Hey all. I have a 2000 s type 3.0 v8 with automatic transmission. last night i moved the car so that I could pull another car out of the driveway and all was well. This morning, I tried to start the car and it would crank but not start. I checked all the fuses and relays and all seems well there. I have a regular key and a valet key and have tried both. I've tried them both with the valet switch in both positions. Under any combination it will crank. Sometimes it will crank for about 3 seconds, the security light turns solid red on top of the dash and the car alarm goes off. I don't smell any fuel from the exhaust when i have someone crank it for me so maybe my fuel pump is bad? Is there some way to test this? Or could this be anything else? I've had the battery on trickle charge all day and night and will try it again in the morning. Please let me know if you have any ideas what's going on or if I left something out.

 

Chances are it's the battery. If it's died, charging won't work or if it does then it'll only die again very soon. Would have been worth looking at the voltage during cranking.

 

Thanks for the quick response. Voltage while cranking was about 9.0-9.5

 

I think that is too low. Perhaps you should change the battery. Also, is your car a 3.0 V8 or V6? I don`t think there is a 3.0 V8...

DF

 

That is too low. Either it's not properly charged or it needs replacing.

 

Nateman, charge up your battery , then test it. If the battery is OK then test for fuel while cranking at the fuel rail by seeing if you are getting pressure by depressing the schrader valve on the fuel rail. I'll bet you have no fuel pressure . Check the fuse for the fuel pump as well as those for the fuel pump control modules. If they are oK that would indicate a dead fuel pump. If you have fuel pressure and it cranks check for spark. I'll bet its the fuel pump.
This happened to me about 3 weeks ago but it happpened when my wife drove the S to pck up out daughter at school. When I checked I found a dead fuse for the fuel pump, replaced it, still no starting, checked the fuel control modules- ok, leading to the diagnosis of a dead pump. Check the inertia safety switch at the driver's side kick panel first. I ordered a new fuel pump from Kragens , received it the next morning and replaced the fuel pump. My jag started immediately and ran great. I also replaced the fuel filter as it had 90K miles on it.
Let us know what you find so that we can help you and that others can learn.
good luck, VMV

 

Charged the battery. Car cranks as good as ever still doesnt start. Windows work without hesitation leading me to believe the battery is strong. ODBII scanner says fuel rail pressure is up at 47 psi. All the fuses are good. I swapped the relays around so that no two are in the original place. The behavior of the car did not change. Inertia switch is not triggered. I put some starting fluid in as a last attempt and tried to start it. It definitely ignited the starter fluid as it backfired out the throttle body through the intake tube. Fuel squirts out the Schroeder valve every time i depress it after turning the ignition on. I think that for one reason or another the fuel injectors are not squirting any fuel in to the cylinders. I know some strange things happen from having a "bad" battery, have read plenty and have enough of my own stories, but this doesn't seem like a case of a bad battery. I put it on the charger over night since it was drained from trying to start all day. Another thing that points to the battery not being bad is that it will crank for quite some time after charging without showing any signs of hesitation or struggle. This may be a little over my head but I sure as hell want to learn what it is and how to figure it out. The security light also does nothing when I turn the key so I think I can eliminate that as the culprit.

It's a 4.0 I also have a 2002 x-type which is a 3.0 so I confuse the two all the time. Sorry about that.

 

The PATS light SHOULD do something when you turn the key. But WHAT it does is the important part.

So far it sounds like no injectors and that would commonly be because the PCM has decided not to use them - which it does for things like theft-detect.

Be certain you have enough volts for the modules all the time during cranking else you'll chase the wrong issue.

 

the pats light is solid while im turning the key in position 2 but as soon as i turn it to the spring loaded section to crank the engine, the light goes out. It doesn't seem to flash or give a code or anything though. Once i let go and it returns to position 2 with the engine off, the light is solid.

This is a stretch but it has to do with the PATS. What if, by some chance, i tried to start the car with the valet key with the valet mode button switched off. Would this cause the PATS to disable the car semi-permanently?

 

Doesn't sound like PATS and no I don't think the valet key would do that (we don't have them here).

I reckon it's the crank sensor. It's vital and if no (or a lousy) signal is seen it does not necessarily throw codes but will be a no-start.

 

I gave in and took it in to my mechanic. He said its a fairly common thing with the S type. I had turned it on and pulled forward a few feet then shut it off. He says the fuel splashes up on the cylinder walls and the computer wont signal the injectors to fire. He said he set the computer to think the car was at running temperature and sprayed some oil in the cylinders and it started right up. I don't quite understand all of that, but that's the information I got and figured I'd post it here. Maybe someone else could benefit from this info. Thanks for the help guys, even though it wasn't my problem, It's still great info to have rattling around in my head.

 

Known as "bore wash", I believe (google should find it). But the injectors would not be shut off, because the PCM has no way to know it has occurred. I've only ever heard of this with the 4.0 engine, never the 3.0 or 4.2.