Fuelcut off light, turns over but wont start

I have recently recieved a 93 escort lx 1.9 automatic. The engine ran untill my friend reved it up to about 5300 rpms in an effort to get it to switch gears. The engine only survived for about a mile after that, making noises like a fan was hitting plastic, The fuel cutout light is on when you try to crank it, it does turn over. But It wont start, doesnt even try to start. I think it may be the timing belt. And i have pressed the little red button in the back of the car for the fuel reset switch. I have searched for hours for answers to my problems ,Does some one out there have the solutions?

That sounds like a timing belt came apart..

That sounds like a timing belt came apart..
But the timing belt is still attached and it has tension. alot of tention. Its been running rough, lots of hesitation while idling. Do you think it could have skipped a notch? and if so witch way do they normall skip them.

It is NORMAL for the fuel cut-off light to come on when cranking the engine. I think it's a way to check the bulb but it does not indicate a problem. Your problem is you seem to have selected the wrong friend :lol:

I think you'll have to pull the timing belt cover off and check the timing. Note: I left mine off. It's easier to inspect and change without it.

The timing belt is still on the gears, it has tension. alot of tension, Do you think it could have slipped a notch, all the notches are there. Would that cause the fuel cutoff light to come on? How would i get the belt off? Any help to any of these questions is greatly appreciated.

disreguard my last post. I hadnt read your reply yet tumbleweed. Well yes he dogged that thing until his dad just gave it to me, and now he has no ride. i want to fix it and give it back to him, if its something as simple as the timing belt. There is no cover over ther actual gears, But how do i check the timing if it doesnt run? Is there like a marker or something? i thinki found the tensioner but i dont think i can move the spring with my bare hands. Any help is appreciated.

The fuel cut off light is supposed to come on when you are cranking the engine. This is normal.

An easier way to check the gear timing is pull your spark plugs and do a compression test. If the timing belt slipped a cog then you would not have much, if any, compression.


If you want to check out the timing belt then you should go buy a manual at AutoZone or some place. It's somewhat involved and you probably wouldn't want to try it over the net.

Thank you. I'll look up how to do a compression test, then i'll get back to you.

disreguard my last post. I hadnt read your reply yet tumbleweed. Well yes he dogged that thing until his dad just gave it to me, and now he has no ride. i want to fix it and give it back to him, if its something as simple as the timing belt. There is no cover over ther actual gears, But how do i check the timing if it doesnt run? Is there like a marker or something? i thinki found the tensioner but i dont think i can move the spring with my bare hands. Any help is appreciated.

OK, so the timing belt cover is already off? If you wanted to remove the timing belt then you loosen the bolt (10mm) on the tensioner pulley. Then you can pry the tensioner rearward to release belt tension. While you are prying on the pulley you can tighten the bolt back and it will stay there without applying any tension on the belt. Note: The spring in the tensioner only gives the belt the initial amount of tension when installing the belt. After that, you tighten the bolt on the tensioner pulley and from then on the spring does nothing. You are going to have to remove the pulley that the drive belt is on down at the crankshaft. There are marks behind that as well as marks on the camshaft that show if it is correctly timed.

OK, so the timing belt cover is already off? If you wanted to remove the timing belt then you loosen the bolt (10mm) on the tensioner pulley. Then you can pry the tensioner rearward to release belt tension. While you are prying on the pulley you can tighten the bolt back and it will stay there without applying any tension on the belt. Note: The spring in the tensioner only gives the belt the initial amount of tension when installing the belt. After that, you tighten the bolt on the tensioner pulley and from then on the spring does nothing. You are going to have to remove the pulley that the drive belt is on down at the crankshaft. There are marks behind that as well as marks on the camshaft that show if it is correctly timed.

Ok, so I got one of my buddies who builds these engines to come over, he said it might be the timing belt, I rotated the timing belt untill the cam shaft marker, which I guess is that arrow in the circle that is bored out of the actual pulley. It was facing up, and the line on the crankshaft was facing up, now this little cut line was on the accesories belt part of the pulley, im guessing thats the mark but im not sure if there is another mark on the otherside on the cog. But the two marks lined up, but i thought they could line up a little better. I took the belt off and moved the cam shaft a little. then re-installed the belt. To no avail, the same thing, it would just turn over but no start. How do i check the compression if it doesnt start? It seems like its not getting fuel, but it has pressure at the lines before the injectors.. your help is appreciated

It's easy to check for a fuel problem. Have someone crank the engine over a shoot some starting fluid in the intake. If it starts then you have a fuel problem.

Find a compression gage and pull all the spark plugs to check the compression. If a valve doesn't close at the right time then you won't have compression.

Check that the lower crankshaft pulley and the timing ring (aluminum teeth) behind it are together an not separated. Then check the key in the lower pulley to see if it is still there. If the pulley has separated from the timing ring or the pulley assembly has skipped time because the half-moon key has come out, these things will result in a no start.

You are correct about the arrow on the camshaft. It should be pointed in the 12 o'clock position and there is a mark on the head that it is supposed to line up with.

I know of no timing mark on the crankshaft pulley. If you pull this pulley off then there are indexing marks on the crankshaft sprocket. I don't think you can see them with the pulley on.

There is a way to find Top Dead Center (TDC) with the pulley on. You will note that the pulley has teeth on it. There are 35 of them spaced 10 degrees apart. There is one spot where a tooth is missing. You need to get that spot under the crankshaft positions sensor. At this point you are 90 degrees before TDC. So you need to slowly rotate the pulley clockwise until the ninth tooth after the gap is under the sensor. The teeth are 10 degrees apart so 9 teeth is 90 degrees. At this point check the alignment of the pointer on the camshaft. If it's off a little then you need to remove the belt at the camshaft and turn it until the marks line up. NOTE: If your cam marks are 180 degrees off then you are TDC on an exhaust stroke. You will need to turn the crankshaft clockwise one full turn to put you in a compression stroke.

Alright I Followed your steps exactly and they line up perfectly with the notch cut into the crank pulley, I guess some one added that, it was perfect and the timing should be right now. You know your stuff pretty well. But still the engine wont start, The fuel cut out light used to only appear when the key was turned to accesories. But now it turns on when you actually crank it. But you're right, if I sprayed carb cleaner into the throttle and it doesnt start its not a fuel related problem. Nothing seems to be working. :banghead: Maybe I should just donate it and get a tax deduction. Thanks for your help! Im open to any more suggestions before I give up on it.

The fuel cut-off light is SUPPOSED to be on when you crank the engine. That's normal.

Good idea someone had to cut a notch in the pulley. Why didn't Ford think of that :thumbsup:

Don't use 'carb cleaner' use starting fluid. That stuff will tell you instantly if you have spark & compression!

Alright I'll have to try that, thanks! I neglected to tell you that it was over heating before it went out, sorry. But i checked the oil for water and there wasnt any. so i think the head gasket is intact.

Alright I'll have to try that, thanks! I neglected to tell you that it was over heating before it went out, sorry. But i checked the oil for water and there wasnt any. so i think the head gasket is intact.
nvm sold it, turns out it was my girder.......