Truck won't start after washing engine
 

Cleaned my motor prior to doing a plug and wire change. Have done this many times before with no problem. This time something died.
First it died suddenly on the way home. It blew the fuse on the Jacobs ignition system. I disconnected the Jacobs unit and was able to drive it home. Next day replaced the fuse and reconnected the Jacobs unit and was able to back it out of the garage with no problem. Did the plug and wire change and it would not start. Tried a couple of more times then it started right up. Drove all day Saturday and Sunday with no problem and parked it over night on Sunday. Monday morning it would not start period.
I have checked everything. Took the Jacobs unit off. Removed the Superchip. Pulled and inspected all the fuses both under the dash and under the hood. Double-checked all the fuses that control the ignition. Pulled the plug off the Crank Sensor. It was wet so I used compressed air to dry. Still won’t start. I even jumped the fusible links that ground the coils to see if one of them had blown.
Anyone have any ideas? There is no spark at all. The tachometer does not move.
When this all started yesterday, the tachometer did move very sporadically. Now it has no movement at all as I crank the ignition. It has plenty of battery and cranks fast.
This one has me baffled.
BTW 97 F150 w 4.6l auto.

WLF,

Everytime I have seen the "wash engine sporadic/no start" problem on these boards, it has been the sparkplug wire to coils connection. Somehow, water gets in the connection and sometimes only needs drying but sometimes it starts to "short out" then kills the coil(s). Let us know what you find out and good luck!

I changed the spark plugs and wires on saturday prior to the problem. I guess its off to the dealer. This will be the first time in the 120,000+ miles but I've been lucky that way.

Ill bet that the mass air meter sensor has condinsation on it and that is causing the problem. take it off and spray it with electric parts cleaner and allow it to dry. Probably will fix the problem. Let me know.

My only question is, did you cover all the parts with plastic bags that you're supposed to cover according to the owner's manual?

Try. Take off your distributor cover, and dry it all out and shoot with some wd 40

can someone tell me where the distibutor cap is on these engines??? he he he..........

I think sometimes that FATE has a sense of humor.
The problem with my truck turned out to have nothing to do with washing the engine. It was a bad receptacle in the fuse panel. The fuse to the PCM/Coils was not making contact. When pulled the fuse was good but was as if no fuse at all. Found this out when the code reader could not SEE the PCM at all. Traced the line backwards and found no power to one side of the fuse. Bent the tabs on the fuse so they would dig deeper and make contact and PRESTO, problem fixed.
Sometimes it just makes me NUTS!!!!


:mad: :confused: :D

BTW Ive been looking for the distributor cap for years.

Holy cr@p what a coincidence, I would have bet the farm that the problem was water related. I'm glad that you got it straightened out tho. Is the distributor cap like a salary cap ?? :p :p

Good luck.

WLF,

That is some incredible trouble shooting you did! Are you a ford mechanic or just an obsessed F150 owner! ha!

iron horse,
No actually I have a friend who IS a Ford mechanic. This one had him stumped. He just knew there was no signal from the PCM. He thought I had fried the PCM (about $300).
I used the wiring schematic to trace backwards with an ohm meter until I found no signal. I was just lucky to find the problem.


LE PEW,
Now that cap I found... at work!!

:)

Bill,

Sorry to get off subject, but your Lightning headlights look very cool. How much were they?

Thanks
Pete

peterbilt,
Got them off e-bay. Got them about 6 months ago. They are genuine 2002 Ford Lightning headlights available from a lot of places. If you have pre2000 you have to do a little modification to the light housing for clearance but they go in pretty easy. Thanks for the compliment.
I think they were a little less then $300 delivered. Pricy but a nice upgrade for the front end.

I just bought a 2002 FX4. I think the headlights will be my first project. That is if I ever get my truck back. Had it two weeks and already getting a new engine (leaking oil at rear main, bad casting). Been at dealer for a week.

Thanks
Pete