Rough Starting

[Black Bird]

I have a 2002 T-Bird with 21,000 miles and have eratic starting problems. After the car has sat for at least a day (sometimes it needs a longer period for this to happen) it seems to fire off on one cylinder with the others slowly kicking in. It seems as if it might be flooded out or the gas has drained back so it is struggling to get fuel. At first I thought it was a load of bad fuel but I have gone through many fillings at different stations and still have the problem. I hope it is not flooding out with fuel dripping down the cylinders washing the oil away so that there is bare metal on metal starting up.

Has anyone else had this problem?

This page contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. As an eBay Partner, and Amazon Associate I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no cost to you.

 

[JimYo]

might keep an eye on the oil dip stick to make sure it is not getting thined out with gas. I had a Honda many years ago that the carb float valve stuck on, and gave the engine extra gas when it was parked.. sun heated up the car, gas expanded in the tank... went up the gas line... float valve open ... flowed into the engine.... required new bearings through out the engine. Just a thought..
Jim

 

[Quickdraw]

I didn't think flooding was possible anymore with computer controlled fuel injection but don't have any idea for a possible cause of your hard starting..

 

[00mustng]

.....I think the sparking system is called a coil over system.....and I would bet you have a faulty unit on one cylinder....I remember reading about an owner have to replace a unit....don't think they are cheap either......

 

[George]

There have been coil problems reported. Most of them had water inside and had to be replaced. Could this be your issue?
Quickdraw, do you recall who had those type problems?

 

[Black Bird]

Coil problem

Search under coil or coil pack and these should pop up.

 

[Quickdraw]

There have been coil problems reported. Most of them had water inside and had to be replaced. Could this be your issue?
Quickdraw, do you recall who had those type problems?

I know DOt had the problem - maybe a couple of times. But it seems unlikely there would be more than one go bad without a reason (I.E.washing engine, severe water splashing, etc). He said its seems like the cylinders start firing gradually, I don't know if bad COP (Coil on Plug) act like that. I think hes going to have to see a dealer. Or else stop at Autozone for a free diagnostic reading of error codes. He didn't say if he had an E error code on the dash & I don't know if it shows up otherwise.

 

[Tom Horne]

I have a 2002 T-Bird with 21,000 miles and have eratic starting problems. After the car has sat for at least a day (sometimes it needs a longer period for this to happen) it seems to fire off on one cylinder with the others slowly kicking in. It seems as if it might be flooded out or the gas has drained back so it is struggling to get fuel. At first I thought it was a load of bad fuel but I have gone through many fillings at different stations and still have the problem. I hope it is not flooding out with fuel dripping down the cylinders washing the oil away so that there is bare metal on metal starting up.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Try having the powertrain control module recalibrated. Engine may flood in cool or damp weather

 

[Black Bird]

Good suggestion. I took the car to my smiling local dealer who scratched his head over the problem for three days until they called Ford. Ford told them to recalibrate the PCM. I've had the car back for one day and everything seems fine so far.