[Shotimes] Clarification on: SHO cranking but not starting

[Paul L Fisher]

I'm still confused. You say "the engine turns over slowly but does not
catch" then you say "The starter has that high 'whir' sound--it does not
seem to engage the  flywheel at all"

If the motor is turning over, it must be engaging the flywheel. When you
crank the starter, do you see the accessory belt move? If so, the teeth are
OK. I would suspect the starter motor isn't turning over the engine fast
enough to catch which would either be the starter or the battery. Starters
go out quite regularly on SHO's. I'm on at least my 3rd one.


Paul L Fisher

1999 Ford Taurus SHO TR - Stock. Kirk'ed.
1993 Ford Taurus SHO with some stuff. For sale soon.

See information about my '93! http://www.paul-fisher.com/SHO

Visit my website: http://www.paul-fisher.com
SHOClub Member: http://www.shoclub.com
-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of Koper Jim
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 8:41 AM
To: shotimes@autox.team.net
Subject: [Shotimes] Clarification on: SHO cranking but not starting

Thanks to those that have offered their advice so far, but I think I didn't
word the problem correctly.

To clarify, the engine turns over slowly but does not catch. The starter has
that high 'whir' sound--it does not seem to engage the  flywheel at all. The
portion of the flywheel I could see with the starter removed was not missing
any teeth, so wouldn't the (new) starter engage OK? If the starter is good
but the flywheel bad, would the engine even turn at all? That's why I wonder
if maybe the DIS or coil are bad. I gotta remember to check if the fuel pump
is priming at KOEO.


<Original post below for those who wish to contribute:>

My '92 SHO is exhibiting a no-start behavior. I went to start it the other
day and it didn't quite catch after I released the ignition key. It was a
solid crank. "No big deal", I thought, "I'll try again." The second time I
tried it I heard an electric whirring sound, similar to when a starter is
bench tested. I figured the armature gear was not engaging the flywheel. The
starter was 4 years old (Ford reman), so I yanked it and put an Advanced
Auto Parts reman starter on the car. SAME WHIRRING SOUND occurred, so the
starter does not appear to be the weak link.

A few observations:

When the starter is whirring, I noticed the serpentine belt was turning,
though slower than what I'd think a normal crank would produce.

The engine does not catch now, but does turn.

Complete 60K done in summer 02 (10K miles ago). Timing belt, camshaft sensor
and crankshaft sensor replaced at that time.

New plugs and wires recently.

Until this happened, it always cranked solidly.

Any ideas? Would the DIS be bad? Ignition switch on its way out? Fuel
injection concerns? I want to pull the timing belt cover to verify the belts
OK.

Thanks in advance!

Jim Koper
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