NO start Please help

[Ehrlich]

Hi , I have a 1992 ford taurus 3.8 engine , that over heat on me while i was driving. I pulled over and got it towed home because it would not start. It would turn over but not start . By trying to start it over and over again i killed the battery. I got the battery recharged at auotzone. And before i begin to work on my car, where should i start to diagnose the engine for the problem ? How do i check for no spark on the taurus ? Because it overheated I am thinking some electrical parts might be fried. I know the engine is not seized up beacuse it cranks over . Any help would be greatly appreciate

[NScarpi]

You check for spark just like any other engine, pull a wire off a spark plug ( by pulling on the boot not the wire). You can put an old spark plug in the wire and lay it on the exhaust manifold or somewhere away from any fuel source. Instead of a spark plug you can use a screwdriver to accomplish the same. If you hold the screwdriver you proabably will get shocked, so don't do that. Lay the screwdriver in a spot where it won't fall off when you crank the engine over. Don't let the metal of the screwdriver touch anything or it will just short out and you won't see the spark. Once you have either of these placed correctly, have someone crank the engine over while you watch to see a spark jump. If you see a spark at the screwdriver or plug, you have proved you have spark. If no spark, remove the coil wire and position it as you did the others so that you will see a spark. Crank the engine, if you see a spark from the coil wire, replace the rotor.( it's a good idea to replace the cap with it) If you have spark, you can remove a vacumm line at the intake maifold and squirt some carb cleaner into it. Just a shot, don't flood it. That will check if fuel is the problem. If it trys to start or even runs a little it would point to a fuel problem. If that doesn't do anything you will need a compression tester and check the compression.

That's how I would proceed.
Nick

[tripletdaddy]

When you say it overheated, did you loose a bunch of coolant? Describe it overheating. Have you refilled it and looked at its condition inside the radiator? Also pull the dipstick and look inside the oil fill. If you see a light brown to milky white goo, you have a breach of the two systems either by head crack, head gasket or intake manifold gasket.

[Ehrlich]

thank you all for your quick responses , it was the fuel pump relay. I changed it and now my car works . Thank you all . And to the previous reply the the lost water but there was no mixing of water and oil . I have my fingers cross hope i didnt do much damage to the engine . Once again thank you all