I was driving down the road the other day and my '96 F150 5.0L truck sputtered, then drove fine for about 1/2 mile then died.

A friend came by and we hooked a tow strap to his Silverado for him to pull me home (about a mile). Just before he started to pull me, I decided to "try one more time", the truck fired right up and drove fine for the mile to the house. (Maybe my F150 just couldn't stand the thought of being pulled home by a Bowtie Truck! )

I turned it off and let it sit for a minute and tried it again. It fired right up.

Tried it about an hour later and it wouldn't start and hasn't started for days.

I've replaced the following:

Fuel Filter
Plugs
Plug wires
Distributor cap and rotor


The truck turns over fine, just won't start. (Acts as if it's not getting fuel.)

But, there's fuel at the fuel rail.

And, I hear the fuel pump run for a few seconds when I first turn on the key and, as I said, there is fuel at the fuel rail.

BTW, there are no abnormal dash light activity (no check engine light, etc.)

No spark at the plugs or coil. Is there anything other than a bad coil that will cause that?

If so, any thoughts as to what I should try next?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

 

Pull the codes

 

My buddy had the same priblem on hus 92 5.0 ran then would die randomly and not start for an 1 hour or 2 then would fire right up and run then we shut it off it fired up again revved it and it died pulled of the dist. Cap ( after a whole day of checking every single wire) and everything looked good so we decided to pull it of for shi** and giggles and after looking closer there were metal shavings in the distributer! It was a re man. Btw so pull it off and check I'm almost certain that's what it is hopefully. Good luck!

 

Thanks for your reply.

I didn't see anything in the distributor when I replaced the cap and rotor, but I'm thinking that it must be something to do with the distributor.

It is the original distributor as this is a 2 owner truck and I've had it since it had 36,000 miles on it and the friend that I bought it from never had it replaced.

I'm not sure that I'm equipped to replace a distributor and get the timing right and all that. That's one reason why I haven't replaced the pickup coil in the distributor as yet. But, it looks like that I'm going to wind up having to pull the distributor, huh?

BTW, I just replaced the ignition coil, still no spark.

Took ICM off and went to parts store, they tested the ICM and said it passed all the tests, so I put it back on.

I guess I'm now down to a new distributor or pickup coil, huh?

 

Thanks for your reply.

I don't have a code reader, nor do I know how to use one and/or interpret the codes.

Would it be giving error codes if there's no check engine light?

Since the truck won't start, I guess I'd have to have the truck towed somewhere to get the codes read huh?

If that's the case, I guess I should just tow it to a shop and have them fix it.

 

Replaced the coil and had the ICM tested.

New coil didn't address the issue.

ICM tested at parts store, they said it passed all the tests.

 

Yes unfortunately you will have to pull it. Its very easy to get it off a half inch bolt that holds it down putting back on is also easy just getting the timing is a two person job. You can rent a timing gun from a parts store or buy one fairly cheap also a code reader for your truck is OBDII if it is a 96 there should be a plug under the dash on the drivers side again you can rent one! If you get a timing gun hook one of those cables to the negative battery cable(I forget but it should come with directions) and the other one to #1 spark plug wire. Start the truck and have someone watching the harmonic balancer you may have to clean the dirt off of it an mark 10°BTDC You could also advance the timing to 13 degrees for some more power! Also disconnect the SPOUT connector and get it up to operating temp. You can be on top and turn the dizzy till your helper says its at 10°

 

Also mark where everything lines up so you can match it up to the new one

 

Thanks again for your reply.

There are a couple of terms that you used that I'm unfamiliar with.

OBDII?

"SPOUT connector"?

The plug is under the dash as you said.

I've set timing on older stuff, but didn't know if the new stuff will all of the computers and EFI and all that was different.

Maybe I'll give it a try.

Thanks again for your advice.

 

OBDII- On Board Diagnostics II. The feds made the Manufacturers standardize the connector and their location and expand the types of sensors used. Also, the codes are more user-friendly over the older OBD I system. Ford cut in the OBDII in 96. The SPOUT connector (SPark OUTput) is on your distributor. Pulling it is like pulling the vacuum advance on your old points style ignition.
http://www.merkurencyclopedia.com/EEC-IV/spout.html

I'm having a similar situation with my 97 F150. I live in Phoenix, and if I leave the truck out in the sun, it will crank strong but won't start. I've sprayed a bit of starter fluid into the air cleaner housing and it come to life but only for a moment. It only happens every now and then and only it's if it's been out in the sun. Usually, if I roll the windows down and cycle the key between tries a couple of times, it will fire up. Today, it just didn't want to budge. I tried it a few times and just had to let it sit for a bit and then VROOM! It runs great once it starts. The only other time I have ever had this issue was on my 96 F150 (RIP) and that was because someone kicked the panel covering the inertia switch when the were getting out of the truck. That was an easy fix, just push the button to reset it and off we went. I'm wondering if the heat may be affecting that thing in this truck. I'll have to experiment with it the next time it does this.

 

Actually on a 96, the SPOUT connector is in the wiring harness between the ICM and the dizzy.

With regard to the ICM, they can and do exhibit a failure when they get hot and recover when they cool off. It makes testing them to find a problem almost impossible. yours is mounted in a heat sink on the firewall rather than on the dizzy housing like was done on older models. This has greatly alleviated the problem but failures still can occur - and still be impossible to find.

 

codes

 

Have you found the problem yet?

 

It has yet to show itself again. I was in CA for the last couple of weeks on the coast where it was nice and cool. Now that I am back and getting back to my routine, we'll see if it re-occurs.

 

This could get quite confusing - this thread is about a 96 with a 302, we have a new member with a 97 that jumped into the thread. There is very little similarity between the 2 vehicles. I am assuming the replies have all been directed to the ORIGINAL poster.