I have a 1996 ford f150 with a 300 straight 6 manual trans. The problem is it will just die on you and you cant get it to re start. It will just spin like you have no fuel or fire. Some times you can wait 5 minute and it will restart then on other time it might be the next day. When it does restart it might go 50 time before it happens again or it might go 1. Any ideas????? I took it to the ford dealer and no codes come up. thanks Terry

 

I had some one tell me it might be the computer. Any answer out there.

 

same problem with my sons as we speak....what you find out...i changed the crank sensor and the ignition mod....still the same problem....what about the coil????

 

I have same problem and have replaced wires, distribitor cap, plugs, and pcv valve and still have the problem mostly when muddin' or stalls sometime for no reason.

 

possible fuel pump, ignition coil, ignition module.

 

ignition module would be my guess, if not that you may have a weak coil,but I seriously doubt it. I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, but it sounds like you have a chaffed/worn wire in your ignition circuit and tracking that down can be a monumental booger. jbrew and JMC are good at this electrical stuff--hold on and see if you can get an answer from those two. If not, I can tell you the old-school method, but it involves a fire extinguisher and a sharp eye.

 

in all honesty, all he really needs is a cheap spark tester to check if its a spark issue. or he could use a circuit tester and check each wire spark that way right after it shuts down on him he can narrow down the problem. and if theres spark then its a fuel issue. you can take out the compression part because it still starts, it just shuts down and sometimes doesnt restart.

 

You need to check for spark (just pull out a plug and ground it. try to start it and look for a spark) and check for fuel pressure. There is a valve on the fuel rail (if injected) and I just use a tire guage. When I had the issue I had to change the fuel pump relay. It is not shown in the Chilton Manual. I found it after changing the pump and then running a hot wire to the pump for trouble shooting and it worked. I paid over $500 trying to fix a $20 part. If no spark the most likely the pickup in the distribitor cap (special tool to remove) Its been some time since I worked on that model and mine was a V8 sorry if I missed anything else but that should get you started atleast.

 

I have been having this issue as well. I have replaced all of the ignition system parts and still have the problem. After replacing the ICM I thought I had it fixed, I went for a 120 mile drive, no problems. I went to go fishing this morning and made it about 4 miles and it shut down. The ICM was not as hot as it usually gets when this happens.

I have fuel pressure, but I don't know if I have enough. The plugs were wet when I pulled them out this morning.

I have done every test I could by my self on the ignition system, and all have come back good. I can see spark now (I could not earlier, to bright outside maybe) and I dumped fuel into the intake and it still won't go. I should have tossed a match while I was at it and them it would be fixed for good. Darn me for loving my truck.

Still my best guess is either weak spark or low fuel pressure or injectors.

So is every body's first post about a broken truck?

 

I went and talked to a friend of mine about the problem. He had the same problem on his 96 bronco and replaced the O2 sensors both upstream and downstream and fixed the problem. I will be doing mine on payday and will let you know if this works....cross your fingers and pray.

 

Did you get her going yet?

Sounds like a relay problem.

Put your hand on the relay - bet it's hot. When their bad they get hot.

 

I got mine tarted by messing with the timming, but I could not keep it running. So I had a idea, and put my old ICM (I'm sure it is still working improperly) and reset timing by ear. and it ran great, kick her sideways, drove it like I stole it.

That was the last time I will buy ignition parts that say made in China, not even a name brand on the thing. I should have gone OEM, or performance aftermarket like MSD. The MSD ICM is about 100 I think I will go that route, and change the coil to MSD soon. Some times it cost a lot of money, time and beer and beer and beer to save a buck.