Hello, I'm new to this site....hoping someone can give me an idea of what to do next. Im mechanically able, but not that great lol, especially with electrical crap!.....

I have a 97' 5.2L that isnt starting...thought it was the fuel pump at first, but it stunk of gas the first time I tried to start it. So I checked the ignition coil and I WASN'T getting a spark from it at all!!!....so replaced the coil, and cap/rotor while I was at it. Still nothing. Used my test light and Im not getting any power to the coil it seems. So I swapped my ASD relay, as well as any ignition/fuel related relay, with no help there.

I checked if I was getting power to the crank position sensor and cam/ignition pick up...and I was, so I used a friends code reader and got: P1389
No Auto Shutdown (ASD) Relay Output Voltage At PCM ....and after looking on here/the net it seemed the consensus was the crank position sensor was bad....so I replaced that today, tried to start. Nothing!! I undid the battery to reset the ecu to see if the code would pop up again and it didn't. So I figured I may as well replace the cam sensor/ignition pick up while I was at it....so I did that. Try to start it, and nothing again. So I check the codes and got new ones P0320 and P0340...which are apparently related to the cam or crank sensors from what Ive found???

So I check for spark from the coil now, and Im getting great spark now!!! I check for spark from the plugs and theyre sparking, but it seems weak...maybe its just me though. I got this truck about 6 months ago and the plug wires look new-ish....I don't think the wires would cause all this out of the blue anyways.

Oh yah, I undid my battery again to see if any of the codes would pop up again. After numerous starting attempts nothing is coming up. So I'm not sure where to go from here. I also checked under/in the fuse box for any corrosion etc, and it all looks good.

Any advice would be awesome ....Thanks

 

Looks like you are on the right track in changing the cam and crank sensors,you do say the wires look new -ish. I would make sure that they are within spec or since they are cheap replace them, and do the plugs, cap, rotor and make sure they wires are in the correct firing order.1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2. this will give the engine a good base line to start from this way it is less of a compound problem a little of this plus a little of that. if you can get some NOID lights to make sure that the injectors are pulsing. I have in the past had the reluctor and stator go bad they live under the distributor cap at the bottom ,mind you that was an older 318.

 

Firing order is good....replacing the plugs/wires would be ok....just with the readings I got with the code reader and how it won't catch at ALL, its definitely a bigger issue.

 

Was it running/drivable before this happend ? Have you checked the fuel pressure , and what about the battery , If it is weak it will cause all kind of problems , including a no start condition . strange to have spark and fuel but a no start/run condition . Have you checked ALL the fuses at the drivers side of the dash and at the fuse/relay box next to the battery ? Have you tried starting it with the shifter in neutral ?

 

It happened out of the blue, was driving it around that night just fine! Went to go somewhere in the morning and nadda. Havent checked the fuel pressure (really have no way to at the moment)....thats the only thing I can think of now. Sounds like the pump is priming though. Have half a tank of gas in there, truck is on a minor incline in the driveway, not sure if that would do anything....but I park there all the time so I doubt it.

Battery is good, have had a trickle charger on it between times Ive tried to start it.

Ive checked all the fuses/relays....and have tried starting it in neutral (and moving it through the gears before and in between starts)

It's just weird how I had no spark at the coil before, and now I do (Im going to assume the crank position sensor helped that) and its still not even trying to start. Im not getting any codes at all now.....so I'm at a loss, other than checking for fuel pressure (which is hard to do in -31C lol)

 

Just a suggestion, since you been replacing parts, and now have sparkl and so on. have tried holding the throttle at part way to see, and then if that dont work, hold it to the floor, maybe its flooded since all the cranking and trying to start it so many times, ???

 

yah Ive tried that.......tried the priming 10-15secs before trying to start......nadda

must be a fuel issue as well or something

 

Hey I have heard that if the coolant is low it wont start.
This might sound crazy but give it a try.
I have heard of coolant sensor in the reservoir going bad causing a no start.

 

You need to test fuel pressure. Did you try starting fluid down the throttle body? A bad coolant sensor will throw off the timing and cause very hard starts.

 

yah I tried spraying carb cleaner into the throttle body right off the bat....no hint of it even trying to start....but I also didnt have spark at that time.

Ill try again once it warms up (its been -20 to -50C all week so I havent worked on it)

Ill check the coolant too....but I did that not long ago and it was full!