Hi all,
First my car make and model:
Ford Escort GT, 1991, 1.9L
I was going into a parking lot and the ramp was very steep. I was going a little fast and heard the underside of my car hitting the edge of the ramp. The place of the hit was near the bumper, in front of the tires, but it was a metallic sound hit.
After the hit it turned off. I started and run like for 5 seconds and died. I haven’t been able to make it start since then. There are no obvious loose connections or cables or hoses, no liquids are dripping.
I checked if it was gas, there was plenty, and just in case added an extra gallon. The battery was fine, and just in case tried turning it on with a jump start. Engines rotates and “tries” to start, you hear a spark and normal “noises” when starting, but can’t start running in its own. Checked the fuses and look fine. It seems like the engine is not getting fuel.
On the next day I checked the inertia switch, the button didn’t pop-out (so couldn’t reset it), so either wasn’t activated or was activated but the button didn’t pop out.
Any ideas or suggestions? How do I test if the fuel pump is ok? How do I know if the inertia switch was activated even when the button didn’t popped? Any other cables, fuses, contacts, etc, that may have been shaken/disconnected by the hit?
Thanks for your help!
Since you seem like a diy guy, give it a shot of starting fluid and see if it starts. Then you will know if you are tracking fuel or electrical problems.
Did You Crawl Under And See What Parts Of The Car Took The Impact ? It Seems Like A Place To Look Since The Car Died On Impact.
Make sure you’ve still got a timing belt in operation. Look for any damage to the covers in that area.
CSA
I too wonder whether you actually stuck your head under there to look around. Odd info to leave out.
When you first turn the key stop just before the cranking position (dash lights light up) and listen for a faint 2-3 second hum from behind you. If you hear it then you know the fuel pump is running.
In general start by simplifying. Do blow a bunch of starter fluid into the intake. If it fires a little with that then you do have a fuel problem. If that doesn’t help then go to spark. You can’t “hear” it when you’re cranking so get a spark tester, spare plug or pull a plug and use it to check for spark.