1995 Lincoln Town Car

Thank you for your reply. I tried all types of setups with wobbles and long extensions and the like. What finally worked was a 1/4 drive stubby ratchet attached to a 3 inch extension and a 10mm deep socket. You have to get a good grip on it to apply some leverage but luckily the bolts are not torqued that tight. Also spoke with the dealership parts department and apparently they have gone to a 2 bolt starter. Wonder why? LOL

I took the starter to the local Schuck"s tested and it showed good but the damn thing does not turn very fast according to other starters I have tested. Going to take it to the local Auto Electric guys and have them look at it.

The issue I am having is that when you go to crank the engine it turns over very slowly. I left the battery hooked up which was recharged and took my jump starter box and hooked it up also to the positive post on the starter while it was still attached to the engine. It did not make a difference so that eliminated the possibility of bad cables and battery. I took the plugs out also before this so that engine should have spun very quickly. I took a socket and ratchet and put it on the alternator pulley bolt and turned the engine by hand. It turned over very easily with no binding.

I got this car from a guy that stated that one morning he went out to start the car, it started and ran for about 5 seconds then died. He tried to restart it but with no luck, The car sat for 2 years and has 110k miles. He drove it everyday up until the time it would not start. I am figuring that maybe he cranked it until he damaged the starter. Need to get the engine to spin properly so I cam continue with the diagnosis. Figure it will be the crank or cam sensor that is bad?

No water in the oil and had valve covers off and the cams and rockers move up and down also.

I just had it tested at the local Auto electric guys and they even pulled the back cover and inspected the brushes. Said one was about 50% but the starter was good and should still do it's job. Back to the drawing board on this one.

Shouldn't I have oil coming up to the rockers when I am cranking this engine over?

OK. Picked up a remote starter switch and put some oil in each cylinder. Compression came up and engine sounds better. Also turns a lot faster than I had originally thought while cranking from inside of vehicle. Now have to get right valve cover off to reseal since I broke it loose to inspect. Looks like I will have to jack engine up on that side to get valve cover to clear rear rocker tower.

After I get both valve covers resealed and all electrical connectors back in place then I will proceed to check for spark and go from there.

Now confident there is nothing wrong with the engine and it is a electrical issue. ;-)

OK. I have everything back together and checked all of the fuses and relays. Had the Ignition control module tested and it is good. Guy recommended that I replace the Crankshaft position sensor so I did but still no spark.

Camshaft sensor next? Can the camshaft sensor cause a no spark situation to all plugs?

I have checked all of the interior fuses as well as the engine compartment fuses and relays. All are good.

I am not receiving power to the center terminal connector for the ignition coils.

What else could prevent power from reaching that center pin with the ignition key in the on position?

The red wire has power at the ICM and the PCM relay clicks when you turn the ignition on. According to the test procedure the center terminal at the coil connector should have power with the key on but it does not nor does any of the wires to the coil.

Thank you for the information.

Finally got her to run today.

Since I did not disassemble the left bank V/C and undo the big 42 pin connector under the brake booster. I did not know that it was held tight by the bolt in the center. I had just plugged it back in as I would any connector.

As soon as I bolted it in I checked for power to the coil. It was present and then it started. :-)

So it was a combination of things to actually get her running again. Either their was corrosion on the CSS or the sensor was bad causing it to die initially. Since I replaced it as it was the most common issue with shut off and not start I don't know if it was just the connector or other. The OHM resistance on both the old and new are similar so there is no way to know unless I put the old one in. Not something I am going to do since you have to unbolt the A/C compressor to remove it.