A couple of months ago the car would crank but not start. Towed to dealer and it started for them, of course.
By luck and good fortune I found out about the NHTSA website which has a huge database of car complaints. A lot of complaints about the Flex not starting and the solution??replace the Fuel Pump Control Module which is easy??remove passenger side C pillar cover, remove bolts, unplug, plug in new one ($38 plus tax) and now the car starts.
There are dozens of YouTube videos showing how to diagnose and replace. I didn??t diagnose, I just took a chance.
After that I thought why couldn??t you just jump across the connections because the thing is really just a switch. And I found a Flex forum thread where the poster was hundreds of miles from home with no way to get the part so he did exactly that and it works. He said the only thing is in an accident the pump won??t shut off so best to only jump it in an emergency.
In the 70's I bought a brand new Chevy LUV - $3500 total, I think.?ÿ Subzero winter night, on a hot date with a fox (aka a Major Hottie), truck's about a month old.?ÿ We're not dressed for the weather.?ÿ About a mile from her house, 2:30 AM.?ÿ Engine quits, dashboard lights all come on.?ÿ It will not restart.?ÿ Gave her my emergency parka for the hike, it didn't help her feet in the heels in the slush, though.?ÿ Walked to her place, called my roommate in the morning to pick me up & tow truck home.?ÿ ?ÿCalled the dealer, they sent a tow truck on Monday.?ÿ Told me defective fuel pump, replaced it.?ÿ Two weeks later, same same, again.?ÿ Dealer tows it again, replaces 2nd fuel pump.?ÿ Drove it for a couple months, same thing again.?ÿ Fzz-mm-frzmm Jap $hit... Bought a NAPA pump, put in myself.?ÿ You guessed it, again quits.?ÿ Went to the dealer, asked to look at the service manual, took it home when they weren't looking.?ÿ Eff them.?ÿ Schematic for starting circuit shows a relay that closes when engine starts, turns on pump.?ÿ had my roommate crank the engine while I rapped the relay with a screwdriver handle.?ÿ Vroom.?ÿ $12 part, drove it until the floorboards and front fenders rotted away, but no more fuel problems.?ÿ Lots of other problems, though......
A couple of months ago the car would crank but not start. Towed to dealer and it started for them, of course.
By luck and good fortune I found out about the NHTSA website which has a huge database of car complaints. A lot of complaints about the Flex not starting and the solution??replace the Fuel Pump Control Module which is easy??remove passenger side C pillar cover, remove bolts, unplug, plug in new one ($38 plus tax) and now the car starts.
There are dozens of YouTube videos showing how to diagnose and replace. I didn??t diagnose, I just took a chance.
After that I thought why couldn??t you just jump across the connections because the thing is really just a switch. And I found a Flex forum thread where the poster was hundreds of miles from home with no way to get the part so he did exactly that and it works. He said the only thing is in an accident the pump won??t shut off so best to only jump it in an emergency.
This happened to a customer of ours when I worked at Goodyear before. It was a Taurus but same engine as the flex. It would only act up below a certain temperature. Also the part was a lot more expensive then as this was almost 10 years ago.
A YouTuber I watch sometimes is currently reviving one of those Chevy Luvs in his videos. The engine ran after sitting over 20 years I think.?ÿ
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My dad and uncle (his brother) bought a 1915 Ford Model T that had beeen siting in a garage for over 40 years.?ÿ Before they loaded it on the trailer to take it home my uncle said, "Just for fun let's see if it starts" They added a little gas, turned the hand crank and CLACKETY, CLACKETY, CLACK it turned over and ran.
My cousin later broke his arm trying to start it with the crank.?ÿ A common problem I've heard.
broke his arm trying to start it with the crank
I've read the problem was caused by not retarding the spark (a manual adjustment) allowing the engine to backfire, i.e. turn backward.
The crank fitted into a tapered notch so that when the engine started normally it would kick the crank out an inch or so to disengage it. When turning backward, of course it stayed engaged and swung the crank around to hit the arm.
I'm sure Uncle Paden can describe it more clearly.
I think Bill is suggesting you might be older than you really are.
