Truck didn't start tonight...arg. Help - General Technical Questions - Tech Section

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NewShockerGuy
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I don't know what is going on honestly so I'll just list what I did.

I replaced the radiator over the weekend along with some other things. Had it in the garage. Ran into no problems.

Pulled the truck out of the garage yesterday and parked it in the driveway. It started fine and it ran fine.

Tonight I go to start the truck and it cranks but doesn't turn over. It doesn't click like a dead battery would. Just cranks, over and over. I shut it off, and turned the key to prime the fuel pump. Still just cranked. Did this for about 5 minutes. It was dark/cold and I needed to go to work so I can't really look at it until the morning.

I replaced the fuel pump relay a month ago because I was experiencing a weird problem in that when I would go to the gym, and be there for an hour/two, when I came back out to my truck and started it up, it would hesitate and sort of idle weird/start up slower. It would actually do this if I shut the truck off after running and with in a short time start it back up with be a little hesitant. Tap the gas pedal and it would be fine after starting and would run/drive as normal.

I replaced the IAC and TPS for new ones back in the summer. Truck has new spark plugs, coil pack, and wires. Everything 100% OEM.

This has only happened one other time about 2-3 months ago when I was at work in the parking garage when I went to start the truck it would just crank. Not turn over. I waited about 5 minutes and then the truck started. The truck drives fine other wise. No loss of power or stumbling at all when driving.

But tonight it did not turn over. I was trying to listen IF I could hear the fuel pump making that priming noise and I gotta be honest I wasn't 100% sure I heard that whine noise that it always makes...

I would imagine the fuel pump is probably 17 years old/original to the truck.

The injectors original to the truck at least to my knowledge.

What should I be doing/ checking. I did take the relay out and put it back in but that didn't solve anything. It's been super cold the last couple days at like 10' F. But again it started right up yesterday afternoon. Tonight nothing. The anti roll switch isn't popped but I will check this again tomorrow in the morning.

*Edit: No check engine lights or anything blinking. Nothing pending either.

Thanks,
-Nigel

Last edited on Wed Jan 3rd, 2018 11:31 pm by NewShockerGuy

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Posted: Thu Jan 4th, 2018 12:55 am

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I've found on some American vehicles, that the harness/connector/plug for the fuel pump can be a little iffy, just poking the wires/pushing them in has helped on an old GM i looked at.

I just video'd my truck tonight and the fuel pump priming was heard very clearly on the video - if you can't hear in in the cab with the door open, maybe have someone else set ignition two with you outside listening for it.

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Posted: Thu Jan 4th, 2018 08:49 am

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mhoward
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Nigel, you mentioned the cold temperature. Is it possible you have some moisture in the fuel lines and it froze? Just a thought...

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NewShockerGuy
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Just tried cycling the truck again. No go. Cranks strong and hard but doesn't turn over. I tried this 10 times on/off and I can not hear the fuel pump priming at all. Where as before I could when I pulled it out of the garage..

I don't think there is water in the lines at all but that's always a possibility. Though not hearing it prime it's probably the damn pump.

I really wish this would just not have started in my garage because then I could work on it in a somewhat warmer climate than 10-20 degrees... lol Go figure. Probably going to wait until next week to even take the bed off since it will be around 48' F so it should be a little warmer.

-Nigel

Last edited on Thu Jan 4th, 2018 10:59 am by NewShockerGuy

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Posted: Thu Jan 4th, 2018 11:17 am

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mhoward
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I am assuming you have a pretty full tank (most folks keep them full in cold/snowy weather), so pulling the bed is probably the easier option.

I would check to ensure there is power to the pump before I pulled the bed or drop the tank. Could be something as simple as a broken wire.

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Posted: Thu Jan 4th, 2018 12:33 pm

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I don't know where the plug for the pump is on the Ranger, can you jiggle it without dismantling anything?

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Posted: Thu Jan 4th, 2018 12:34 pm

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mhoward
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The plug is on top of the tank.

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Posted: Thu Jan 4th, 2018 12:35 pm

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NewShockerGuy
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How do you test power to the pump? I can't even reach my hand under/over the tank to get to a power connector for the pump. I think I'd have to drop the tank to test? Funny thing is the tank is full. I just filled it up before the weekend so it's got 16 gallons of gas in there.

Nigel

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Nigel, using a test probe, you can puncture the wire to see if it has power. I would do that as close to the connector as possible. If you are worried about the little hole the probe would make, you can seal it with silicone when you are done.

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If you called me up and asked me to come over and fix your truck because of a no-start condition, and seeing that it cranks (BTW, this is identical in meaning to, "turns over", but neither phrase means it fires when doing so), the very first thing I would do after performing a visual for obvious problems would be to.....diagnostics to determine if it's lacking fuel or fire (spark). You want (and need) to do this because it minimizes the subsequent diagnostics by ~50 % and allows you to focus on relevant parts (and right now, it sounds like the fuel pump is just a big guess). Also, in light of how gas has up to 10% alcohol in it (unless you are making it a point to buy and run E0), the possibility of a frozen fuel line exists, but is low on the list. This because, alcohol absorbs water, and will remove it from the fuel system, like those $1 bottles of heat do, but that we don't have to use anymore. Nonetheless, at the moment this is a moot matter until the most basic diagnostics are performed (visual for problems, followed by the fuel or fire question). To do this will take 10-20 minutes of time.

