sure you don't ever do this while it's hot/running) If you have fuel there (and I think you will), short of having all bad injectors or a bad computer, it's not the fuel.
The spark is a little more difficult to test. The easiest way to remove a spark plug and check for spark. Pull the wire from a spark plug and remove the spark plug from the hole. Place the plug back into the spark plug wire and make sure the end of the plug is resting against the engine. Crank the engine and you should get a spark on the spark plug. Be very careful not to touch the spark plug because you WILL be shocked with thousands of volts. It won't kill you, but it will piss you off. If that disclaimer scared you off, you can buy a spark plug tester that just goes in line with the spark plug while it's in the engine and you crank the engine. If it blinks, the spark is good. I prefer my original idea because it's free, but the tool isn't very expensive.
If you don't have spark, it could be a bad coil pack/computer/crankshaft or camshaft sensors. On the windstar, the coil pack is broken up into three pairs of coils. It's pretty unlikely that all of them would have died at the same time.
The crankshaft/camshaft position sensors tell the computer where the engine is and it computes when to fire the spark plugs. If they are missing, the engine may not run. I'll need to do some research on how to troubleshoot them on this particular vehicle, but check the other stuff and get back to me with the results.
Mark
What could be the cause? Could the gas filter be so clogged up as to not even start the engine? Give me some possibilities pals! Thanks!
Lidation,
It could be several things. Let's cover some basics first.
The engine only needs three things to work. Fire, Fuel, Air. Air is almost always a given, so we'll focus on the other two.
Fuel is pretty easy to check. Climb down by your back bumper and have someone turn the key to "on" (not start). You should hear your fuel pump energize for about two seconds and then turn off. It'll be a quiet hum. If you don't have it, check the fuses or the inertial switch which is designed to shut off your fuel pump if you are in an accident. It's probably located in the jack compartment in the rear of the van. If you do get the hum, go to the engine compartment. On the fuel rail (shiny tube that feeds both sets of injectors), there will be a shrader valve (looks like a tire pressure valve). Remove the cap. You can use a writing pen and depress the valve and have someone turn the key to on (once again, not start). You SHOULD see fuel come out of the valve in good quantities. Don't depress the valve for too long, just long enough to know that fuel is being delivered to engine. (note, this puts fuel onto the engine, so make sure you don't ever do this while it's hot/running) If you have fuel there (and I think you will), short of having all bad injectors or a bad computer, it's not the fuel.
The spark is a little more difficult to test. The easiest way to remove a spark plug and check for spark. Pull the wire from a spark plug and remove the spark plug from the hole. Place the plug back into the spark plug wire and make sure the end of the plug is resting against the engine. Crank the engine and you should get a spark on the spark plug. Be very careful not to touch the spark plug because you WILL be shocked with thousands of volts. It won't kill you, but it will piss you off. If that disclaimer scared you off, you can buy a spark plug tester that just goes in line with the spark plug while it's in the engine and you crank the engine. If it blinks, the spark is good. I prefer my original idea because it's free, but the tool isn't very expensive.
If you don't have spark, it could be a bad coil pack/computer/crankshaft or camshaft sensors. On the windstar, the coil pack is broken up into three pairs of coils. It's pretty unlikely that all of them would have died at the same time.
The crankshaft/camshaft position sensors tell the computer where the engine is and it computes when to fire the spark plugs. If they are missing, the engine may not run. I'll need to do some research on how to troubleshoot them on this particular vehicle, but check the other stuff and get back to me with the results.
Mark
lidation
05-11-2010, 05:50 PM
Mark, Thanks a lot for such an educational reply! :wink:
I will check the items you mentioned.
Lidation,
It could be several things. Let's cover some basics first.
The engine only needs three things to work. Fire, Fuel, Air. Air is almost always a given, so we'll focus on the other two.
Fuel is pretty easy to check. Climb down by your back bumper and have someone turn the key to "on" (not start). You should hear your fuel pump energize for about two seconds and then turn off. It'll be a quiet hum. If you don't have it, check the fuses or the inertial switch which is designed to shut off your fuel pump if you are in an accident. It's probably located in the jack compartment in the rear of the van. If you do get the hum, go to the engine compartment. On the fuel rail (shiny tube that feeds both sets of injectors), there will be a shrader valve (looks like a tire pressure valve). Remove the cap. You can use a writing pen and depress the valve and have someone turn the key to on (once again, not start). You SHOULD see fuel come out of the valve in good quantities. Don't depress the valve for too long, just long enough to know that fuel is being delivered to engine. (note, this puts fuel onto the engine, so make sure you don't ever do this while it's hot/running) If you have fuel there (and I think you will), short of having all bad injectors or a bad computer, it's not the fuel.
