1993 LX from Florida

91TwighlightGT said:

No, it's supposed to have the exposed fan blade that will rip your fingers off or catch your neck tie.

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Reck said:

So first to answer a few questions you posted:

General karthief – I need to tackle the leaves in the yard this weekend, so I will get the engine bay first. I prefer to call the paint job "custom designed".

Kiddiccarus – are you jealous of my length? As for work, here’s what I can recall: 373 gears, underdrive pulleys, BBK throttle body, H-pipes, intake filter (obviously). I don’t think previous owner did much either. As noted below, ether was not the solution.

Potomus Pete – Got it. Leaves first…then dirt. Someone else replaced hose so I can’t speak to the protector. I can probably hook you up though! Wires are Ford Motorsport.

7991LXnSHO – I recall replacing the alt a loooong time ago. I would have purchased from Advanced or something like that. Not sure why it looks as it does, but I don’t wear ties either so I’m not concerned right now.

Now to get to the overly detailed process thus far. Hopefully more detail is better in this situation.

• Purchased Innova OBD1 scanner. Got motor running well enough to do tests. Got O2 sensor codes. Replaced both with Motorcraft. Had to drop exhaust from headers to get passenger side sensor removed/installed as it was right against another part (not sure what to be honest: trans, frame, something).
• Motor will not start after that. Just crank but no start. That was also when tropical storm (Beta I think) dumped a ton of rain. I thought perhaps distributor or something else got wet.
• Checked the three items I knew to look for: air, fuel, spark. Wasn’t sure how to test air but I have no reason to think there is a blockage. Spark seemed good. Fuel pump primed when KOEO as it can be heard in car. Did not get fuel at Schrader. Used gauge to confirm pump was priming but instantly lost pressure. Noted sound of liquid flowing through a tube or restriction (fuel rail I think) when pump primes. Removed vacuum from fuel pressure regulator and did not notice fuel or fuel smell. Plugged vac line and tried to start with no luck. Still no fuel at regulator so assumed it was good. Assumed check valve in fuel pump failed. Replaced stock pump with Walbro 255-lph. Prime is now about 36-psi+ and holds. Sound of flowing liquid still occurs during priming. While I had tank down also replaced seals and fuel filter. No noticeable leaking anywhere. Still no start.
• Found the CRANK OK BUT NO START CHECKLIST on StangNet and followed the steps:
  1. Check spark at distributor: Followed procedure and confirmed spark, though “fat” is a bit subjective. I don’t think it was 3/8”, but it was blue. Did not continue with troubleshooting in this section.
  2. Confirm spark at plug: Removed #1 plug wire from plug and placed close to engine block. Did not see spark. Installed inline spark tester and confirmed spark. Perhaps spark is weak? Checked for moisture in distributor and wires (none), blew out dust, and sprayed with WD40. Did not replace anything else in this section.
  3. Starter fluid: First sprayed fluid into intake at MAF sensor (no start), then re-read directions and sprayed into throttle body correctly this time (still no start). Could the MAF needing cleaning now? Did not continue troubleshooting in this section.
  4. Confirm fuel pressure: as discussed above, new pump recently installed and pressure holds at Schrader. No further troubleshooting in this section completed.
  5. Confirm power to injectors: Confirmed 12V at front injector harness with multimeter. Not sure the number of injector but the one easily accessible at front of motor. Also got noids and confirmed also. Did not check any other injectors as I assume they all have power (should I confirm?). Confirmed TPS voltage. With KOEO it was about 0.95V. Confirmed similar reading using battery post for ground. No further testing in this section was done.
  6. Other things: Convinced myself it was failed IAB. Replaced and….no dice. Notice it is the only shiny item under the hood. I don’t think other items on this list apply – no recent engine work has been done.

In other research, I have noticed or completed the following:

• ECC – read that failed capacitors cause EEC failure including check engine to not come on at KOEO and EEC to not perform test. I am able to test (Innova OBD1) and got code 15 C “No Keep Alive Memory power to PCM” which I assume was due to my disconnecting of the battery for various reasons/testing. Would failed PC or relay still allow power to the other locations noted above?
• Thought maybe coil was going bad. Tested 12V at the harness and got about 8,400 ohms (I think, I didn’t write it down). Seemed OK from what I found but convinced myself to replace (Accel). Spark at distributor seems a little larger but not by much. Still no start.
• Pulled out some fuses from the box just to verify none burned up.
• Read about ground pigtail at battery post often corroding. My ground at the terminal does show some age and corrosion and could probably be replaced. But would this cause the no-start issue?

That's all I got at this point. Any advice will be be greatly appreciated.

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General karthief said:

Ok but seriously folks, when working the checklist you gotta do it step by step. Don't guess, you waste time and money (you already wasted you money on the accel coil you bought, chinee junk)
If you have spark then it would have at least tried to start on starting fluid.
IAB would not keep the car from starting.
There is also the possibility you damaged the maf but it would still try to start.
Back to basics:
If the distributor was removed check to make sure it is in the right place not 180* out.
Are the plugs wet, you do have regular copper plugs not some triple core plutonium tipped space plugs.
Fuel pressure appears to be good.
If the computer is communicating with the code reader it likely is ok.
When you turn the key to the on position the fuel pump should run for up to 3 seconds then stop, if it continues to run then there may be a computer issue.

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