1991 won't always start...help!

My 91 5.0 won't start all the time. Usually, if its the first start of the day it starts fine. I drove it today and when I was stuck behind someone who stopped in front of me, I tried to go around. When I did this and tried to give it gas it died on me. It wouldn't restart. An hour later I went back to the car and it started immediately. If I wait it will usually start again, but with two small kids I don't always have the time.

When it won't start it just turns over and over...help!

TIA!~

Hello ..i have a 89 thunderbird sc ..i have the same problem your having with your thunderbird ..im wondering if you ever got it fixed and if so, what was the promblem , any information would be greatly appreciated my email is emanshop22@hotmail.com

Hello ..i have a 89 thunderbird sc ..i have the same problem your having with your thunderbird ..im wondering if you ever got it fixed and if so, what was the promblem , any information would be greatly appreciated my email is emanshop22@hotmail.com

Hi, no it's still not working well. I took it to the shop and they replaced the fuel filter and said that the pressure was 45 which was ok. Three days later it started doing it again. It seems to be worse when its very cold outside and the first start of the day. I'm taking it back to the shop and leaving overnight so they can see for themselves what it does in the morning.

On times when it wouldn't start I tried really pumping the gas pedal and it would finally catch and start. I was worried that I might flood it but it seems to help it instead. Which seems to me that it would indicate a fuel problem. They think my fuel pump is functioning fine.

I'll post after I take it back to the shop again for the 3rd time.

i have the same problem with starting it seems like it the gas but its not i changed the timming chain that gave more pull but i don't think it helped just problem after problem

This may sound odd but make sure you have plenty of coolant.

on the side of your throttle bodie you have what is called a throttle potition sensor, that is probably what your problem is, i also have a 91 5.0L t-bird, my car did the same thing until i replaced tha throtttle potition sensor and now it starts right up everytime, i don't know how much things are where you live at, but i think i paid around $60 for mine, replace that and it should fix your problem

could be the spark plugs or spark plug wires, too. You could try replacing the spark plugs (I think they're like $2 a piece), and check to see if the spark plug wires are good, too.

Also, Is the battery light on?

If so, it could be the alternator.

I had an 89 3.8L Cougar, did the same thing. Finally one day I sat in the driveway with it running with a fuel pressure gauge on it for
over 1 1/2 hours, then it died. Just before it died fuel pressure went down to like 5 psi. I replaced the fuel pump, it never did it again.

could be the spark plugs or spark plug wires, too. You could try replacing the spark plugs (I think they're like $2 a piece), and check to see if the spark plug wires are good, too.

Also, Is the battery light on?

If so, it could be the alternator.


Not to deter you from trying to help, but...

Plugs and wires aren't typically an intermittant problem. 3 or 4 of the plugs/wires would have to fail at the same time to make this thing not run. And it would still try to start but running on half of the cylinders would/may not provide enough power to keep the engine running.

If the alternator failed, the car would run on the battery unless that battery was crap. If the battery was crap the car wouldn't start first thing in the morning, allow some driving, and then let the car die only to be restarted a short time later.

The first thing you should do is go to an auto parts store, and buy (or rent) a code scanner. If you are unfamiliar with one, places like autozone will actually have an employee come out and pull codes for you. Just don't buy anything electronic from Autozone.


It sounds like you're flooding the motor, or like you might have some ignition issues.

I would be inclined to check your fuel system, particularly the injectors. The reason I suspect the injectors is because if your car starts fine in the morning, after it's sat all night, but won't start after it has warmed up, is this:

If your injectors are leaking, then whatever the fuel the injector(s) has/have bled off, (along with the fuel pressure in the fuel system), will have evaporated overnight. Since there isn't a puddle of fuel in the cylinder(s), combustion can take place normally.

When you let the car sit for a bit, your leaking injector(s) will let fuel seep into the cylinders, effectively flooding the motor. And we all know flooded motors dont like starting too well.

I dont know what your mechanical level is, but here are some things to check:

1. Fuel pressure
You will need a fuel pressure gauge, that you will screw into the scraeder (or was it scrader) walve on the fuel rail. I am not familiar with what the fuel pressures at idle, WOT, and OFF on the 5.0, but any chiltons or haynes should have that info.
But for this test, all we want to see is if you have any leaking injectors. So, park the car in the evening, and hook the gauge up to it. Note Pressure, then go inside and take 2 Aspirin.
In the AM, before you start the vehicle, check the gauge. If the pressure reads much less or 0 PSI, then we can assume that one of the injectors is leaking. If the pressure is the same, then I just wasted 5 minutes typing all this stuff. :|

If it is a leaking injector, (at this point you wont know which one), try some Fuel injector cleaner, like Chevron Techron, or similar. Some Oil change places will have an injector/fuel system cleaning machine, though i've never had any of my cars hooked up to one, so I couldn't tell you if they work well or not. That may or may not solve your problem.

At the same time, you may want to replace the spark plugs, for one or more will be fouled. Once you find the fouled plug(s), you will know which injectors are leaking.

2. Fuel pump:
When you switch the ignition to Acc(essories), listen for a hum comingout of the rear of the vehicle. That is the fuel pump, and it should run for 1-3 seconds. That itself won't tell you if the pump is bad, but it will give you an inkling, especially if it is hard to hear, or if it runs for SEVERAL seconds - ie. 3 or more.

My 91 5.0 won't start all the time. Usually, if its the first start of the day it starts fine. I drove it today and when I was stuck behind someone who stopped in front of me, I tried to go around. When I did this and tried to give it gas it died on me. It wouldn't restart. An hour later I went back to the car and it started immediately. If I wait it will usually start again, but with two small kids I don't always have the time.

When it won't start it just turns over and over...help!

TIA!~

You know that's exactly what my 88 V6 was doing and in the end after replacing the Ignition Control module (which was weak) it turned out to be the position sensoor, which on the 88 is in the distributor, As suggested above get a scanner and pull the codes. Failing when hot then recovering after a cooling off period is a common problem with electronic components.