Defend yourself.
Google image for "Paden Cash"
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Google image for "shirtless Paden Cash"
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I think Bill is suggesting you might be older than you really are.
I was suggesting that Paden knows far more about automobiles and their history than I do.?ÿ That good video does tend to confirm what I said, though.
A story was related to me: Crown Vic police car involved in accident, fuel pump relay stuck closed (might??ve been like that before) and as a result fuel was pumped onto hot destroyed engine causing a fire. Mine stuck open. So it??s a safety issue.
In the mid-70's I worked on a farm that was owned by a man in his late 60s.?ÿ He'd grown up there, and all the equipment was old.?ÿ His "big" tractor was a John Deere Model D, which had to be hand-cranked.?ÿ He taught me never to wrap my thumb around the crank handle, instead always to make sure to grip it in a way that a backfire would cause the handle to just roll off my fingers.?ÿ He said that wrapping your thumb around it was a good way to break your arm.?ÿ
my first tractor was a John Deere model 'A' had a wheel to turn.?ÿ Backfire would just scare hell out of you.?ÿ Darn thing had more torque that anything I have had since.
I recall it had duel fuel, high octane to start and would run on most anything that would ignite.
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Here's a little known attachment for Volkswagens which I religiously kept on all my VWs.?ÿ J.C. Whitney used to carry them in their catalogs.?ÿ It was merely a plate that installed under the generator pulley that had a notch for a knotted rope similar to how we used to start lawnmowers (only old timers will remember this).
My 1941 Ford actually had a hole in the chrome grille where one could use the sprag on the end of the jack handle to crank start the old flathead.?ÿ According to my father some folks were die-hards when it came to trusting electric starters on autos.?ÿ Apparently a way to still hand crank cars was common on most pre-war cars.
I never attempted to start that old Ford by hand...even in my young and dumb days I had a little bit of common sense.?ÿ 😉
John Deere model 'A' had a wheel to tur
The D could be started by turning the flywheel directly as well, but I didn't like having my fingers that close to the moving parts.
In the 70's I bought a brand new Chevy LUV - $3500 total, I think.?ÿ Subzero winter night, on a hot date with a fox (aka a Major Hottie), truck's about a month old.?ÿ We're not dressed for the weather.?ÿ About a mile from her house, 2:30 AM.?ÿ Engine quits, dashboard lights all come on.?ÿ It will not restart.?ÿ Gave her my emergency parka for the hike, it didn't help her feet in the heels in the slush, though.?ÿ Walked to her place, called my roommate in the morning to pick me up & tow truck home.?ÿ ?ÿCalled the dealer, they sent a tow truck on Monday.?ÿ Told me defective fuel pump, replaced it.?ÿ Two weeks later, same same, again.?ÿ Dealer tows it again, replaces 2nd fuel pump.?ÿ Drove it for a couple months, same thing again.?ÿ Fzz-mm-frzmm Jap $hit... Bought a NAPA pump, put in myself.?ÿ You guessed it, again quits.?ÿ Went to the dealer, asked to look at the service manual, took it home when they weren't looking.?ÿ Eff them.?ÿ Schematic for starting circuit shows a relay that closes when engine starts, turns on pump.?ÿ had my roommate crank the engine while I rapped the relay with a screwdriver handle.?ÿ Vroom.?ÿ $12 part, drove it until the floorboards and front fenders rotted away, but no more fuel problems.?ÿ Lots of other problems, though......
Did she warm her toes on your back?
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Did she warm her toes on your back?
That would be telling....
I've heard that some modern motorcycles now have electric starters
My dad said the same thing, fingers only and no thumb around the crank. And he made sure I remembered it, even though he knew I'd probably never have to start a Model T or anything else with a crank. He said that a Model T owner with his arm in a cast was a common sight back in his day.
He also said the Model T crank was set up so the engine fired with the crank at the top and bottom of the stroke. It was harder to control the crank handle in that position. Some people used to take their Model T crank to a blacksmith and have him heat it up and give the end a quarter turn. That put the firing position on the left and right when you were cranking.
