Car wont start !


steved57

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Mar 29, 2008
1,941
kilgore tx
Hey guys,
As you all know I am rebuilding my 2005 Quicksilver GT, and last April I had been working on it everyday for a couple months so I took a break till a couple days ago ! Anyway last night I needed to start the car (get air out of power steering system) and I cannot get it to start ! The battery is fully charged, it spins over like it should. Since it had been several months since I started it I held accelerator to the floor and cranked for about 30 seconds.
I then tried cranking with out any input to the pedal and nothing. I then barely pumped the pedal and it tried to start, just barely firing for 1 - 2 seconds. I then tried over and over and over, pumping pedal, not pumping pedal etc... etc... I even waited five minutes between tries to see if that would make any difference. The fuel gauge shows 1/3 tank and I used Stabil in the fuel several months ago (it would crank right up at that time) What am I doing wrong ?
Any ideas anyone ??

Thanks

Steve
 
Last edited:
Aug 25, 2006
4,436
All that you did is fine; it sounds like ??? the fuel pump is not coming on line

FYI pumping the pedal does NADA.

I would check all fuses and then repeat the process.

Hang in there as you are getting very close

Shadowman
 

steved57

GT Owner
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Mar 29, 2008
1,941
kilgore tx
Ah ha !! Thanks for the input as its the first thing Ill check when I get home !
Is that fuse in the box under the front hood ?

Thanks

Steve
 
Aug 25, 2006
4,436
Ah ha !! Thanks for the input as its the first thing Ill check when I get home !
Is that fuse in the box under the front hood ?

Thanks

Steve

Steve

There are fuses and relays in box under the bonnet for the fuel pumps and the fuel pump drivers and then in the passenger footwell area there is at least one fuse too

Takes care

Shadowman
 

nota4re

GT Owner
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Feb 15, 2006
4,312
To augment Shadowman's input please note that modern fuel injected cars - the GT included, will only run the fuel pump for about 3 seconds without the ECU confirmation that the engine has fired. It wasn't always like this, as it used to be that with the key on the pump would run until the system is pressurized. The change was made for safety reasons and it makes re-firing a car without a fuel prime a bit harder. In these scenarios, the trick would be to turn the key on and off numerous times. With each key-to-on turn you are going to get a couple of seconds of fuel pump turning. You can get the system primed this way. Of course, this assumes that the fuel pump is operational - to which Shadowman gives good advice on where to look.
 
Aug 25, 2006
4,436
To augment Shadowman's input please note that modern fuel injected cars - the GT included, will only run the fuel pump for about 3 seconds without the ECU confirmation that the engine has fired. It wasn't always like this, as it used to be that with the key on the pump would run until the system is pressurized. The change was made for safety reasons and it makes re-firing a car without a fuel prime a bit harder. In these scenarios, the trick would be to turn the key on and off numerous times. With each key-to-on turn you are going to get a couple of seconds of fuel pump turning. You can get the system primed this way. Of course, this assumes that the fuel pump is operational - to which Shadowman gives good advice on where to look.

nota4re:

Cycling the key was a very good suggestion

Takes care

Shadowman
 

steved57

GT Owner
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Mar 29, 2008
1,941
kilgore tx
Good morning guys,
Well I tried again last night and the car will not start. In my owners manual I found there are fuses in "both" fuse boxes under the bonnet however my book (unless I just missed it) I didnt see one listed in the footwell fuse box. I think I have bad fuel even though I used Stabil, so I decided to filled the fuel tank to full with fresh fuel hoping to dilute the bad fuel and it seems to get closer to starting as it ran maybe a second or two longer than before !. I did not know about cycling the key so I will try that next.

Thanks

Steve

I suppose starting fluid is a BIG No No ?
 

DanQ

GT Owner
Aug 18, 2005
336
Lake Zurich, IL
This probably won't help but I'll throw it out there. Does the GT have an inertia switch that needs to be reset? Other cars have a switch that trips off the fuel pump if the car gets rear-ended or hit. The relay needs to be reset in order to allow the fuel pump to work again.
 

steved57

GT Owner
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Mar 29, 2008
1,941
kilgore tx
I know the car has an inertia switch as I remember seeing it in the shop manual - however I dont know how it would have tripped as I was able to start the car a couple months ago, but it is something worth checking so thanks for mentioning it.

Steve
 

tmcphail

GT Owner/Vendor
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Apr 24, 2006
4,103
St Augustine, Florida
does it throw any specific DTC's ?
 

steved57

GT Owner
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Mar 29, 2008
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kilgore tx
excuse my ignorance but DTC's ? Whats that ?

Steve
 

tmcphail

GT Owner/Vendor
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Apr 24, 2006
4,103
St Augustine, Florida
Diagnostic trouble codes. That would help out tremendously if you could code scan it instead of guess what's happening.
 

steved57

GT Owner
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Mar 29, 2008
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kilgore tx
At this point I dont know that i have any way to scan it. Would that be with the Ford diagnostic scanner ?
 

tmcphail

GT Owner/Vendor
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Apr 24, 2006
4,103
St Augustine, Florida
You can use any OBD2 code reader, SCT device, you have a ton of options.
 

Neilda

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
3,559
London, UK
Is the clutch switch operating?

As the clutch has to be depressed to start the engine, I wonder if there's a small switch somewhere that's not doing what it should do? **





Neilda is not a member of an affiliated engineering or any other qualified group and, as such, has no idea what he's talking about. The value of your investment can go up as well as down. These vouchers may not be exchanged for food or clothing and may not be used in any outlet.
 

shelbyelite

PERMANENTLY BANNED
May 10, 2007
1
Is the clutch switch operating?

As the clutch has to be depressed to start the engine, I wonder if there's a small switch somewhere that's not doing what it should do? **





Neilda is not a member of an affiliated engineering or any other qualified group and, as such, has no idea what he's talking about. The value of your investment can go up as well as down. These vouchers may not be exchanged for food or clothing and may not be used in any outlet.



Car would not even turn over if the clutch switch was not working....
 

Neilda

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
3,559
London, UK
Car would not even turn over if the clutch switch was not working....

This is why my disclaimer is so important! :lol
 

Empty Pockets

ex-GT Owner
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Oct 18, 2006
1,362
Washington State
Neilda is not a member of an affiliated engineering or any other qualified group and, as such, has no idea what he's talking about. The value of your investment can go up as well as down. These vouchers may not be exchanged for food or clothing and may not be used in any outlet.


:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl :thumbsup :cheers
 

LeonardK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 6, 2008
32
What about the switch that is under the throttle that stops the car from starting if the pedal is fully depressed? That allows the motor to turn over but not start as in the proceedure to use after changing the oil.
 

tmcphail

GT Owner/Vendor
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 24, 2006
4,103
St Augustine, Florida
What about the switch that is under the throttle that stops the car from starting if the pedal is fully depressed? That allows the motor to turn over but not start as in the proceedure to use after changing the oil.

There isn't one that is based on TPSv