Car dies and won't restart right away

LARBECK75

MEMBER
1996 LINCOLN TOWN CAR
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
186,000 MILES

I'm trying to help my dad. He has a 1996 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series. After running the car for an hour or two, it just dies. He usually has to let it sit for 20 minutes before it will restart. If he accidentally turns the car off just after starting it, he will have to wait again. It isn't overheated. The fuel pump works fine. No shop can ever find anything wrong with the car, even on their diagnostic equipment. It usually does this every time they drive the car. It has gone for almost a month without shutting off before. We just can't figure out what is wrong, or can anybody else. Do you have any ideas?

1 Reply

WRENCHTECH

MECHANIC
20,757 POSTS

All "crank, no start" conditions are approached in the same way. Every engine requires certain functions to be able to run. Some of these functions rely on specific components to work and some components are part of more than one function so it is important to see the whole picture to be able to conclude anything about what may have failed. Also, these functions can ONLY be tested during the failure. Any other time and they will simply test good because the problem isn't present at the moment.
If you approach this in any other way, you are merely guessing and that only serves to replace unnecessary parts and wastes money.

Every engine requires spark, fuel and compression to run. That's what we have to look for.

These are the basics that need to be tested and will give us the info required to isolate a cause.

1) Test for spark at the plug end of the wire using a spark tester. If none found, check for power supply on the + terminal of the coil with the key on.

2) Test for injector pulse using a small bulb called a noid light. If none found, check for power supply at one side of the injector with the key on.

3) Use a fuel pressure gauge to test for correct fuel pressure, also noticing if the pressure holds when key is shut off.

Once you have determined which of these functions has dropped out,
you will know which system is having the problem.