hozak

hi - just trying to see if anyone here might have an idea of what this problem could be before i have to spend money at the ford dealership.

i have a 01 taurus. this problem has happened 3 times.

1 - i went to get gas. i was very low. i put $20 in and went to start the car, but it would not turn over. i kept trying for about 5 mins and it finally turned over.

2 - now everything is fine. i use the car daily, sometimes for hour long trips a couple times week. 2 months, no problems. i go for a 10 minutes ride from house to meet someone. turn the car off for 5 minutes, go to restart it and it wont turn over. the first time i try to start it, the car seems like it wants to start, it starts to shake and almost turns over, and the rpms never reach past 1. now i wait there for 2 hours, trying the car every 5 minutes or so, nothing happens. then all of sudden, it turnsover and starts right up. you can smell a strong odor of gas in the car too. i take the car home, no problem. get home, turn it off, turn it back on, no problems.

so i go to pep boys the next day. explain this problem. he tells me to try some dry gas. i buy 2 of them, fill the car with super. he also tells me to buy gas from the same place all the time. i do that too. and i also havent been letting my tank get below a 1/4 tank before filling up again.

no problems for almost a month and half.

last night, same problem. i drove 5 minutes to get something to eat with my dad. came out an hour later and it wouldnt start. this time though it wouldnt start after 2 hours of waiting there. so i walked home, had my girlfriend drive me back 2 hours after that. and it started right up again. so it sat there for 5 hours before it would start up.

does anyone have any idea what this could be?

also, this always seems to happen on days when its pretty humid and over 90 degrees. and when im parked on a very slight incline. not a huge incline or hill, but just enough that if the car is in nutruel, it would roll back.

im sorry for the very long explanation, but i figured it might help.

Thank in advance for ANY help or ideas you could give me!

John

 

hozak

i forgot to mention 2 things. when this happened yesterday, i had almost a half a tank of gas. and ive been getting gas at the same place for the past 2 months.

also this happened one other time inbetween that. i went to get gas. i was pretty low. the gas light had just turned on. i got $20, which gave me about 1/3 of tank. the car wouldnt start again. i waited there for 5-10 minutes. didnt know what to do, so i decided to ask the guy to fill it up. after that it started right up, no problem.

thanks again for any help.

SHOZ123

Well if it's not turning over at all it has nothing to do with the gas. I would suspect either the starter or the cables connecting it to the battery.

When it doesn't turn over is it rapidly clicking or just a single click why holding the key in start?

hozak

i guess maybe "turn over" isnt the best words for it. the engine will crank like it wants to start but doesnt. and sometimes it will start at first, but the rpms are very low and the car /engine just shakes for about 5 seconds and then stops.

SHOZ123

Running the tank low all the time will shorten the life of the fuel pump as it needs the gas to cool it.

Also if you don't get gas a lot and never fill the tank and if they use alcohol in the gas then 2water will build up in the tank. Just adding a couple of bottles of gas additive will not help unless you run it all out.

Fuel filter? Have you checked the fuel pressure when it won't start?

hozak

im going to be honest, i have no idea how to check the fuel pressure.

SHOZ123

Another thing that leads to mysterious no start conditions is the crank sensor,.

1meanGT

It sounds like you are looking for ideas.

If it were mine....

1. Run the tank as empty as you can get it without ending up on the side of the road. Fill it all the way up without putting any additives in. Water should not be a problem with the addition of Ethanol into todays vehicles.
2. Replace the fuel filter if it has not been done in 36,000 miles.

3. Check fuel pressure- you may have a faulty fuel regulator or fuel pump (most likely before the regulator).

4. Pull a spark plug when this symptom occurs- if they look wet, it may be a crank sensor as the previous post stated.

Off the wall- is is possible that your vehicle could be vapor locking? This can happen when it is very hot, and tank is low on gas. Usually it is caused by fuel lines close to exhaust, leaking exhaust, ect. If your car is noisy- this could be a problem.

I'm sure you will hear more ideas from other members too. Good luck!