I am talking about the fact that EVERY time I stop for a short amount of time, my truck won't crank when I get back in. I was just at the gas station and when I got in to leave my truck cranked for 6 or 7 seconds before it turned over. I DID NOT PAY $35,000 DOWN FOR A DAMN TRUCK THAT HAS ALL KINDS OF CLUNKS, BUMPS, AND BURPS! What could be causing this? Is it the fuel pump maybe? It seems like the engine is not getting the gas it needs to turn over. Have any of y'all that have had the original "faulty" fuel pumps replaced had this problem lately?

Man, I am baffled, frustrated, and PI$$ED! Got the clunk "fixed" not even 200 mile ago and yesterday "POP! POP! POP!", heater hose is leaking, and now this. It's just annoying to drop the kind of money that we all did and not get the quality product that we paid for. If anyone has any ideas, let me know!

DUCK

------------------
November 18, 1999 We will not forget.
The fallen 12 will live in our hearts forever.
Fightin Texas Aggie Bonfire 1999

 

Hey Duck,
Sorry about your fustration, I understand after just recently having my Bolt engine replaced at 4000 miles.
First suspect is electrical.....I'm sure you have checked all Batt connections....also check your Batt health with a load meter.
Second suspect is fuel and air...if she cranks strongly but NO ignition, of course check in cab fuses and in engine bay relays.
Have you checked your gas cap? does this happen when you get gas ?the seal of the gas cap on fords requires a pressurized system..
sometimes little idiotic things that we are to upset to notice wire us up for more anger.
This is a solvable problem Duck...try to remember the EXACT circumstances when this happens....weather, where you got gas, any odd engine sounds,does it happen after sitting for awhile,after you have run it etc.
Hope this helps a little.
VERY carefully while the engine is running pull or tug gently on the pos and neg batt cables and ANY ground wire.

 

Correction to my post to DUCT01:
Sorry for the typing boo boo..
While the engine is running, gently and CAREFULLY tug on the pos and neg batt cables (also batt ground wires)to see if any engine failure occurs.You stated: "EVERY time I stop for a short amount of time, my truck won't crank when I get back in." Me thinks the answer is in the problem. You could even have a problem with your "fuel reset" switch. Are you on level ground when you stop ?If this was a computer problem (I doubt it)your computer would be seeing a major failure mode to then STOP ignition. A number of mustangs that I've had ALL when if parked at a strange angle would not start (crank but no ignition)until positioned at a better level.IF this is happening everytime then it is a reproduceable event..(thats good)...
I'll think some more on it.

 

It sounds like he's saying the engine turns over, it just doesn't "fire" until the starter has cranked for 6 or 7 secs. If that's a more accurate discription then it sounds like your fuel is draining back. Next time you expect it to do it turn the key on for a few seconds to let the fuel pumps refill the line and then hit the starter to see if that makes a difference.

You say it's when you leave it for a few minutes, it should also do it when it sits over night also. If it's not then it's something else probably related to the engine being hot, electronics, vapor lock(can EFI lock?), or whatever...probably whatever.

------------------
Red '00 Lightning,
Adopted 4/19/00,
Power Surge Performance enhanced,
Sound effects provided by Flowmaster,
13.701@100.81

 

Hey read your post sounds to me like you may be having a problem with your P.A.T.S. system. The key for your truck has a chip in it that the system must reconize before the truck will start. Is the red THEFT light flashing when it wont start?? This means it does no reconize the key. Do you have any other PATS keys on your ring?? My girl friends Focus kept doing this and it was because my Lightning key was right next to the Focus key on my ring moving it to the other side cured the problem. Anyway watch that light it will tell you if it is a PATS problem or not.

------------------
WHITE 00 LIGHTNING
no mods yet

 

Man it's great the way everyone jumps in to help someone, you guys are great.
Alvin

 

I have the same hard to start when warm problem also. I heard that it was quite common and the fix was to clean the cam position sensor. I have done many searches on this board where I read the above fix, but I can not find that post again. Anyone with info would?

