02 Taurus sometimes starts up

Ive got fuel pressure. I can clearly hear the pump starting up with key on. I just replaced the MAF sensor cause I thought that was the problem. It started up twice after I installed the new sensor on the second time it dead out.

We have also tired to start the car with starter fluid and that wont even work. So I am kind of at a loss as to what the problem is.

Welcome to the forum!

Have you checked for spark when the car won't start? An intermittent Crankshaft Position (CKP) sensor could cause a no-start condition. You may have just been lucky those two times with starting fluid. If not, then you can't really deduce that you have correct fuel pressure. Having fuel pressure because the pump is running is not necessarily the same as having correct fuel pressure.

-Rod

The starting fluid didnt turn the car on which was the weird thing. We checked spark while turning the key I was getting spark and as far as pressure i had someone press down on the needle on the fuel rail while it was trying to start, none the less being dead in the water and not able to take it to autozone for a code reading I had it towed somewhere to have a mechanic run a test on it :/ which is what i didnt want to do but oh well.

Hopefully the shop determines it to be something less expensive than a fuel pump. Please report back with what they find to be the cause and solution.

-Rod

well good news and bad news. They were able to get it started no problem. Bad news they couldn't find anything wrong with it. The guy said maybe the tow truck loosened something up in transit. He said maybe there was water in the lines and to put 2 bottles of heet into it. So im out 84$ and absolutely nothing got done to it :/

Well, that's less than the cost of a fuel pump....

You might check to make sure your battery cables are clean and tight.

-Rod

I went through the check list before i even considered a mechanic, and yes it was way less then a pump but... im still pissed all it needed was a tow truck to bounce it around to make it work.