'90 L Plus idle and gas problem

[clev]

I bought this Festiva new in '90 and at 115k, replaced the engine in '99 with a newly rebuilt due to a hole in a piston. Ran fine for about 10k and then died in the middle of the road in 2000; hasn't ran since. I keep it in my garage and 'piddle' with it a few times a year. Sometimes it runs great, and then for no reason, when you step on the gas, it dies or runs extremely rough. It's been towed to the Ford dealer in San Marcos, TX and they have no idea what's wrong with it. I've replace the main ECM (about $400), the coil, the module, new plugs, rotor, wires, air box top with sensors, etc. Yesterday, it ran like a champ and today, I was going to drive to the court house and renew the plates, but this morning, it would not fire; cranked good, but no fire. Checked plug wires, no fire; checked coil wire, no fire; check coil with volt/ohm meter and passed all tests; checked module with volt/ohm meter and passed all tests. Worked on it about 4 hours and no fire. Walked away and came back to it 2 -3 hours later and it fired right up and purred like a kitten. Can/will someone PLEASE help me with this 8 year nightmare? If I could ever get it running, I might be able to sell it.

[stefan]

Is it Carbed or EFI? You said you bought it in 90' so it should be FI but if it was a year old model it could be carbed...

If your not getting spark intermittently.. maybe the fused links? drivers side strut tower.. they are a common problem.

[clev]

Hi stefan, thanks for the reply; it's EFI and I've checked/cleaned the fusible link connectors and checked continance with an ohm meter. I've been working with this for years and never participated in a forum until I found this one today. Hope I can get some help here.

[Pu241]

Clev,
:wav:
Welcome!
Hopefully we can provide some in-site into your problem!
Can you let us know your location?
Go to the heading above and click on "profile" then scroll down to location.
Someone could be near by and it is a lot easier to diagnosis an issue in person than via the internet!

[jglutz]

Just a couple of suggestions:

Turn the key to the run position and listen for the fuel pump to run for about 3 seconds...a not so loud humming sound comming from the gas tank..you can listen from the fill port while someon else turns the key. (fuel pump or fuel pump relay on the way out)

Check all the distributor connections for corossion...including taking the cap off and looking inside.

Welsome....Good Luck!

[freshtiva]

If you get it running you might want to keep it. You've come to the right place for help. Where you been ??

[clev]

Good replies, all. I'm in San Marcos, Texas and am pretty handy with engines, but the electronics baffle me. I've been through this engine a dozen times and cannot find the problem. I'm sure it's some simple little wire or connection. But it's amazing that something so simple can disable it.

You're also right about keeping it; I love the car. I bought it new and it's like new inside and out, and everthing works (except the engine, LOL). I replace the wheels with 13" polished aluminum and raised white letter tires, added ground effects on the rocker panels and had a new 'flame' paint job applied just before it died.

[dahodges]

Bad Distributor?

[fastivaca]

Main fusible link? I replaced mine with a 40amp cartridge type.

We'd all like to see pictures of your car!

[clev]

Well, here we go again. I was going out to have the car inspected this morning, and it wouldn't start. Same problem, no fire. I can smell gas so I know that's not the problem; there is just no fire anywhere even though both the coil and module have 12v on their wires. The Check Engine Light is not flashing; when I turn on the key, it goes out after about 10 seconds. I grounded the TCI and it remained on, no flashes. I disconnected the battery to clear any problems and tried everything again, but still no fire and no flashes. Christ, this is frustrating.

hodge, you mentioned the distributor; I don't think that's it, because there's no spark coming from the coil. Besides, my manual doesn't give a procedure for checking it. Do you know how to check it?