Electrical Crank No Start Problem In My '04

Syndrome Zed

New Member
Jun 17, 2015
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Hey all,

Just posted to the Welcome Wagon to introduce myself, but also found you guys because I have a problem I need help with.

I've got the '04 Anniversary edition - the one with the 3.9L (Windstar, right?) engine. About a week ago, the car started stumbling for no apparent reason, died temporarily, but was able to be limped home by keeping the car below 1500 rpm (first time I've driven the speed limit ever :) ). It finally threw a P0320 code just as I was getting back. P0320, bad PIP signal - everything I read said crankshaft position sensor, so I took it off and replaced it. I noticed one thing though - the sensor apparently pushes against the back of the closest pulley on the crank, so a wedge a few mm thick was sheared off the sensor body. The sensor was still magnetized, though. Once the replacement was installed, I was back on the road and everything seemed fine. I've put about 15,000 miles on the car since I bought it and can't find anything loose or that's moved, so I'm assuming the sensor was rubbing the back of the pulley all along.

Then a couple days ago I was driving along as usual and the car just stalled and wouldn't restart. It threw a P0320 again so I tried restarting...it came close and restarted once or twice but wouldn't stay running. Then after a couple more tries, it simply went back to "crank no start". I had it towed home and started testing.

The new sensor was still magnetized, but had sheared like the previous one. I probed the wires and using either sensor, I'm only getting millivolts of AC oscillation, so I assumed the sensors were both bad again. Only this time, when I put the previous sensor back in (the one that let me limp home), I still had the crank-no-start problem...and no codes being thrown. I tested the coil plug, and I'm not getting power to wire 4 (no light when it cranks), which should be powered when cranking. So according to the test/diagnostic info I can find, I blew a fuse or relay in the circuit when I was trying to crank it. Problem is, even with the shop manual, I can't find any fuses or relays to check besides the 3 40A ignition fuses in the battery junction box, and those were fine.

So I need to know where else the fuses and relays for the system would be so I can restore power to the coil...I haven't tried to run a wire directly from the battery to wire 4, either - I'm afraid of cooking the coil - so I also need to know if I can do that to test the CPS again and make sure it's not a fuel issue. It sounds like the pump is priming when I turn the key to run, though.

Lastly, if anyone knows about a way to adjust the position of the CPS so it doesn't get sheared on the back of the pulley, that'd be great, because I can't think of any other reason for the voltage to be low unless I happened to get a dodgy sensor (it *is* Duralast, after all).

Thanks for all your help guys (PS I HATE electrical problems :/ I'd rather just have a blown head gasket, at least then I know what to do)
 
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Update - So I got the car up and running again for a bit...the CP sensor was replaced and I noticed it was grinding down on the side facing the harmonic balancer. A mechanic friend of mine took a look and we found the HB had walked back off the pulley part of the way. I grabbed it and found it was loose, able to slide by hand on the pulley a few mm, but that was enough for it to slide back into the CPS and chew it up.

So...got a new CPS (again :( ) and am getting ready to pull the crank pulley/HB, but I can't find much info about replacing this/fixing the problem. How does the HB slide onto the pulley? They seem to be one unit in a lot of the pics. Can a repair sleeve fix the problem? Or will the HB installer tool be able to re-seat it so it won't walk back anymore?

Any help - anyone who did this before - any of that is great - thanks!