Random starting

[Blackstang01GT]

I posted last week about my 01 GT always having plenty of cranking power but sometimes not starting. Well it is acting up again. The car has been starting up, more than a dozen times, no problem. Drove it to work yesterday, went out at lunch to try it, started right up. Go to leave work hours later no start. Messed with the key turning it back and forth, pulling it in and out. Tried starting the car with the clutch out, of course no start. Push the clutch in car starts like it should. Came home from work tried starting the car numerous times during the evening, no problem. Go out this morning, car will not start. Tried several different things for several minutes, no luck.

I have noticed when the car starts all the gauges on the bottom of the dash light up and the theft light is on steady, no flashing as the car is cranking. When the car does not want to start the theft light flashes as the engine is turning over. WM Burns stated on a previous post that the clutch switch has nothing to do with the PATS only the starter and relay. According to the Haynes book, which could be wrong, the clutch switch is also linked on some models to the anti-theft system. I would assume models with the anti-theft system. I was not able to listen for the fuel pump priming. With the door open the bells are going off, with the door shut, I am not sure whether you can hear it or not.

Could it be the fuel pump going bad? For the past year the car sometimes runs bad and misses like crazy. But there again it is random. Sometimes it runs fine. Next stoplight you take off it is spitting and stuttering. I am not real familiar with electric fuel pumps. Could my problem be the fuel pump sometimes not working at all causing the starting problem and other times half working causing the missing problem? Or does the fuel pump normally just quit completely? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Alex46]

Does it do the ticking sound? Or is it cranking and just not starting?

Also in regards to the fuel pump read the thread i just post about the fuel filter. I went 22k (7k over what factory recommends) and you could barely blow through the thing. Like i got a tune up almost.
Forgot all about it, and i am Very good with the up keep of everything. Just one of those out of site out of mind kind of things for me

Anyways. back to what's it doing when it won't start?

 

[wmburns]

When the car does not want to start the theft light flashes as the engine is turning over.

The theft light should go out after a 3 second "prove out". If the theft light on (or flashing) after the prove out means the PATS system has been activated (or failed). Crank with no start is to be expected.

PATS disables the fuel pump. So....no sound of the pump.

Continued cranking will activate the time out option of PATS. Once activated, the car will not start (even with a good key) for 15 minutes.

Search the forums for how to access the cluster self test and post the results. Otherwise, since you seam certain that your fuel pump is bad, replace it and let us know how it works after the repair.

Replace your battery and the cluster will stop sweeping. In fact, it wouldn't be out of the question that all of your problems tie back to a weak battery (or dirty terminals).