QuestionI have a 1990 Toro Trofeo 3.8 V6, 219,000 miles. This car has been running GREAT for the last 4 years. The elecronic dash has been fixed and struts replaced, other than regular maintainence(plugs, wires,fuel filter, brakes etc.) The car has had no major repairs.
About 2 weeks ago, I was coming home from work and as I was sitting at the stop light the car quit. I tried to start it and about the 3rd try it started. The car "stumbled" for about 10 seconds and then the fuel flow was steady.
The next day it started right up and I drove to work. When I got off work, It did not want to start. I finally got it to start and again after I got going it had that hesitation in the fuel flow for a few seconds and then the fuel flow went back to normal. It scared me and I was glad to get home, for fear of the car quitting.
My boyfriend who is pretty smart with cars, thought since the fuel pump was good, that the fuel pressure regulator may be bad, so he replaced it.
The next day I drove it to work, again it did not start until the 2nd or 3rd try. and then while driving it stumbled for a few seconds, and then went back to normal.
When I was ready to leave work, the car would not start at all. No matter how many times I tried.
I had to have the car towed across the street to an auto repair place. They put the car on the scope and looked for the possible problem all day.
They concluded, that it seemed like a crank sensor, but no code to indicate it. Their best guess was an electrical problem, possibly a short in the wiringto make the car act like that.
I got the car back into the parking ramp at work, it sat their for 2 days, I had to have it towed home because it will no longer start at all.
The Mech at the shop said when they tried to start the car their is no spark or fuel igniting.
So, here we are, I have a good battery, good fuel pump and filter, good plugs and wires, the starter seems to be strong, even though I have not heard it in a few days.
I don't think this is a short in the wiring, It just seems like it is something else.
Could this be something having to do with the starter, coil or crank sensor?
Thanks for any advice you can give me, If the car didn't run so great, I would have gotten rid of it long ago. You would never know this engine had all those miles on it. It really operates great.
Thanks again,
Mary H.
AnswerHello Mary,
I assume someone has checked the fuses, especially ign. for ignition fuse.
There must be power getting to the coil pack, and then a signal from the ecm(computer).
Crank sensor could possibly be the cause, but so could the ecm, ignition switch, a loose wire, and probably several other possibilities.
A bad coil would not be the problem, because that would just affect 2 cylinders. There are three coils.
But they all get power from the same fuse and wire.
You could check for fuel pressure, and even for pulses at the injectors.
Many of the sensors used on the engine, like throttle position sensor, etc, are not even used when the engine is cold, so they are more than likely not the problem.
So if the fuel pump is running, and you have pressure, and are sure there is no spark, concentrate on the ignition, starting with fuses and power supply.
ECM is definitely possible, but they are actually quite dependable.
Van
