94 Taurus CCRM Nightmare--Rod to the rescue?

[Goody28]

I'm back... Well, I gave in and bought a CCRM for the Taurus. It was an Airtek from RockAuto. The car ran good for a month or so then quit while driving. It cranks fine, but will not start. I have an older EEC code reader, but the car won't even run the test now, so we have no codes to start with. When the key is turned on, you cannot hear the fuel pump "prime". We sprayed starting fluid down the intake and the engine kicked like it was going to lite off, but no love. Any ideas on where to start? Any ideas on where or how to isolate items? I'm leaning towards the CCRM, the car ran fine on the old CCRM, the A/C just didn't work. Plus, the EEC cannot be tested and the fuel pump doesn't seem to be running. Where is the PCM located?

[mechhound]

Originally Posted by Goody28

I'm back... Well, I gave in and bought a CCRM for the Taurus. It was an Airtek from RockAuto. The car ran good for a month or so then quit while driving. It cranks fine, but will not start. I have an older EEC code reader, but the car won't even run the test now, so we have no codes to start with. When the key is turned on, you cannot hear the fuel pump "prime". We sprayed starting fluid down the intake and the engine kicked like it was going to lite off, but no love. Any ideas on where to start? Any ideas on where or how to isolate items? I'm leaning towards the CCRM, the car ran fine on the old CCRM, the A/C just didn't work. Plus, the EEC cannot be tested and the fuel pump doesn't seem to be running. Where is the PCM located?

I would start out by checking the basic ignition. Unplug the connection on the ignition coil that has the two small wires. Turn the switch on and see if you have power there using a test light or multi-meter. If you use a multi-meter, I think you are only supposed to have six volts, so if it only shows six volts, don't let that concern you. One of those wires(the one coming from the switch) should be live and the other one going to the distributor would be dead anyway. Don't forget to TURN THE SWITCH ON when you do this test. Bottom line here address the basic ignition system first.

[shorod]

The fact that the car won't even run the diagnostic self test is concerning. Does the Check Engine Light bulb test still work when you first turn the ignition key to "Run?" Have you checked the ECM fuses to make sure they are all good?

Try putting the old CCRM back in and see if that symptoms change. If the fuel pump isn't running and the engine seems like it wants to start with starting fluid, I'm not sure the ignition system is the right place to start. However, it would be interesting to check the spark on at least one cylinder to make sure you have a hot spark. This can be done with a spark tester or old spark plug. The manual claims it's hard on the coil to use the old spark test method of just holding the plug wire terminal in close proximity to a grounded part under the engine compartment.

There was a post some time ago where a person had problems with starting, did a lot of investigation with the CCRM. They later noticed an issue with the diagnostic connector under the hood being melted, bought the pigtail from a donor car at a salvage yard, spliced it in, and problems solved. I'll see if I can find that post.

-Rod

[shorod]

This is the thread I was thinking of. It's essentially the same as this one.

You may also be interested in this one.

-Rod

[Goody28]

Thanks Rod!
Both threads had some great info. The other day I went to do the checks you posted earlier. While a friend was getting the tools to pull the spark plug, I was wiggling wires and all of a sudden the CCRM clicked, the fuel pump primed and other good things happened. It turns out, there is a multiple wire chassis ground next to the battery and one of the wires had been spliced with terminals. The splice was burnt and pretty crispy (not sure what caused that), so we put in a "hard" splice and now the car is running great.

Thanks again for your help!

[shorod]

It wouldn't surprise me if the splice started to corrode, causing increased resistance to current flow which then caused the wire to overheat, causing the burn and crispiness. I cringe every time I see crimp splices exposed to the elements. They should be soldered then protected with adhesive-lined shrink sleeving in my opinion.

-Rod