Engine quit would not restart

Asked by William Apr 20, 2023 at 11:41 PM about the 1996 Ford E-Series E-350 XL Club Wagon Passenger Van Extended

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Changed fuel pump and filter but did not help.
The van has been running good. But today about 5
miles from home, the engine began to run rough
then go, then rough then go. Then engine died and
would not start again

3 Answers

203,195

Well, at least it's OBDII, sort of. Hook up a scanner and get direction there. There are lots of reasons why an engine would run rough and quit. Maybe fuel, maybe spark, maybe a bad sensor.

1 people found this helpful.
545

Which engine is it? It could (and most likely IS) be the PIP sensor inside the distributor on a gas engine. Your symptoms point directly in that direction, but check your fuel pressure first since you already bought a new pump. New pumps have been "bad" before!. Next, if you can get under the front of your van looking up just above the harmonic balancer on the passenger side (I believe) and check for wires going into a sensor bolted into the block. If there's a sensor there, that may be the culprit. If you can't find a sensor (or a wire loom) going to that sensor, you need to check to see if it's the PIP sensor (Profile Ignition Pick- up) located inside the distributor. It's much easier to just replace the distributor than trying to "fix" it. If this is the case, the distributor must be removed. Stop your engine on cylinder one, take photos of where the rotor is and remove the distributor, check color of paint on distributor cam gear and order a new distributor with the SAME type gear so you don’t ruin your cam shaft. I mention all of this because Ford equipped some of their F/E series trucks differently depending on where they were sold (emmission laws), GVWR, etc. I hope I didn't overload you with too much info, and that this helps you! If not you, at least somebody.

1 people found this helpful.
39,145

could be fuel pressure regulator , if it doesn't start and you can safely purge the schrader valve see if that helps , Or hook up a pressure gauge might be better

1 people found this helpful.

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