Need help! Car won’t start!

[11fiestaBB]

Hello everyone! This might be a long one so buckle up… I recently purchased a 2011 ford fiesta with the 1.6L at 230,000 miles on it for my step daughter’s first car. I picked it up in town and drove it to the gas station then back to my house. It ran pretty rough but nothing to alarming, I assumed it was neglected and just needed a tune up. After I got home, I plugged an obdii scanner in to check the CEL. It had downstream O2 sensor, evap system small and large leak, and distributor system A something. Not a problem, bought a new O2 sensor, bought spark plugs, wires, distributor, cabin air filter, and engine air filter. Changed everything once it came in, cleared the codes and tried to move the car back into the driveway. It ran for a few seconds and started to struggle or “chug” then died. I tried to start it again and couldn’t, CEL was back on so I checked it. Holy mother of CEL: ignition coil A, ignition coil B, MAF not in range, upstream O2, downstream O2, lost communication with ecm/bcm, heater control circuit low, lost communication with accessory data protocol…. So I start where anyone would with these cars, the fuses. They are coming out in pieces! I ended up buying a bunch and changing almost every single fuse and still nothing. I then bought relays, still nothing. I then cleaned all the ground wires and connection points, still nothing. I then bought a brand new pcm, which I had to buy a secondary key and download forscan to get it to connect, still nothing! My girlfriend decides to tow it to Ford. They call us a week later saying “The under hood fuse box isn’t getting power. The labor alone is $3,700 and they don’t make the part anymore.” We go pick it up, I test every fuse and guess what, they all have power! For S&G I tried to start the car and it fires right up! For about 5 seconds before it dies again…. Got out and the whole garage smelled like gas. I’m thinking that maybe the fuel filter is clogged and it’s not getting what it needs? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
TLDR: car ran, won’t start now. Changed spark plugs, fuses, relays, and pcm, still nothing. Ford said it’s the fuse box not having power, all fuses have power. Have a giant pile of CEL.

 

[tabijan]

Would be helpful to know what engine you have.

Basics:

Air - does it have mechanical throttle or electronic throttle? Does the throttle valve move when you move the pedal with engine off?

Fuel - if you smell fuel, there must be fuel. Is there a Schrader valve on the fuel rail to check pressure? Can you confirm pressure or feel/hear the fuel pump humming from starting through running?

Spark - do you have continuous spark while cranking? I assume so if it starts at all.

Make sure there’s a solid connection to the crank position sensor. One thing to consider when you fire the parts cannon.

Make sure the MAF sensor is clean. Next thing for the parts cannon.

If it doesn’t have electronic throttle, check the idle air circuit (how?). This probably won’t be cost effective for the parts cannon.

Sixto
2014 SE 1.6 hatchback 136K miles

 

[11fiestaBB]

Would be helpful to know what engine you have.

Basics:

Air - does it have mechanical throttle or electronic throttle? Does the throttle valve move when you move the pedal with engine off?

Fuel - if you smell fuel, there must be fuel. Is there a Schrader valve on the fuel rail to check pressure? Can you confirm pressure or feel/hear the fuel pump humming from starting through running?

Spark - do you have continuous spark while cranking? I assume so if it starts at all.

Make sure there’s a solid connection to the crank position sensor. One thing to consider when you fire the parts cannon.

Make sure the MAF sensor is clean. Next thing for the parts cannon.

If it doesn’t have electronic throttle, check the idle air circuit (how?). This probably won’t be cost effective for the parts cannon.

Sixto
2014 SE 1.6 hatchback 136K miles

Sorry, I have the 1.6L and I fixed it in the post. I believe the throttle body is electronic. I can hear the fuel pump kick on but have yet to test pressure. I haven’t tested spark since I’ve gotten it back from the dealership. Thank you for your response! I’ll put all these things on the list!

