98 Windstar will not start in freezing weather

[chair pete]

I have a 98 WIndstar that after our first freeze would turn over but not start. Could not hear the fuel pump activating. When it got above freezing it would start and I put dry gas into the fuel. Drove around and now the temperature droped below freezing and it will not start. Once again turns over fine , can not hear the fuel pump. Could it still be water or an electrical problem? Any help greatly appreciated?

[brinkz]

could be electrical, but i would suspect the easiest thing first. Water in the tank, try some water remover in the fuel tank first...be your chepest bet. And for the 5 bucks or so it will cost, may save you some time, money and headaches. So add the water remover, and if it runs, drive it around for a while, just so the remover can get all the water. Hope this solves the problem...if not come back, and we'll try again.

[phil a]

Originally Posted by chair pete

I have a 98 WIndstar that after our first freeze would turn over but not start. Could not hear the fuel pump activating. When it got above freezing it would start and I put dry gas into the fuel. Drove around and now the temperature droped below freezing and it will not start. Once again turns over fine , can not hear the fuel pump. Could it still be water or an electrical problem? Any help greatly appreciated?

Check the schraider valve to see if theres any pressure before you start it on the cold mornings if no pressure then the fuel pump should be heard trying to make up fuel for the start up. If you cant hear the pump on that day,, then the pump check valve is bad or the pump,, valve is built in the pump on 2001s
you'd have a bleed down overnight,, and should hear the pump on warm or cool mornings... I guess,, others will chime in soon...

[wiswind]

Another thing to try.....is to make SURE that the electrical connections are good....particularly on the battery. Remove, and clean the battery cables....and also clean the battery terminals.
If you have a voltmeter....check the voltage at the battery terminals. If you have a helper....one can crank the engine....and the other can check the voltage at the battery terminals to see if the battery is holding up. Cold weather reduces the reserve charge on the battery.....and also makes the engine harder to turn over......both of which bring out the worst in a weak battery. If your battery is original.....I would go ahead and replace it. Corrosion on the terminals also is as bad as a weak battery. The additional current draw during cold weather makes things much worse.

After the car has been shut off all night.....you should always hear the fuel pump when you turn the key to the ON position....
If you do not....there is a problem.
I do not know if they had gone to a relay in the engine fuse / relay box in 1998 or not. My '96 has the fuel pump relay inside the Constant Control Relay Module (CCRM).
If your '98 has a relay for the fuel pump in the engine fuse/relay box, then you might try looking into swapping it with another relay of the SAME number. There are a number of posts in this forum about that relay going bad....also developing corrosion on the relay to socket contacts.

[chair pete]

Originally Posted by brinkz

could be electrical, but i would suspect the easiest thing first. Water in the tank, try some water remover in the fuel tank first...be your chepest bet. And for the 5 bucks or so it will cost, may save you some time, money and headaches. So add the water remover, and if it runs, drive it around for a while, just so the remover can get all the water. Hope this solves the problem...if not come back, and we'll try again.

I had put in dry gas, water remover all ready. Are you suggesting putting special water remover for the tank? The car was running when I put the dry gas in last week and I did run it around but it still did not work. Could there be more water in the tank than the filter?

[brinkz]

assuming that water is the problem, depending on the amount of contamination, you may need a second round of water remover. And driving around for a bit ensures the treatment gets mixed, and actually flows thru the entire fuel system. Any residual condensation in filter or lines, will cause problems, i would definatly drive it a bit after a treatment....