Unable to start

Tiny
WILDMAN30
  • MEMBER
  • FORD EXPLORER
I have a 1991 Ford Explorer with 299,000 plus km's.
My vehicle was left unplugged recently when it reached some really cold temperatures and the next morning it did not start.
Since then we have tried boosting, plugging it in and placing a charger on the battery and still nothing. All it does is crank over and over with the occassional back fire.
What should I be doing to get this vehicle operational again? Or where should I be looking that may be the source of this problem?
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Saturday, January 13th, 2007 AT 5:49 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
BACKYARDMECHANIC
  • MECHANIC
  • 337 POSTS
Start but finding out if you have good spark and fuel. Check for spark at the plug. Check that it is present and of good quality. If there is no spark inspect and test wires, cap rotor and connections. Test the coil and module to see if they are defective. If you have no power to the primary side of the coil start looking at the module or a open wire to the primary side. If it is a fuel problem check the fuel pump fuse and relay. Also see if you can hear the pump running by turning the key to the on postion and listen for the hummming of the pump. If the pump runs and the fuses are good you may need to check the filter to see if its clogged. If you have spark and fuel then the timing chain may have slipped and needs replacing. Good luck :)
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Sunday, January 14th, 2007 AT 9:00 AM
Tiny
WILDMAN30
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Thanks for the advice.
I was able to get spark in the spark plugs. As far as I can tell the fuel pump did work. I was also able to notice the battery did not hold much of a charge even after sitting on the charger all evening and all we did was try to start the vehicle and listen/watch to see what was happening. And even tried to boost again. The battery does appear to have some ice on top of it. It is -40c outside today and has been for the past several days. Could that be my problem? Could I have drained it too much and screwed the battery up before I got a charger back on it? I have a newer battery which I plan to try and see if the battery is an issue.
As for being able to check the fuel filter I am not even certain where it is. Another thought that came to mind is there a possibility of when we tried to start it the other day - could we have flooded it and it got into the oil and not getting any friction when we crank the motor? Which would mean changing the oil or is there a simpler way to check that. We did look at the dipstick and it looks normal.
We are more convinced though the timing belt slipped the last time I had it running.
Let me know what you think about this and other suggestions you may have.
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Sunday, January 14th, 2007 AT 12:46 PM
Tiny
WILDMAN30
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I just took some time to check to see if my block heater was working since it is so cold. It turns out my block heater is not working and I was wasting time thinking/believing it was. I do believe with -40c to -50c temps right now my vehicle is just frozen. I have made arrangements to get that changed immediately.
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Sunday, January 14th, 2007 AT 3:26 PM
Tiny
BACKYARDMECHANIC
  • MECHANIC
  • 337 POSTS
The weak battery could be contributing to the car not starting, along with the extremely cold weather. If the car still won't start after you get the heater working, I would also check that the plugs have not been fouled out from flooding it. If they are good then you are back to the timing issue. Good luck and try to stay warm.
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Sunday, January 14th, 2007 AT 7:55 PM

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