Here's what happens when the temperature is around 30. After my 94 van 5.2L sits in cold weather below 30 or so for 6 or more hours and I try starting it, the engine will turn over, but struggling to start with no compression sound. I hear a clicking sound while the engine turns over at times, depending on how cold it is it seems. This clicking sound stops after a while and is heard also if I only turn the key slightly just before the engine cranks. Even if when the clicking sound stops the engine still won't start up.
To help this problem I installed an inline heater in the lower radiator hose. Depending on how cold it gets, I plug it in 6 hours or more in advance for the mornings and it helps alot.
Decided to check spark and fuel pressure before battery went totally dead. Got no spark and no fuel pressure. Charged battery. Only took 15 minutes before green light said it's charged. Checked for spark and fuel pressure again. Same result, nothing. Now I'm baffled thinking it's electronic. So I take out the propane space heater setting it up towards inside van aimed at engine after removing cover. 10 minutes or so later it started up. A little rough running at first, then once warm, ran like a champ. So I decided to check spark and fuel pressure again. Caught me by surprise with plug out and cranked it over for spark and blew me back a bit. I had to laugh. Plenty of spark now. Checked fuel rail pressure and it squirted all over the place. So now I'm really going crazy.
I changed both temp sensors ECT and guage. But no difference. Was told to change crankshaft position sensor and/or camshaft sensor. But I'm hoping to have some more input before I spend a fortune.
One more thing is the clicking sound I here is sometimes there and sometimes not. I asked a auto parts rep to come out and show me were the relays were, because I hear that clicking sound right by the battery and he said he thinks the 2 relays I have there are for the fuel injectors and headlights. So next time it's cold here again, I'm going to switch the relays around and see what happens.
But if anyone has any suggestions, that would be great.

 

It's a bad PCM. You can verify this by heating it up with a hairdryer prior to cold starting it tomorrow. If you heat it up first and the engine fires right up, you've confirmed the PCM is no good.

 

Would the PCM be the same as the ECM? Or where is it located on my van?

I was hoping it wasn't that. I think they're pretty pricy. And I thought being it's temp related only for the past 2 winters it was more likely some kind of sensor or relay that gets affected in 30 degree F and less. I was online for Autozone last night looking for the PCM, but they only showed the ECM against the firewall next to heater core with a vented cover that needed to be remove to expose the ECM. Is this it?

 

ECM=PCM=Computer, they're all the same.

This is an electronic module and is effected by cold like anything else.

 

Thanks once again, Alloro.

I'll use heater on it when temp drops again. Did a search online for prices. Found about 250.00, which ain't bad. Autozone had 650.00 but that one was a high performance unit. I'll make sure I pull it first to check model number. There was information needed to have it programmed, such as VIN #, year, etc. But it also said it would be programmed with the most recent programming available today. I'm wondering if that's what I want to do? Or should I ask for original programming from "94"?

 

They might not have the original version, only the more recent ones. But there should be nothing wrong with getting the most recent version, it might have updates to software glitches.

 

You've been a great help. I really do appreciate your time. I post when I have this resolved so others may gain from it too.

 

When you turn the key to run does the check engine light coming on for about3 seconds? It should. Mine started this awhile back and if I left the key on, gradually the light would come on and I'd hear the Automatic Shut Down relay and the Fuel Pump relay clicking.They are the ones mounted together behind the harness, close to the battery. Then it would start and continue to the rest of the day. It was the Powertrain Control Module (PCM).Probably a transistor getting flaky. I was able to find one at the U-Pull IT for about 30 bucks. Mine is a 3.9L and I found one in a 92'B150with a 3.9L. Any differences are completely transparent so far. I don't think you have to worry about VINs being programmed in since I'm pretty sure this didn't begin until 98' I mention this because some will tell you so. Later I searched ebay and found restored units for about 250.00 I think. Just planning ahead. Anyway, If you are going the full route of "getting the good"(as my Daddy use to say) out of this vehicle I'd look into a volt/ohm meter and learn how to use it. You can pick one up at Radio Shack.They have a book there as well. This and a Haynes manual will save a lot of guessing about things and save a lot of time and money. Good Luck

 

Yes the VIN was added in 98 but it doesn't do anything. It's in there just for informational purposes like state emissions testing.

 

First off to Alloro. It finally got cold enough tonight on the way home from family get together. Van wouldn't start again. So right away I took a hair dryer and pointed it directly on the ECM through the little vents. Within 10 minutes I went back out and it started up. Ran a bit rough. I gave it gas a few times without warming up the engine and drove home. About 10 minutes or less into the ride home, I started to lose power (first time this one happened) It got continually worse. Luckily I only live about 10 to 15 minutes away from family. Just made it into driveway and van died. I could start it up but it was rough like a miss. And temp guage never got up to normal temp. So I left it in nuetral and revved it up for a few minutes to get temp up to see if it would make a difference, but it didn't. So I thought I should let it cool down completely tonight, then plug in the coolant heater I normally used of late when it's cold to see if the hair dryer trick fooled the ECM into thinking something that wasn't really happening and caused the rough ride home. If it gets back to the same symptoms tommorrow that I was having without use of hair dryer, the I have to ask another question. Why would the inline heater connected to lower radiator fool the ECM into letting the van start right up in cold weather if the ECM is bad? The radiator heater doesn't heat up the computor like the hair dryer did.

Now if it continues to run rough tommorrow with coolant heater, then I guess I now have another problem or I may have burnt the ECM using the hair dryer to close. Find out more tommorrow. Oh yea, forgot to mention I'm throwing a 3 code when I do the on/off/on/off/on with ignition. I get 3 blinks and then a pause and 5 blinks pause 5 blinks which I think is 55 for end of code sequence? The 3 I have no clue what it means. I look up online and it seems this van starts with the 11 code and goes up from there. Any clue as to what 3 is for?