The spark is a little more difficult to test. The easiest way to remove a spark plug and check for spark. Pull the wire from a spark plug and remove the spark plug from the hole. Place the plug back into the spark plug wire and make sure the end of the plug is resting against the engine. Crank the engine and you should get a spark on the spark plug. Be very careful not to touch the spark plug because you WILL be shocked with thousands of volts. It won't kill you, but it will piss you off. If that disclaimer scared you off, you can buy a spark plug tester that just goes in line with the spark plug while it's in the engine and you crank the engine. If it blinks, the spark is good. I prefer my original idea because it's free, but the tool isn't very expensive.
If you don't have spark, it could be a bad coil pack/computer/crankshaft or camshaft sensors. On the windstar, the coil pack is broken up into three pairs of coils. It's pretty unlikely that all of them would have died at the same time.
The crankshaft/camshaft position sensors tell the computer where the engine is and it computes when to fire the spark plugs. If they are missing, the engine may not run. I'll need to do some research on how to troubleshoot them on this particular vehicle, but check the other stuff and get back to me with the results.
Mark
I will check the items you mentioned.
Lidation,
It could be several things. Let's cover some basics first.
The engine only needs three things to work. Fire, Fuel, Air. Air is almost always a given, so we'll focus on the other two.
Fuel is pretty easy to check. Climb down by your back bumper and have someone turn the key to "on" (not start). You should hear your fuel pump energize for about two seconds and then turn off. It'll be a quiet hum. If you don't have it, check the fuses or the inertial switch which is designed to shut off your fuel pump if you are in an accident. It's probably located in the jack compartment in the rear of the van. If you do get the hum, go to the engine compartment. On the fuel rail (shiny tube that feeds both sets of injectors), there will be a shrader valve (looks like a tire pressure valve). Remove the cap. You can use a writing pen and depress the valve and have someone turn the key to on (once again, not start). You SHOULD see fuel come out of the valve in good quantities. Don't depress the valve for too long, just long enough to know that fuel is being delivered to engine. (note, this puts fuel onto the engine, so make sure you don't ever do this while it's hot/running) If you have fuel there (and I think you will), short of having all bad injectors or a bad computer, it's not the fuel.
The spark is a little more difficult to test. The easiest way to remove a spark plug and check for spark. Pull the wire from a spark plug and remove the spark plug from the hole. Place the plug back into the spark plug wire and make sure the end of the plug is resting against the engine. Crank the engine and you should get a spark on the spark plug. Be very careful not to touch the spark plug because you WILL be shocked with thousands of volts. It won't kill you, but it will piss you off. If that disclaimer scared you off, you can buy a spark plug tester that just goes in line with the spark plug while it's in the engine and you crank the engine. If it blinks, the spark is good. I prefer my original idea because it's free, but the tool isn't very expensive.
If you don't have spark, it could be a bad coil pack/computer/crankshaft or camshaft sensors. On the windstar, the coil pack is broken up into three pairs of coils. It's pretty unlikely that all of them would have died at the same time.
The crankshaft/camshaft position sensors tell the computer where the engine is and it computes when to fire the spark plugs. If they are missing, the engine may not run. I'll need to do some research on how to troubleshoot them on this particular vehicle, but check the other stuff and get back to me with the results.
Mark
drzoidberg
05-16-2010, 07:53 AM
Another thing that is easy to try...the Idle Air Control (IAC) valve sometimes dies on these things...mine got all crudded up and started dying while turning a couple years back. This valve bypasses the throttle body, and is what the computer uses to adjust the engine idle speed. To test, simply try to start the van while giving it a little bit of throttle. If it starts, then I'd say look real close at the IAC valve. It's about $45 to replace, and is easy to get at...right on top of the throttle body where it meets the upper intake plenum.
dkeselford
07-02-2010, 03:20 PM
My daughter was driving my 99 windstar down the road and it died..Would rotate but not start. Fuel was fine, no spark...Replaced cam and crank position sensors,,,still no start...
Tried to check for codes, PCM did not respond... Had wierd display messages on the dash....Turns out the dealer found the wiring harness under the battery box had shorted and killed the PCM...Fixed that harness, purchased a used PCM ( only the dealer can rekey the PCM and keys )
Back in action....Good luck..
Tried to check for codes, PCM did not respond... Had wierd display messages on the dash....Turns out the dealer found the wiring harness under the battery box had shorted and killed the PCM...Fixed that harness, purchased a used PCM ( only the dealer can rekey the PCM and keys )
Back in action....Good luck..
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