Please help..…Car won’t start!

[oktane1]

I’ve had the car since new (2001 GT) and I have never had any problems starting it, until today that is. I parked it last night in the garage after a fun day and this morning the car will not start. There is plenty of fuel, I check both fuse boxes, all the panel lights seem normal. I checked fuel pressure and battery voltage. Engine is cranking normally but will not fire. I pulled an ignition coil, put a sparkplug in it and I don’t think I see a spark.

Any suggestions of what could it be or how to isolate the problem?

 

[mangledpenguin]

did you do the initial?

and check the intertia switch? when you turn the key to ign only (not crank) do you hear the fuel tank pressurize?

 

[DocG]

Did you crank it for awhile....did it sound like it was even trying to start? If not, probably ignition. If it was trying to start or had any detonation going on, probably something blocking your fuel. When you checked your coil....did you have the plug touching any other metal? Did the plug look healthy? If none of your plugs are firing, you might want to check the wiring before the coils for any shorts or melted wires.

 

[oktane1]

Thanks for the comments guys.

I don’t think this is fuel system related because of the following: I attached a fuel pressure gauge to the fuel rail, purged fuel pressure to zero and when I turned the ignition on the fuel pressure built back up. And yes I did hear a two second hum from the gas tank area during this time.

I tried cranking it for a long time, approx 10-15 seconds, several times, and it did not fire once. No detonation at all. So far I’ve tried three coils with sparkplugs held against the block and no spark.

Next I will try to replace the crank sensor and see how it goes…………

 

[Dragstr05]

Blindly throwing a crank pos sensor on the car is not a very smart idea.

You need to get your hands on a wiring diagram, and verify that you have power and a good ground(s) for your ignition circuit.

 

[oktane1]

Well, a crankshaft position sensor was the problem ($19 at AutoZone).
When I took an ohmmeter across the two pins on the sensor, the bad one, still on the car, I was measuring infinite resistance; the new sensor read 3.5K.

Off to lightin them up……….

 

[Wolvrin704]

Can't offer much advice and don't know much about the Stang 4.6 yet, but I have plenty of experience with the F150 4.6 and starting/charging problems. So far in my '97 (have had it since 98), I have replaced the battery 2x, the alternator 2x, the starter once, the negative battery cable once, the positive battery cable 2x and the alternator wiring harness once. These things are well known for their complicated charging system and of course you can only get the parts (other than the alt and starter) from the dealer. The battery cables alone cost around $150 a piece. Not to mention each and every time I've ever changed plugs or wires it would invariably blow a plug wire off continously or foul. I did strip one of the heads once and Ford retapped it, I won't change that plug even under threat of torture, not wanting to end up replacing the heads on it.

At any rate I bought another vehicle with the 4.6 and I hope I have far better luck with the charging system on it. Good luck on figuring out the problem. Maybe a stupid suggestion but did you check the fuel pump reset button in the trunk?