'99 Windstart start then shut down

Had an incident today that I'd rather not experience again if it can be helped. Went into town, about a 12 mile hike, and pulled into the local Wal-Mart parking lot. Went in and spent about an hour in the store. Came out and got in the van and turned the key to start. It started right up and then abruptly shut down. It would not restart. Got under the hood and checked for fuel at the rail. Pushed in the valve stem on the schrader valve and it spurted out. OK Seems to have fuel. Pulled the most accessible plug wire off. Held it close to the Neg battery terminal bolt and had my wife turn the engine over. Seems to have good spark. So now I'm thinking what the heck is going on here. Tried a few more times to start it, but with no luck. Carry an EZ-Reader 2000 with me and tried to connect it to the OBD connector. Seems they didn't send the cord they say to use when connecting to a Ford. Used one that looked like it might work and tried to get some indication as to what is happening. Wouldn't work as the book said it should. Finally gave up on it and gave it one more try before calling a wrecker. Vrooooom! It was off. So now I am a little gun shy. It's back home without any problem. I still have no clue as to why it wouldn't start. Anyone here got any ideas? I'm looking into getting the proper cord for the reader. Should have gotten aquainted with it before a real need developed. 20/20 hindsight. Thanks for any and all replies.

Two relays to be suspicious of .... PCM power relay ... and the fuel pump relay. Both are in the battery fuse relay box.

I had thought that maybe the PCM may be the culprit, but wasn't aware the relays might figure into it. I'll have to have a look. If these are standard relays I think I have some laying around and I'll carry a couple in case this occurs again. If not I'll have to get hold of a couple just for spares. Auto parts houses have these, maybe? How about the PCM, is that a Ford only item or do the auto parts guys have them? Thanks for the reply.

Don't know about aftermarket shops ... they probably have them. I happen to live fairly close to "all" the dealers, so I just buy from Ford.

There are two part numbers that cover most of the serviceable relays on the '99 ....

Larger relay ... FOAZ -14N089-A ... (such as PCM power relay). About $8.
Smaller relay ... F5TZ-14N089-B ... (such as fuel pump relay). About $6.

... there is yet another part number for the radiator fan relays. Don't have that number at hand just now.

Oh, were you asking about the PCM itself? Forget it, I don't believe they ever fail. Quite tough. But if you did have to replace it, ouch! It is a Ford only item. Quite pricey. And you need a PHD in physics to install it correctly ... it has to be "married" with the instrument cluster and the key transponder ( the ceremony can only be held in Canada and Maine...LOL) ....a real geek task.

Many thanks for the part numbers and ball park costs. Seems a little "cheap" for a Ford part provided by Ford. Seems they're always 2 or 3 times higher than anyone else. Good to hear that the PCM is "Ford Tough" if it is indeed as pricy as you indicate and something near impossible to install on your own. What kind of tool do they have for pulling those relays? I tried pulling by hand last night and they aren't coming out that way. I hope you're not going to say I'd better get on a body building regimen.

Most of us Iron Pumpers don't have any problems with those relays ... especially if we use a large pair of slip joint pliers and some WD40.

OK! Gave me a start there for a minute. I thought maybe slip joints or something of the sort. I'll have to get a pair to keep in the van just in case. Thanks for the pointers.

General reminder that one should always check the inertia switch to make sure it's closed when there's weird starting issues. These inertia switches are just a ball & cup and can have strange intermitants. Just the slighest bump can cause it to cut power to the pump.