Ford windstar van won't start

dijay · #1 05-10-2010, 04:23 PM

We have a 2000 Ford Windstar Van.. My husband disconnected battery for winter as we weren't going to use it and was told by ford that there was a problem with cruise control switch catching fire... When he tried to start in spring it won't fire. It has lots of spark. He has changed fuel pump but still won't start. It flashes theft in the information center. And check engine light is on.. What can we do to get this van to start besides taking it to a shop..

mundy5 · #2 05-10-2010, 04:55 PM

did you recharge the battery? that is step one.

step 2, get a hold of a obdII reader that tells you the codes.

then post them here.

catvents · #3 05-10-2010, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dijay

We have a 2000 Ford Windstar Van.. My husband disconnected battery for winter as we weren't going to use it and was told by ford that there was a problem with cruise control switch catching fire... When he tried to start in spring it won't fire. It has lots of spark. He has changed fuel pump but still won't start. It flashes theft in the information center. And check engine light is on.. What can we do to get this van to start besides taking it to a shop..

Is the engine crank when you turn the key to start? When you you set the key to on ( without cranking the engine) you should hear the "hum noise" of the fuel pump in the tank for a few seconds. If you do not hear it you should look at the fuel pump relay, located in the battery junction box ( engine compartment close to the battery) I understand that you have replaced the fuel pump however if this relay fail ( which is a regular issue on this model) the pump will never work and engine will not fire.
Let us know

dijay · #4 05-10-2010, 10:40 PM

My husband has recharged battery and put an OBD11 code reader on the van. It says NO CODES after it scans. Very frustrating....

dijay · #5 05-10-2010, 10:52 PM

Yes the engine cranks over when we turn key on but does not fire. It has lots of gas coming out of fuel rail when my husband opens up the valve. With the old fuel pump there was very little coming out. My husband is checking out the fuel pump relay.. Hopefully it will be that. Thankyou for your advice.

Selectron · #6 05-10-2010, 11:22 PM

I wonder if the anti-theft system isn't recognising that particular key? If you have another key, I'd try using that one instead.

If it still doesn't start then I'd give the electronics systems a reset by disconnecting the battery negative terminal for five minutes, then reconnect it and try again.

dijay · #7 06-02-2010, 11:48 PM

We are still trying to get our 2000 Ford windstar to start.. The theft light is blinking and we think it might be why it isn't starting.. My husband has changed the fuel pump, fuel relay switch and spark plugs and it still won't start. We've tried undoing the negative cable and also the extra key and still won't start.. Turns over good. But won't start.

Can anyone suggest something else we might try?

Ed_Strong · #8 06-03-2010, 01:52 AM

Are you able to smell raw fuel at the tail pipe when cranking? Have you checked all fuses to make sure none are blown? Other than that and making sure theres power to the ignition coil, cam sensor and crank sensor, thats all I can think of at the moment!

Joe Riot · #9 06-07-2010, 10:14 PM

I'm having the same problem with my in-laws van it has fire gas but will not start. I also think it has something to do with the blinking theft light. Does anyone know how to disable it to see if it helps? If not then the only other thing I can think of is the timing must have jump. With fire and gas thats the only other thing it needs is compression and timing? Help me help them! Also its a 2000 ford windstar like above with 3.8L with new battery plenty of spark and plenty of pressure on fuel rail.

usstitanic · #10 06-07-2010, 10:44 PM

Your old battery may be weak. Try jump start it. That was what happened to my 2000 Windstar. New battery solved the problem.

usstitanic · #11 06-07-2010, 10:49 PM

If your old battery is weak, recharge will not help. Try jump start it. That was what happened to my 2000 Windstar. New battery solved the problem.

Joe Riot · #12 06-08-2010, 11:26 AM

I have a new battery still the same! The in-laws or out-laws need this fixed so I don't have to keep lending my ride....lol To Be Sure someone has ran acrossed this before? Thanks in advance for any help!

usstitanic · #13 06-08-2010, 01:37 PM

My new battery lasted one night. In the morning I had to jump start my van and took the battery back for exchange.

Give jump start a try. If it does not work, then focus on something else.

dijay · #14 06-09-2010, 02:11 PM

We finally have our van fixed. We broke down and had it towed to our local Ford dealer. They had it there for 6 days... They had a mechanic work on it on Saturday but he got nowheres with it.. He couldn't even make their own computer machines work to cut a key properly for it... So on Tuesday they put their head mechanic on it and he fixed it... It was all to do with the keys and computer... The computer wasn't recognizing the keys.. They cut a new key and rebooted the computer and now it works perfectly... The key cost 28.00. labour 282.00 and tax... Now 400.00 later I have a smiling husband again.... It sure had my husband frustrated as he tried everything to get it to go...

Hope this helps you out.

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