92 probe not starting intermitently

Hi all

i have a 1992 ford probe, v6 3.0litre.

for the last 2 weeks it's been having an intermittent starting problem. the engine turns/cranks just fine but will not catch and turn on. it doesn't happen all the time just now and then and only when i don't have a witness and am way to far away from home to walk. I have taken it to several mechanics and they have never even witnessed the problem on my car let alone been able to identify it. as far as i know they have checked the battery and distributor. tomorrow i have another mechanic who will check the electrics and the fuel lines but it will be to no avail. unfortunatly anytime i have a witness who might know how to fix a car it has started every time without any problem, until of course i drive 2 blocks from there and park it. then it won't start for anywhere from 10 mins to 1 or 2 hours. so far there hasn't been any problems starting in the morning at all -- the problem *seems* to come after i drive it for a little while then park it for a bit. oddly if i drive it for 20 mins then park it at the mechanics to show him it will start religiously, but if i go to safeway it will leave me there for a few hours to "think" about why i bought this car.

any help is appreciated

paul

Cars can be sooo much fun. main reason I'm no longer a mechanic. You need 3 things for the car to run:
Air
Fuel
Spark.

Air's not the problem here...It's a fault with the fuel system or ignition system.

Sadly without having it do this in front of the mechanic? Very hard to diag. How does the car run in wet weather? Any skips or 'miss-fires'? Any loss of power while driving?

To be blunt I'd start with the fuel pump relay..One quick way to 'hear' if the fuel pump is working while it's in this 'dead' state is to have a friend or someone try to start the car...and keep an ear to the rear of the car just above ground level. Fuel pump I believe is located in the fuel tank..and you'll hear a light "whine" when the car tries to start up. If the relay has a bad set of contacts? It can fail at random times...but it's when the relay is first kicked 'on' when you start the car that it gets wacked the hardest as the contacts close.

Just food for thought, hopefully the mechanic will think to change out that relay..it's normally not to much $$ and it would rule it out. Could be a failing winding in the fuel pump itself...but I'm not sold on that one quite just yet.

Best of luck to you!!

S-

fuel filter was changed, most of the distributor was changed.... still doing it lol....

maybe 0-2 sensor? god this is killin my wallet

Im having a similar problem except that about 2 week ago my car would not stay running it , would shut off on me . I was unable to get it scanned, I live in a small town that was not equiped with the proper connection for my car. well finally my car did start after taping the air flow connection that was loose . And the car ran for two week . Now my problem is the car will not start at all . Now i have purchaced a new starter and a batter previously just befor the car was giving me the "shutting off problem " ' which is when the starter and battery was bought' . like i said not it will not catch the start at all . what could this problem be . help please.

O2 sensor? Really do not think so... We are talking about mostly a problem starting the engine. O2 sensor will effect mostly "driveablity" and fuel milage.

When someone goes to start the engine on their car? The onboard computer is using a vast number of "pre-stored" settings for air and fuel mixture. It can't get a proper reading while you are cranking over the engine from the O2 sensor as it's not up to it's operational temp.

O2 sensors won't normally cause the engine to "shut off" but will create problems with fuel "milage" (Miles per gallon) and can also create odd smells from the exhaust (might start to smell like rotten eggs)

I still am inclined to think the cause of the no-start condition could be fuel related. Possible burnt contacts with the fuel pump relay, or perhaps a bad winding in the fuel pump itself. Sadly the only way to really figure it out? Is to have the problem happen while it's at the shop being checked :(

For the post by mishabo? The only time I've replaced starters and batteries is when the car's starting system failed. If the starter was cranking over the engine at a good rate, and the battery passed the 'load test'? I would'ent recommend replacing it, unless it was giving random starting problems such as "no cranking over" at random.

When you mention "will not catch the start at all"? That's a sign of not a problem with the starter (if it's cranking over in a decent fashion? The starter itself is doing ok), but either a fuel problem, or a problem getting the spark to the spark plugs.

In Mishabo's case this should'ent be hard to figure out by a decent mechanic, as the problem is "no start" all the time. Again? A faulty fuel pump relay which has failed totally can cause this. There is also a fuse which if blown? The fuel pump won't get any juice. Owners manual should show the location of that fuse, it's rating..and it's not hard to replace if it's blown.

Did the car start it's shutting off problem while being driven, sitting at idle, trying to do a heavy accel? That problem, along with the current problem might be related.

Not sure what else I could offer to suggest? without having the problem in front of me having it happen? Very hard to pin down.

S-

hey i had a problem like this in my probe, and it was the distributer... i don't know if your's is the same problem as mine though, because mine would start up fine, then it would die after a few minutes, then it would be dead for about 2 hours. it was fun getting it home from 30 miles away. it took about 15 hrs to get it home. ahhhh fun times. lol, hey teddy bear, you seem like your pretty smart, could you please see the post probe having trouble accelerating, it's on the 2nd page. i still can't figure out the problem...
-tom

tedybear 'hanks for a response'. the car had shut off while it was being driven ,I don't have an owners manual check for the fuel pump fuse.I bought it used in march. it really is a good running car just given me hell now.

Just spent about an hour under my g/f's probe fixing a blown heater hose. While nose diving into it? Fuses for the high current items "should" be next to the battery under the hood, might even be labled. Relays for the assy's are located on the car's firewall (rear section of the engine compartment) right about in the middle near where the wipers stash away. On her's (it's a GT with the 4 cy. turbo) they are all labled, including the fuses. There's probably fuses in the passenger compartment which should be peeked at as well.

One thing of interest to note..She had blown her turn signal fuse (the one under the dash) and she lost her power str. Nothing like good 'ol fashion driving with manual stearing. Changed out that fuse for the turn signals..and the power strearing returned to normal. (speed controlled electronic stearing assit)

Good luck and best wishes!
S-

checked for the other fuses but none of them were blowen . but will check for the other ones next to the winshield motor. thanks angain
I'll get back soon.

[is your car automatic...if so check the neutral saftey switch or neutral switch...my friends automatic 92 did the same thing.