1997 Safari died on freeway; won't start

Hi all.

I have searched many threads trying to see what the problem could be. The vehicle is a 1997 Safari. The fuel gauge has always showed full (bad ground?) and it ran dry about a month ago.

Last week it died on the freeway and would not start when I pulled over. I towed it home and began troubleshooting. The coil checked out OK, and I pulled a plug wire, attached a new plug to it, grounded the plug while cranking and confirmed a spark. The distributor cap looks a "little" corroded, but I doubt this would cause it to suddenly die and not start.

Fuel pump does prime. Pressure during priming hits 62 psi, cranking it holds around 60 psi (battery is now running down), and after about a half hour it still shows 54-56 psi.

I considered spraying parts cleaner or starting fluid into the air cleaner box, but I am afraid of damaging the MAF meter.

I ordered a new fuel pump, and will change it out regardless in an attempt to fix the no start condition and the fuel gauge problem.

Any ideas? Help would be much appreciated!

Edit: When the van died on the freeway, my wife and I heard and felt a "thump" under the van, which sounded like it came from under the center of the van, near the fuel tank?

Fuel pressure and leakdown are good, save your money and time with the fuel pump, it's ok. Check for blue, not orange, spark at more than one plug. Spraying carb cleaner in the intake will not harm the MAF sensor. If the engine starts, there may be a problem with injector pulse. Post your results.

OK. Spraying carb cleaner into the intake did not make any noticeable difference. I only pulled one plug wire, attached it to a new plug, and got a consistent spark from it, although it was more orange than blue. I didn't pull any other plug wires yet; they are not exactly easy to access, lol!

I guess right now it looks like either I am not getting a strong enough spark, or the timing of the spark is off. Tomorrow I will check the crank position sensor and recheck the coil. I am thinking of replacing the distributor cap and rotor since they look a little corroded, but I'm not sure that is the cause of the problem. It's the sudden death of the motor that has me doubting this, although when it first died it did sputter a few times trying to start. There is not even a hint of starting now.

Any additional suggestions are much appreciated.

If you're getting spark, the crankshaft position sensor is working. Distributor cap, rotor and wires are likely suspects though. AC Delco is a wise choice. When you replace the distributor cap, put a small dab of silicone dielectric grease on each terminal inside the cap, and the center terminal of the rotor. When the engine is running, current passing through the dielectric grease will crystalize and appear as corrosion.

Thanks, I will try a new rotor and cap. Could they really lead to a weak spark and a no start condition? Could they just die that quickly? I'll post the results of the cap change.

- on my 93 Z (tbi), the egr was stuck open and had a hard time starting.
not sure if yours has an egr.

- on my 93 Z (tbi), the egr was stuck open and had a hard time starting.
not sure if yours has an egr.

The interesting thing is that the code reader fell on it's face while trying to read emissions codes. It never did complete the emissions code checks. I reset it a few times, but it would constantly keep trying to read them without success, once at least 15 minutes.

I concur with changing the Distributer Cap and rotor. I know after a while with my van, it has a harder time starting with a corroded cap. Plugs are a nightmare to change as well and since your going that route, time for good proper maintenance.

Suggestion though, when you go to change the distributer cap, with the cap off turn the engine over and make sure the rotor turns. Then once the engine stops rotating, see if you can turn the rotor by hand. I have had a pin shear on the distributor shaft that caused all sorts of problems on a previous vehicle.

That still does not diagnose the clunk you heard. I would also check the fuses and make sure the PCM fuse is still good. If that dies, you tranny may misshift and cause the clunk as you woefully pull to the side of the road.

Jeremy

OK. I am bumping this thread. It's been a while since I posted or worked on the car, but I have made some progress. I do have an electrical issue. New cap, rotor and plugs are in. Spark "looks" good when a plug is pulled and grounded. There is no hint of firing when cranking motor. When I pulled the coil wire and a plug wire off the distributor cap and joined the coil wire and plug wire together, I did get that individual cylinder to fire. I checked three others, and they all fired in similar fashion. Sometimes they would obviously try to fire at the wrong moment since the plug is getting every spark.

What could be causing this situation? No firing if the spark is going via the cap and rotor, but it will fire directly if the cap and rotor are bypassed? I haven't tried new plug wires yet, but they are worn so they will be replaced anyways. The coil checked out OK per the Haynes.

Any help appreciated.