diagnosing an engine start-up problem from

tomustang · Jan 30, 2007

a thousand miles away...? :khobra:

Yeah so my dad was driving around in my cobra and it died on him, since then he had the starter replaced and the car tried to start but won't turn over, he has tried the enerta switch and and still no go. There is a new battery and altenator in it, the battery is charged and good.

The shop he sent it too has no idea BUT they never deal with mustangs so I'm guessing it's one of the Coilpacks, anyone else give me a clue before I ship myself back to fix my car :dunno:

97blackgt · Jan 30, 2007

not really enough info..? start with the basics..if it quit while he was driving, check for fuel pressure? If it has fuel pressure check spark?

MeanGrn Gt · Jan 30, 2007

can he hear the fuel pump turn on or anything?

uncltrvlnmatt · Jan 30, 2007

If it is cranking but won't start I would go, or is trying to start. I would start by replaceing the fuel filter if it has not been done recently. Make sure it has good fuel presure. Also make sure the engine was not flooded. I know it is fuel injected but it can happen. My wife flooded my car. She gave it fuel while trying to start it and flooded it. I had to pull the plugs and clean them.

tomustang · Jan 30, 2007

Fuel system - good idea

Fuel Filter - ill have to get a flare tool to get that off, good thinking, didn't think about that one

Spark is fine, all new wires and plugs, only thing that is old is the coilpacks

this is challanging for me since i do not have any other info than what my non-mechanical parents tell me about it :-[

97blackgt · Feb 1, 2007

use a fuel pressure gauge to check pressure..should be (key on engine off) 37-43 PSI. If u have fuel pressure check spark with a 5$ spark tester. If it is getting spark and all the plugs look good, check compression...My guess would be the fuel pump went bad

95SVTCobraVA · Feb 4, 2007

There is another possibility. I have a 5.0 Cobra and I had a problem similar to this. It cost me a bunch of money to chase it down.

If you are getting spark while cranking then it is a good possibility that it is a fuel pump.

If you are not getting spark then it may be your coil packs OR your crank sensor.

The solution for my Cobra was that I had to replace the stator sensor in my distributor. For the 4.6 I believe you have a crank sensor.

Something to keep in mind.