Cranks - No Start, smells like gas

fordman54935

Registered User
Hey guys,

Its been a while since I've posted, but I could use some advice. My 94 SC auto has been sitting in my garage most of the summer just due to other projects and commitments getting in the way. It was running just fine, I would start it once a week and run it up to operating temp and everything was fine, except for an occasional "hiccup" it ran great.

The other day I go to take it for a ride, and it cranks and cranks, stinks like fuel, but sputtered to life. Ran like crap so I turned it off. Tried to start it again yesterday, and it just cranks and smells like fuel. No Check Engine light:(

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
Jeff
 
fouled spark plugs. If you need it to start soon, change the plugs. Otherwise get in the car, put your foot all the way to the floor on the gas pedal and crank the motor for 10 seconds. Then stop and let it sit a few days with a battery charger on it. Then try to start it again. Probably will start.
 
The check engine light is on when cranking. The gas is from earlier this summer, but since the car is not my daily driver, I always add sta-bil when I put fuel in the car. I have yet to pull a plug and see if its fouled. Thanks for the starting points I'll see if I have any luck:)

Jeff
 
If the crank sensor is bad the upshift light will stay on while cranking. I've read you can unplug the cam sensor and after a few turns it runs, that would show the sensor is bad. Is there maybe fuel leaking by the rails or Injectors?
 
Check engine light should go out when the engine is cranking. If it stays on, or flashes while cranking, that can indicate a problem with the crank position sensor and/or it's wiring. Since the car is stored, I'd check the wiring first. Then make sure the sensor itself isn't loose down by the balancer.

If you find an issue with it, you will need to change plugs as well as they likely got fouled from the lack of starting.
 
Well guys I've spent some time over the last few days checking all the wiring and vacuum lines under the hood of my 94. I was unable to find fault with anything. I do have a tach signal while cranking. The plugs, which only have a few hundred miles on them, didn't look too bad all things considered. I did have an occasional spark when I checked that. The car did sputter again, but not wanting to wash the cylinders with gas, i only cranked it very shortly.

Sounds like its a bad Crank Position Sensor. Is there a way I can test it? I've searched but no luck. I'd like to try and test it before I drop the cash on a new one.

Thanks,
Jeff
 
Jeff,

Did you try holding the gas pedal to the floor to turn off the injectors as Mike suggested ? I would do that cranking in 10 second intervals and when it fires quickly drop it down to about 2000 rpms and hold it steady as you can until the missing from fouling the plugs clears up. It's not going to hurt the motor.

David
 
I've had no start problems on three different SCs, 2 5sp and one auto. Bad crank sensors, in my experience, cause the upshift light to flash when cranking. You would also get a stored code associated with a sensor failure. Suggest that you read codes using the junper on the test plug under the hood. Codes are very helpful. Get the codes - people here are very good at interpreting them.
 
What happened to me on a 90 tho was the ignition switch wasn't make good contact when cranking so it cause a low voltage signal getting to the DIS module which in turn didn't have enough juice to fire up. I would suggest you check your voltage going to your DIS and ignition switch. Hope this helps
 
Well guys I finally had time to pull the codes the other night using a jumper wire. I got code 214 DIS cylinder identification circuit failure. So it looks like the crank sensor crapped out. I also noticed while having a friend crank the car that the balancer is wobbling so I'm going to replace both the balancer and CPS with motorcraft parts and see if it fixes my problem.
 
Well guys I finally had time to pull the codes the other night using a jumper wire. I got code 214 DIS cylinder identification circuit failure. So it looks like the crank sensor crapped out. I also noticed while having a friend crank the car that the balancer is wobbling so I'm going to replace both the balancer and CPS with motorcraft parts and see if it fixes my problem.

214 usually indicates a bad Cam Position Sensor, not the crank sensor. BTW, Ford no longer makes the balancer, so I doubt you will be able to locate a new one.

David
 
Thanks Dave, good to know. My friend who works at ford just informed me the same thing about the balancer. Which balancer should I get? BHJ? or is there any decent aftermarket ones? I don't need SFI rating, its just a street car.
 
Thanks Dave, good to know. My friend who works at ford just informed me the same thing about the balancer. Which balancer should I get? BHJ? or is there any decent aftermarket ones? I don't need SFI rating, its just a street car.

I would get the BHJ non SFI version and a set of ASP or March underdrive pulleys. Main reason for using the underdrives is because the set includes a nice zero balance crank pulley, but you also gain about 10 or 15 HP.

David
 
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