 

[Mercurios2011]

The catalytic converter may be clogged..? ,and is a manifold assembly , the fuel filter on these cars are with the fuel pump module ,make sure you have a strong battery too.

the throttle body is indeed electronic and requires self calibration when installed IF you end up needing one ,he has a good point on crank sensor, if its a bad one wont allow a vehicle to crank

one very important thing these pcms are vin coded to the vehicle and the mileage on them ,basically just because you got a pcm from a 2011 , does not necessarily mean its going to be plug and play

The tc1766 (immobilizer) wont allow it unless is paired accordingly.

i hate to be the parts changer guy , but try a crank sensor , re install the old pcm and before you hook the battery hold the neg cable and positive together while the headlamp switch (On position) this will reset

the pcm from zero, connect the battery and try again

keep us in the loop

hope this info helps you any

 

[11fiestaBB]

I bought

The catalytic converter may be clogged..? ,and is a manifold assembly , the fuel filter on these cars are with the fuel pump module ,make sure you have a strong battery too.

the throttle body is indeed electronic and requires self calibration when installed IF you end up needing one ,he has a good point on crank sensor, if its a bad one wont allow a vehicle to crank

one very important thing these pcms are vin coded to the vehicle and the mileage on them ,basically just because you got a pcm from a 2011 , does not necessarily mean its going to be plug and play

The tc1766 (immobilizer) wont allow it unless is paired accordingly.

i hate to be the parts changer guy , but try a crank sensor , re install the old pcm and before you hook the battery hold the neg cable and positive together while the headlamp switch (On position) this will reset

the pcm from zero, connect the battery and try again

keep us in the loop

hope this info helps you any

I bought the pcm new from a website that required the vin and mileage so I hope it’s good. I do still have the old one though so I will try swapping it out. I will check the harness to the crank position sensor and get a new one as a just in case. Also, can I pair the immobilize myself with forscan or is that something a dealership would have to do? Thank you!

 

[Mercurios2011]

Ok I see ,so the pcm should be plug and play unless otherwise noted .

If the car cranks with a heavy gasoline smell ,you may have a flood injector ,and since
Idle is around 700 is not enough air to keep on.

A bad throttle body can cause the car to crank and die,a weak fuel pump too ,ignition coil weak can as well.

Not sure if Forscan can pair with out a pass thru device .

Thats a little outside my knowledge sorry, but if it was flashed for your car it should work no issues .

One thing and it sounds silly
Drain the oil and make sure is not like syrup , lots peple believe in 15k wonder oils that are once year oil change and it does nothing but hurt the engine and your wallet,it destroys the engine from with in and 1st thing that goes is timing solenoids

 

[11fiestaBB]

Ok I see ,so the pcm should be plug and play unless otherwise noted .

If the car cranks with a heavy gasoline smell ,you may have a flood injector ,and since
Idle is around 700 is not enough air to keep on.

A bad throttle body can cause the car to crank and die,a weak fuel pump too ,ignition coil weak can as well.

Not sure if Forscan can pair with out a pass thru device .

Thats a little outside my knowledge sorry, but if it was flashed for your car it should work no issues .

One thing and it sounds silly
Drain the oil and make sure is not like syrup , lots peple believe in 15k wonder oils that are once year oil change and it does nothing but hurt the engine and your wallet,it destroys the engine from with in and 1st thing that goes is timing solenoids

I will change the oil this weekend and keep everyone posted! A lot to do when I get the chance! Thank you!

 

[Handy Andy]

This may be a car that was neglected by the previous owner(s) - read plural. So this may mean some work on hoses for the PCV valve as well as looking for loose hardware and unplugged connectors. You may have a vacuum leak to a large degree from small leaks from many sources - including the Gas filler cap - the valve system, I've seen several cars in our fleet severely damaged from the worker leaving the HANDLE in the filler neck and driving off - incredible! Broken seal at the filler neck. So you may have several seal leaks caused by careless driving or a repo that the owner just battered/ignored and intentionally damaged the system as a payback for the financial ruin they face from the repossession.

You got it to start again, stalled then smell gas, so this tells me the system needs a lot of help as in perhaps a bigger deeper dive into the motor to determine if the belts are OK, and that means the timing belt - hoses from the gas tank and the fuel line to the injectors - you'll need to have a mechanic work alongside you to inspect it with you to verify the integrity of this car so you can even drive it safely.

To know where to start? You'll have to know how plumbing and lines work, look at the motor and find those hoses and make sure they fit into a fitting somewhere some how. That's where a mechanic can help you in this.