Potential Big Issue
 

so tonight i went cruising on the ave with a few friends of mine. no street racing or anything, just up and back a few times, sometimes stopping and shutting off my car for bout 5 minutes in between. i gunned it a few times just for shits but no real hard riding. went somewhere closer to home to mess around and shut my car off for about an hour. tried to start it and all it did was turn over with no firing. i have a cobra (please leave the cobra bashing out thank you) radar detector so i know what my voltage is at constantly. even had a friend come down to throw on his battery starter, same thing, turn over but no firing. then tried rolling and dropping into gear. still nothing. came back about an hour and a half later and it starts right up...can anyone please help me diagnose my issue before it becomes a recurring issue? you guys know your shit, im only 20 and havent done half the shit you guys have so please fill me in. i think it may be something with my fuel delivery or my spark plugs. i havent checked them since i got the car even though i should have.

Fuel filer could be a good cheap place to start. If you haven't replaced it in a couple of years then you should do that anyway. I doubt it would be the spark plugs themselves, but I'm all for the maintenace so check them and replace if you think it's needed, couldn't hurt.

Bro I have that problem all the time. Fuel filter would be a place to look, or pump.

When that happens to me I trip the fuel cut-off switch, try to start it, of course it wont. Then turn it back off. Works everytime.

I would start with the basics like always.

Is the fuel pump turning on? (you should be able to hear the pump turn on and prime the system every time you put the key in the "ON" position.)

Are you Getting fuel to the fuel rail? On the fuel rail you have a test port where you can press down to see if fuel comes out. I shouldn't have to say it but, be careful about getting fuel in your eyes. It will squirt out.

Next would be spark. See if it has spark.

See how the connections are under the hood for the MAF,IAT,IAC, etc....

Check for codes on the ECU.

Hey Spike, wheres that test port at?

I've never heard of that.

The schrader valve. It looks like a valve stem. Front left on my car.

I read this and thought WTF?!?

And then I laughed.

That's exactly what I did! Lol.

could be ur pats system is messed up, I had to have mine turned off by a tuner cause ford wanted hundreds to fix it. If you theft light blinks rapidly when then u try to start the car that is most likely it. To get it started you gotta take off positive cable to battery and then pull out the headlight knob for 15 mins and that resets ur computer according to ford.

Shouldn't it reset the minute the battery cable is unplugged?

I always thought that the computer resets after being unplugged for 5mins.

Good call that totally skipped my mind. Could be the key is going bad and thus the PATS system is getting mad.

You have to drain the power out of the ECU to reset it. Just pull the Neg cable, put the headlights on and wait 5 mins or so and your good to go.

pats system is what? and yes it was blinking rapidly when i tried starting thing is that i left it alone, drove it a couple times today and had no problem

Passive Anti Theft system.

it blinks theft but i dont think it actually works, is there any way to test it?

your key is going bad or something with the pats system is going bad. I'm not totally sure on my info but i "think" the pats system in the the special keys we have that are programed to our car only that send a signal to the computer to allow the car to start. You can have a spare key made anywhere but i will only work to open your doors and if you try it on your car it will only crank as it will not give power to the fuel pump because it is not receiving the message from the key.....I THINK lol

hmmm...makes sense...also i think just because i can, im gonna replace the plugs, fuel filter and then the key

thanks for all the help guys

thats what we are here for bud

well i tested the fuel rail n it looks like theres nothing getting to them so im not taking any chances and replacing the fuel filter and pump, as well as upgrading to the bbk aluminum fuel rails on AM :) anyone tell me where to get a good fuel pump? im prolly goin with the oem replacement filter. since it lasted 70k miles i think i'll go with the same one unless you have a recommendation for that too. any input is welcome.

Hold on before you do anything and you don't need those fuel rails your not even close to maxing out the stock rails and fuel mods don't add power.

When you turn the key on does the pump turn on and prime the system? you should hear it turn on and pressurize the system for a few secs. Then check the fuel rail for fuel at the shrader valve. Of course be careful not to get fuel in your face. You can also rent a gauge to check the pressure at the rail to make sure everything is ok.

it sprays out quick but not continuous and no i dont hear the pump prime the system, i never hear it do that..ive only had it 3 months and havent heard it like i did on my old stang

i would get it checked out before dishing the money out on something like a new fuel pump.

i dont mind spending the money, if nothings wrong with it i'll take it back, but i already bought the fuel filter and the pump. when it comes to my baby i dont mind spending the money. hopefully gonna check everyting over tonight and make sure what it is. also with the fuel rail, even if i have my car mostly stock will the bbk high flow rails hinder my cars performance? down the road i do plan on makin big upgrades like a twin screw charger maybe n2o so just getting the parts now and having them for later is ok with me, plus itll dress up my underhood a bit.

I am going to toss and wrench in the equation....

Fuel pumps, spark plugs, fuel filters, etc... just don't majically fix themselves or go randomly bad and then start working.

Computer systems......they dick up all the time. PATS could easily explain the problem.

If you could get a friend who could hook it up to a Ford diagnostic PC, you could tell exactly the problem as long as it cant start.

You can hear the pump run when the key is switched to the on position. The fact that some fuel comes out of the rail means its getting some kinda pressure. If you bought a new pump I hope you got something better like the SVT focus pump or Aviator pump or even a Ford GT pump.

Even with nitrous or a supercharger the stock fuel rails flow way more fuel then your stock motor can handle. So once again don't waste money on something you don't need and won't do shit for you.

so i messed around last night and found something out...plugs look good, poured fuel in plug holes, replaced and tried to start. it tried firing. so i tried pourin fuel in the tb and same thing, it fired for about 2 seconds. and shut off, so im pretty sure its the fuel pump not pushing enough pressure through the rails. and where do i get a focus pump at for my 4V cobra. i bought a stock replacement for it cuz i wasnt sure where to get a better pump.

i havent installed it yet, cuz i cant get it started long enough to get it in the garage so i still have time to return and get a different pump.

I would test to see if your getting power to the fuel pump first too, because I am starting to think it is a problem with the PATS or theft system on your car.

You can get a SVT focus pump from many places such as your ford dealer. Just make sure its the SVT focus pump and not the standard focus pump. We used to have a guy named Randy which is where pretty much everyone got there pump from, including me.