Engine will not start

Hello,

This sounds like your fuel pump has gone out or you blew the fuse. Can you hear the pump running in the tank with the key on? If not Here is a guide to help you get the fuses checked.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-fuse

Here is a guide that can help as well.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

Here are the fuse locations.

Please run down this guide and report back

Cheers

Is that a rather loud clunk from the starter solenoid or a light click from the starter relay?

Measure the voltage at the starter on the larger battery cable. You must find twelve volts there all the time. Measure right on the stud, not the terminal crimped to the end of the cable. If you do find twelve volts there, test it again while a helper turns the ignition switch to "crank". If that voltage disappears at that time there is a bad connection at the battery or the wires are frayed and corroded away at the starter under the wire's insulation where it is hard to see.

Also, turn on the head lights and see what happens to their brightness when you try to crank the engine. They will get dim or go out if there is a bad connection on a battery post/cable clamp. They will stay bright if there is a problem down at the starter.

Sounds like you connected the two large terminals. That will make the starter motor spin, and it strongly suggests both large battery cables are okay. What that will not do is engage the drive gear with the ring gear on the flex plate so the starter will spin but it will not crank the engine. To engage the starter drive you have touch the large terminal with the battery cable to the smaller terminal on the solenoid. That will make the drive gear pop out and engage the ring gear, and it will turn on the high-current switch to cause the motor to spin. What you are doing is bypassing the little starter relay that I think you are hearing click.

One of two things is going to happen when you jump the big battery terminal to the smaller solenoid terminal. The starter will crank the engine or nothing at all will happen. If nothing happens, one of the two coils in the solenoid is open. You might get it to work by connecting a battery charger on "high" but I strongly do not recommend that as other computers could be damaged. It is also possible the engine will crank normally. In that case, since you already heard the relay clicking, either that relay has burned contacts or there is a break in the wire between it and the starter solenoid. We can do further testing to find that if necessary.

Nope. I am referring to the solenoid on the starter where you're working. The part on the fender is the starter relay but it is the same part that was used years earlier as the solenoid. It still has the two large copper studs and will work as the solenoid on older vehicles, but you will see that in your application it still has the large battery cable connected to one stud, but on the other stud there is just a small wire going down to the solenoid on the starter. I suspect Ford used these high-current switches in your medium-current circuit because they had a ton of them in stock to use up.

Going on your original description of the problem, it sounds like the relay, (the solenoid on the fender), is clicking so we know that low-current circuit from the ignition switch is good. For the time being we can assume the high-current circuit is okay because you got the starter motor to spin. That leaves the medium-current circuit as the one with the problem. That starts at the relay contacts, goes through the small red wire on the second large stud, to the small terminal on the starter solenoid, and includes the two coils of wire inside the solenoid.

I am not sure what kind of test you are doing but nothing can have any voltage anywhere if a battery cable is disconnected. If you are getting a reading you are probably using an auto-ranging meter and it is picking up some stray magnetic interference, and it is reading a few hundredths of a volt. There are two ways to test the medium-current circuit. The first is to activate the relay by having a helper turn the ignition switch to "crank", or by connecting a jumper wire from the battery positive post or large relay stud to the smaller stud. When it engages, measure the voltage at the other large stud, (with the small red wire), or use a test light on it. You must find twelve volts there when it is switched on. Next, measure that voltage at the small terminal on the starter solenoid. The wire has to be connected for the measurement to be accurate. If you have voltage there but the starter solenoid does not engage, the solenoid is bad.

You can also apply twelve volts to the small solenoid terminal like I mentioned earlier. That will make it engage and the starter motor should crank the engine. You can get that twelve volts from the large stud on top of the solenoid that has the battery cable bolted to it.

Have you checked the battery to make sure it isn't weak? Also, have you checked power at the starter solenoid to see if it is getting twelve volts when the key is in the start position?

Sounds like heat sensitive electronic fault bein triggered. Cam and crank sensors are big suspects. Other ignition parts too. Check for spark to verify when it quits.

So what about codes from computer? Bad MAF should set a code.

Could be old codes not erased?