No fuel getting to engine??

Falyniii

Registered User
Can anyone help me with this. What would prevent gas from reaching the engine? Here's the scoop....I have a 90 TBSC....running fine last saturday. I parked it that night gas was almost on E. Next morning the car wouldnt start. i sounded like it was going to but just wouldnt "turn over" so i figure i need more gas. I add gas...(half tank) still same thing no start. i get a new Ignition module...still no start. Yesterday i unhooked the air flow pipe and sprayed some quick start in the engine.... It started! and cut back off:( so i figure the gas isnt getting to the engine. so where should i start testing. The red button in the trunk is down. what next? ignition switch? cam sensor? fuel pump? im new to workin on cars but i've been doing a lot of reading. can some some please point me in the right direction

THANK IN ADVANCE
 
hmmmmmmmmm...just read another post saying that if the upshift light stays on while trying to start then its the cam sensor. Im assuming the upshift light is the yellow light with the Up arrow on it. I did notice that that light comes on and stays on while im trying to start the car. So should i just change the cam sensor? where is it at?
 
actually if the upshift light stays on, it's the crank sensor thats gone bad. that is mounted just behind the crank pulley where the harmonic balancer is. it isn't that hard to change it yourself... i wouldn't pay a ford tech to do it unless you just don't feel like doing it yourself. it is a bit awkward to get at.

as an added precaution i would change the cam sensor too as this can cause your engine to stall out while driving it. you may get a check engine light setting code 214 (cylinder firing error) if the cam sensor is bad.

then if the above doesn't work then it has to be ignition switch/relay related. the last issue on this chain i would think is the fuel pump, but they usually cause intermittent running problems (the engine stalls frequently).

it would a very good thing to change all of these to make a strong running car provided there is nothing weird going on with your electronics (probably not the case here).
 
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Falyniii said:
hmmmmmmmmm...just read another post saying that if the upshift light stays on while trying to start then its the cam sensor.

Correction: Crank sensor. The Cam Sensor will not prevent a start...It may make it difficult because the eec has to go into a random mode to determine the cam position. The crank sensor will prevent you car from starting though.

It is located behind the harmonic balancer. You can change it with the crank pulley and HB on, but it is a bit difficult to get to if you've got big hands.

Here's the bigger picture though...The crank sensor does not "generally" go bad of its own accord. I would say that at least 90% of the time it is due to the harmonic balancer failing, or failed. First thing that I would check if I were you is the bolt that holds the HB onto the crank. It's pretty simple to find...Look in the middle of the crank pulley. If you see it there, then you know that it hasn't broken yet. The other thing that I would do is to remove the acc'y belt, then get under the car so you have an unobstructed view of the crank pulley, HB and crank sensor. You will need to remove the plastic timing covers too. Once that is done, you can rotate the crank and check for any movement. You do that taking the 3 vanes on the back of the HB that pass "through" the crank sensor. You'll see what I'm talking about when you have it infront of you. If those vanes are 1)damaged, or 2) not passing properly through the crank sensor, chances are VERY strong that your HB is on the verge of a (catastrophic) failure. You will then need a new HB, a neutral balanced crank pulley (or have your stock one neutrally balanced) and a new crank sensor. If the crank sensor/HB checks out visibly, then check the wiring. Trace the wires up the front of the engine to where it plugs into the rest of the harness. Sometimes those wires will be out too far and get "cut" by the acc'y belt. Although I haven't ever heard of that happening, it is a possibility, so check it out. If that's the case, then all you will need is a new crank sensor.

hytorksc beat me to the punch, but I hope that you still find this information useful.
 
the crank sensor..can stop gas flow? i still dont understand y i cant smell any gas? hopefully it doesnt rain too hard today. i'll go check out the crank sensor when i get home. Do i need any special tools?
 
the crank sensor is not related in any way to gas flow. this device sends the primary ignition signal (electronic pulse signals) to the EEC to provide baseline ignition timing. without this functioning, your car absolutely will not start regardless of what else you do. this is the nice thing about fords... they can be so predictable with this type of setup.
 
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Can you hear the fuel pump turn on when the key is in the on position? If not then you have a bad pump.
 
If you don't hear the fuel pump then check the fuel pump relay and the inertia switch for continuity.
 
hytork......well since the car actually does start(briefly) when i spray auto start into the injectors, wouldnt that rule out the sensor? if the sensor was gone it shouldnt start at all, right? and yes i do hear the pump when i turn on the car.
 
Falyniii said:
hytork......well since the car actually does start(briefly) when i spray auto start into the injectors, wouldnt that rule out the sensor? if the sensor was gone it shouldnt start at all, right? and yes i do hear the pump when i turn on the car.

To answer your question in short...No, it may start with the addition of some type of starter fluid. The system is more integrated than you are thinking...With the sensor not sending a signal, there will be no fuel delivery. That prevents the cylinders from flooding from multiple attempts to start. By simply cutting the spark alone, there would be too much fuel that can get into the combustion chamber and that's not a good thing. The spark plugs firing with no fuel will not hurt anything at all. This is just my thoughts on the system, as I am no expert. I'll check my manual for the ignition section and see what it says about how the sensors integrate with the rest of the system through the EEC. But I'm willing to bet that the EEC cuts the fuel supply as opposed to the spark.

If you really want to know if you have fuel getting to the rail, get a fuel pressure guage and check it at the fuel rail. You should be getting 40 psi there...If not then you need a fuel pump. But with NO start at all, I'm betting it is the crank sensor.
 
Thanks for letting us know. How did you pinpoint the relay? Did you hear the fuel pump work intermittently?
 
I Give Up!!!!! Broke Again

i dont know what the problem is. Im back to my original problem. Cars just spinning and wont catch. Its ran alright for the past week. But on friday its started cutting off on me (WHILE DRIVING). The Tach was just bouncing then the car just cut off! it started back up and made it home now it wont start AGAIN :mad: i changed the Ignition module, replaced fuel relay, just replaced the cam sensor, checked bolt on balancer......what next. Im not sure but i think that since ive replaced the CAM sensor my Check Engine light stays on now also. Any suggestions........if not does anybody wanna adopt a car? i think im through with this car
 
So we still don't know whether it's a fuel issue or an ignition issue.
I'm not an expert on this kind of problem but I'll make a few suggestions as no one else has.
Can you hear the fuel pump now? I would TEMPORARILY short the two wires that go to the fuel cutoff switch.
Get a test lamp and CAREFULLY (high voltage) check for a spark at the outputs of the coil pack.
 
My car did the same thing when the crank sensor went out the tach would jump before it died, If the upshift light is on while trying to start the car then definately the crack sensor change it and your problem is fixed.


NICK
 
I think Callmewhite is right. Change your crank sensor.
I see you changed your CAM sensor, but did you inspect the crank sensor? Or bag it cause it is hard to get to? You can rule out the fuel delivery theory by hooking up a pressure guage to the Schrader Valve located on the fuel injection rail by the front right of the supercharger.
However, your erratic tachometer, up-shift light, and hard starting are good signs that the crank sensor is going or already gone.
 
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