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If you can't hear the fuel pump, it's at least that ;)

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Posted: Thu Jan 4th, 2018 11:53 pm

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NewShockerGuy
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So I tested the spark plugs. They definitely have spark. I can see it when I took it out and had my wife crank it. I didn't suspect this being an issue because it always started up and never hesitated when running or driving during my 60 mile commute every day. Plus the plugs and coilpack/wires are new being less than 4 months old.

I can not hear the fuel pump prime at all. Someone recommend taking a rubber mallet and smacking the bottom of the tank to see if it does anything. I might try that tomorrow morning. I am going to have my wife try and start it while I am under the tank to see if I hear the pump prime just so that I am not going crazy. Which I bet isn't going to happen.

Tank is full, just filled it up days ago before this. I normally never let the tank run empty and it's always fresh fuel every week. It never sits there for weeks/months with the same fuel.

Fuel pump should get to me on Saturday. OEM motorcraft. Just not looking to do this in the super cold weather outside. Bla!

I'll update hopefully in the next few days if I'm not frozen.

-Nigel

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Cold weather sucks, but at least it's not raining, it just started here and will be a pain as i need to do things outside.

Fuel pump is 110% a problem, i can't see there being anything else, but it's not imposible.

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....it cranks (BTW, this is identical in meaning to, "turns over", but neither phrase means it fires when doing so).....

Actually, that depends on where you live. I worked on a technical hot line for a few years and had the opportunity to talk with hundreds of dealer techs all over the USA.

In part of the country, the expression "it turns over" is 100% synonymous with saying "it fires" elsewhere. In my experience, using "it turns over" is most prevalent in the Deep South but is also common in many bordering states as well.

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Yeah i never did get that, as especially over the phone, it's incredibly inaccurate. I mean, how are you supposed to describe this case right here, it turns over, but doesn't fire. They're literally two different functions of the engine.

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Posted: Fri Jan 5th, 2018 08:13 am

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mhoward
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Here in Southern Indiana, the terms "cranks" and "turns over" are the same and indicate that the starter motor will make the engine rotate. The term "fires" means the engine starts as in "it's a great car, fires right up!". Part of diagnosing problems whether over the phone or on a forum, is determining the true meaning of the nomenclature being used. Same goes for my job (computer field)... 10 different people will describe the same problem with 10 different terms. Language is a bitch. :)

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Same in Ohio, at least central Ohio. Southern Indiana must be a suburb of Ohio.

ANYHOW the "whachyoucallit" syndrome spans many countries as well as states and sometimes cities.

In Detroit we called what people here in ohio refer to as a "fork lift" a Hi-lo. I came here and was looking to use the hi-lo and nobody had a clue what I was talking about.

Then we have one guy from "buckeye lake" area that calls it a "Tow Motor" and buckeye lake is a half hour from here.

When I lived in Kentucky we called the knit caps you wear on your head during the winter (if you do) a "toboggan". Then I went to Michigan in 6th grade, one winter before I caught the bus I was running around because I had lost my toboggan asking the teachers in each class if they had seen it. They all looked at me like I was an idiot.

Last teacher said to me "You can't bring your sled to school anyway" and I looked at him like he was an idiot because I had no idea what he was talking about.

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LOL My wife is from upper Michigan and wondered what I was talking about when I said toboggan. Up where she is from, they call it a "chook". Other folks call them knit caps or sock caps. When I was in the Navy, they called them Watch caps. Like I said before, language is a bitch. :)

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NewShockerGuy wrote: ......... They definitely have spark..........

Good, this and the visual inspection passing (that was done, I assume) are pointing you in the direction of the fuel system.

I went back and skimmed your posts; IMO, at this point it wouldn't hurt to go swap your current fuel pump relay with another that is proven to work. I also didn't see any mention of fuse(s) checked. Finally, something else to to realize (and never forget), just because a new part is installed never assures with 100% certainty that this part is actually good. The same applies to recently replaced parts.

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CBB9M wrote: Finally, something else to to realize (and never forget), just because a new part is installed never assures with 100% certainty that this part is actually good. The same applies to recently replaced parts.

This is SO true. Lots of electronics are DOA out of the box. Some will fail within a short period of time.

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People who don't remember (or know, or believe) this and who work on cars/trucks long enough stand a good chance of eventually being bit by it. I've also learned (the hard way) and depending on the part, that the time to turn in cores is not when picking up a replacement but rather, after said replacement has proven via test that everything is A-OK. Sidenote....I thought somewhere in here that I read something about if no sound is coming from the FP that it's at least that. Clearly, that line is incorrect, lack of power to a perfectly good FP will cause this no sound condition.

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NewShockerGuy wrote: Fuel pump should get to me on Saturday. OEM motorcraft. Just not looking to do this in the super cold weather outside. Bla!

I'll update hopefully in the next few days if I'm not frozen.

-Nigel
Nigel, I feel for you, I have to put a fuel pump in my wife's 99 Explorer Sport, & it has 3/4 of a tank full of gas & we just got 12" of snow & on top of that I have to do it in the driveway in 40° temp. :(

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Has anyone mentioned the inertia fuel cutoff switch?

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Anthony, I was assuming he meant inertia switch when he posted this: "The anti roll switch isn't popped but I will check this again tomorrow in the morning".

Maybe a bad assumption on my part.

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@CBB9M I said it's the fuel pump as a problem - i didn't say it was faulty... ;)

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