 

Qwikpny has a point. I had the same problem when I was installing speakers in truck. I put the keys next to the speakers on my workbench. After I was all done, it took forever to start the truck and the THEFT light keeped flashing. I think the magnets messed something up with the PATS key. It cost me $25.00 for the Ford dealer to fix the problem.

 

^ Interesting ^

------------------
Red '00 Lightning,
Adopted 4/19/00,
Power Surge Performance enhanced,
Sound effects provided by Flowmaster,
13.701@100.81

 

Duck,
Mine did the same thing and had to move my Mobile speed pass to other side of my key ring. Just my .02 cents.
Jim

 

Thanks y'all. 4D Thunder said what I was trying to say. It cranks, it just never fires up. It's probably not my keys, as my L key is the only "high tech" key on my ring and I'm really not around any magnets or anything at all. I also don't think it is specific to my truck. I have heard others talk about the same thing happening to them after the truck "sits" for about 2-3 minutes when it's warm. Filling up with gas and/or running into a convenience store to grab a drink seem to cause this problem the most. If it sits for longer than 5 minutes, it cranks right up.

After I posted this and left the house (was on my way out the door as soon as I hit send) I remembered that someone posted a temp fix (you must repeat every 3 months or so) for this, but I can't find the post this morning. Was that your post, Shonut? I meant to try it way back when, but I just never came up with the time and soon forgot about it. If I can find it I will give it a try. If that works, I will know WHY it is happening and then can try to find some sort of permenant fix. Oh well, back to the search engine.

BTW, I'm sorry about the tone of the original message. Yesterday just wasn't my day.

DUCK

------------------
November 18, 1999 We will not forget.
The fallen 12 will live in our hearts forever.
Fightin Texas Aggie Bonfire 1999



[This message has been edited by DUCK01 (edited 07-23-2000).]

 

Hey Duck01,
I'm not sure which temp fix you mean but it certainly wont hurt to remove your NEG battery terminal for 30 minutes to CLEAR any previous "corrupted" computer run cycle data.
I've done this every few months on every ford
I've owned since 1990 and it really seems to help to smooth out idle run bugeboos.
Hope this helps.

 

I'll have to do that, Moon. As far as a temp fix, I was referring to cleaning the cam piston sensor.

DUCK

------------------
November 18, 1999 We will not forget.
The fallen 12 will live in our hearts forever.
Fightin Texas Aggie Bonfire 1999

 

DUCK01: That was me. I know it sounds wierd, and may even be a coincidence, but it's worked three times for me. I was told this by an ex-Ford tech who has said it happens on vehicles besides F-150's, but the others escape me as I write this.

The fix is simple and takes about 90 seconds, which means it takes longer to explain than to do, so here goes;

The cam position sensor sticks right out of the center of the LH (driver's) cylinder head immediately below the valve cover. There is nothing else even close to it so there's no mistaking it for something else, or vice-versa.

Removal: Remove the wire first. The RH (passenger) side of the connector has a flat area about the width of a toothbrush. At the radiator end of the connector there is a flat blade you depress to release the connector.

Take a 8mm socket and remove the 1.5" long bolt. Gently pull the cam position sensor out of the head (it's about 2" long by itself) and wipe it clean. Watch you don't knock off the rubber o-ring.

Reinstall: Simple. Just reverse the above. Remember the bolt's going into aluminum so don't overtorque, and no, before you ask I don't know the recommended torque <g>, but it's not much--just snug it up. When reinstalling the wire, just make sure you hear a solid 'click' sound meaning the connector is fully reseated.

Like I said above, it takes longer to document than do...this always cures it for me -- your mileage may vary.

Hey DUCK01: I found the original thread, here tis:
https://www.f150online.com/f150board...ML/004127.html



[This message has been edited by roger (edited 07-23-2000).]

 

Shonut and Roger are right on the button.

This is a common problem and you need to clean that sensor. I would check this before messing with getting new keys and what not.

Let us know what you find.