95 lincoln towncar was running fine all day. made a pit stop later on and the car wouldn’t start. previous owner said it would do that occationally and to let it sit for 20 min. or so. still wouldn’t start! released fuel pressure at fuel rail and then the car started just fine and was running like nothing happened! could I be getting too much pressure? also never did get the smell of raw gas!
My best WAG would be that the ignition module was the problem and opening the hood long enough to bleed the fuel rail allowed the module to cool and function again.
Does the car crank and not start, or it won’t even crank?
Rod is probably correct but I would test the fuel pressure to make sure the pressure regulator is working properly and the fuel pump is fine. From my own experience, you can have pressure at the schrader valve and still not sufficient to light the engine up.
It’s possible I guess releasing the fuel pressure could free up a sticking fuel pump. I doubt that’s the problem, more likely something heat-related in the ignition as mentioned above, but if the problem continues it’s something to consider anyway. You might try just opening the hood the same amount of time but not releasing the fuel pressure next time this happens. If it still starts right up, that would tend to say it is a temperature related problem in the ignition system.