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2008 explorer xlt sputtered / died unexpectedly- no start

2K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  resq302 
#1 ·
o, I've been working on my Captains wifes 2008 explorer with the V-6 and I got it to fire up and run for a few seconds today before it died and won't start again. I replaced the Fuel pressure sensor in the fuel rail (had received code P0191 before I started the repair) after I had to pull the intake manifold off. That is when it fired up and then died and no start again. When I turn the key to the on position, I'm not certain if I hear the fuel pump whirring for a few seconds or not but other cars I've heard them louder so it might or might not be working. Aside from dropping the tank, and checking the wiring at the pump, is there any place to test and see if I am getting power to energize the fuel pump? If I am getting power to the pump, what else should I check? Is there any kind of fuel pump control module like there are on the F150s and the Expeditions?

Thanks in advance,

Brian
Brian
Boonton, NJ
 
#2 ·
Captain's wife? Are you a pirate? :BaconDance:

Right after turning the key one click away from starting, it should energize the fuel pump for a second or two and you should have pressure in the fuel rail.

There should be a schrader valve on the fuel rail and you can press in that valve to see if you have fuel pressure. You can also hook a pressure gauge up to the valve to see what that pressure is, leave it hooked up while cranking the engine (need a helper so one person cranks while one looks at the gauge unless gauge has a max lock feature (or whatever it's called) to show how high it was unattended).

To check power, it depends what you're trying to rule out. For example you could use a multimeter with an insulation piercing tip to probe the wire going directly to the pump but it won't tell you if the connector at the pump is bad. I'm not implying that the connector is the likely fault, just suggesting that wherever you measure it only proves power is okay up to that point in the circuit.

The last point where there's an electrical component before the run to the rear of the vehicle is the fuel cutoff switch, meant to turn off the pump if you're in an accident. It is usually up in the passenger footwell on the right corner or possibly behind the right trim panel there. You can try pressing it in case it tripped but I doubt it since you had it running for a few seconds already and no report of any kind of accident or severe jarring type of repair work that might have triggered it.

Anyway, 12V goes into that switch from the fuel pump relay, and if the switch is closed as it normally is, 12V out of it goes to the fuel pump, so measure for 12V on the connectors to it and any chassis ground.

The relay, you can consult the owners manual for its location, there might be a fuse too shown in the manual. They are bound to be the same type as other fuses and relays so you could swap in a different relay from the same fuse or relay box so long as it isn't from a circuit also vital to start the vehicle.

You don't happen to have the PATS security theft light blinking rapidly do you? That would prevent starting it.

Other things to check are pull the spark plug wires off the distributor and see if you're getting spark on them. Another possiblity is a bad crank sensor, which you could either swap if no other fault is found, or hook up an OBDII scan tool capable of showing live data to see if it's getting crank sensor feedback.

I don't know about a fuel pump control module. Would proceed without thinking about it and go back to check on that if none of the above helps.

I assume you put new gaskets on the intake manifold as the old one may not seal well after removal.

Going back to fuel, you could spray starting fluid in the intake to see if that gets it running for a moment.
 
#3 ·
no, I'm in law enforcement. I found a couple areas to check out and the procedure to rule stuff out so the next nice day that its some what warm out I'll be back up to his house to check it out. Hopefully its not the fuel pump as he dumped more gas into the tank thinking the sending unit was off.
 
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