Car won't start and i need help

[ryan97cobra]

Monday i tried to start my car and it turned over like normal and acted like it was gonna start, but as soon as i let go of the key it just stopped. It hadn't quite got started so it didn't "die", and now it will not start.

I have checked all fuses under the hood and inside the car and they are all good. Its getting spark, so im assuming its not getting fuel and by not getting fuel i mean its not getting ANY fuel. The fuel pump comes on when the key is turned on and sounds normal and i tried priming it a couple of times but it made no difference.

It just turns over and over and doesn't sound like its even trying to start, i figured it would be spark but i checked each wire at the coil and they are all getting a good arc from the coil pack. So that is why im guessing that it is not getting a drop of fuel.

What could cause this? I haven't had any problems previous to this. Is there a relay or fuse i could have missed that controls something that would cause this problem?

FIXED

Apparently the Idle Air control valve was stuck shut or something and i pulled it off cleaned it and whacked it a couple times then with my foot on the floor the car fired up after a few turns. It didnt want to idle at first but that was just because the motor was flooded with fuel and it coughed and smoothed out after a couple minutes. Shut it off and restarted it twice without using the foot on the floor method so it seems it was just stuck and works fine now. Go Figure...I read that the IAC can act up from time to time like this just before i went out and pulled it off.

 

[ryan97cobra]

I just checked the fuel pressure at the rail and it is good. So if it has spark at each wire at the coil packs then something must be keeping the injectors from firing. What could cause this?

Also the car is not throwing any trouble codes....

 

[ryan97cobra]

Another update:

It seems the injectors are squirting, because when you hold open the throttle body the smell of fuel is overwhelming.

This is leading me to believe that my timing chain has failed, is this an accurate assumption?

 

[cbramblett02]

does the fuel pressure remain steady while trying to crank. the passive safety devise (little black box above clutch pedal located on a bracket) can shut fuel off so the pump will prime, then the car will try to start, and then die. its possible it took a dump. i don't really know a way to check it though sorry. you could also check with a scan tool see if you have a rpm signal bad crank signal/sensor could do the same however i don't think you would see spark if that was the case, but worth a shot.

i say that about the anti-theft (or passive-safety what ever ford calls it) box only because i had the same symptoms early this week and found it to be my cause (btw i did a dash swap and didn't swap it from the old dash to the new dash lets just say i was a little upset after spending all day on the interior swap then not getting to start the car)

 

[ryan97cobra]

does the fuel pressure remain steady while trying to crank. the passive safety devise (little black box above clutch pedal located on a bracket) can shut fuel off so the pump will prime, then the car will try to start, and then die. its possible it took a dump. i don't really know a way to check it though sorry. you could also check with a scan tool see if you have a rpm signal bad crank signal/sensor could do the same however i don't think you would see spark if that was the case, but worth a shot.

i say that about the anti-theft (or passive-safety what ever ford calls it) box only because i had the same symptoms early this week and found it to be my cause (btw i did a dash swap and didn't swap it from the old dash to the new dash lets just say i was a little upset after spending all day on the interior swap then not getting to start the car)

Can't be a fuel supply problem from the pump because it doesnt even try to fire, just cranks and cranks and doesnt make any attempt at getting fired up. Its got strong pressure at the rail too.

It isn't throwing any codes either.

Side note: I thought i would try setting the car back to stock with my XCal 2 and when i pull the fuses for the fans and fuel pump the XCal 2 will not go through with installing the stock tune, but if i leave the two fuses in it will try but you can't do it without removing those two fuses because the battery will die. Why would it do this?

I don't think its the anti theft because from others experiences it would start but immediately die.

 

[ryan97cobra]

Another update:

It seems the injectors are squirting, because when you hold open the throttle body the smell of fuel is overwhelming.

This is leading me to believe that my timing chain has failed, is this an accurate assumption?

Ok so the timing chain at least on the passenger side has not failed, and after letting the car sit for several hours i tried it again to see if the check engine light came on while cranking and it did not. While cranking it actually made an ignition sound and i thought maybe it was gonna start, but it did not.

What is going on here guys? Would the car still get spark if the crankshaft position sensor was bad? Camshaft position sensor?

 

[Toasty]

Next guess would be crank sensor.

 

[ryan97cobra]

Next guess would be crank sensor.

Im going to check that today.

Also this morning i figured id give it a go and see if it would do anything different and while cranking, about 3-4 seconds in I got a nice intake backfire. I don't really know what would cause this to happen. Any ideas?

 

[ryan97cobra]

UPDATE


I pulled all 4 plugs on the passenger side, and after cranking a few times they were all saturated with fuel. So the car is getting fuel through the injectors. I also checked spark again and both coil packs are putting out strong arcs. I am now leaning towards a lack of air. I tried holding the gas pedal down to get it to do something and it rumbled just a hair which is more than its done at all until this point so im leaning towards IAC valve.

Could the IAC keep the car from starting at all?

Once again: No codes, strong spark from both packs, and plugs are getting wet with fuel. What could it be?

 

[ryan97cobra]

FIXED

Apparently the Idle Air control valve was stuck shut or something and i pulled it off cleaned it and whacked it a couple times then with my foot on the floor the car fired up after a few turns. It didnt want to idle at first but that was just because the motor was flooded with fuel and it coughed and smoothed out after a couple minutes. Shut it off and restarted it twice without using the foot on the floor method so it seems it was just stuck and works fine now. Go Figure...I read that the IAC can act up from time to time like this just before i went out and pulled it off.