HELP!! Losing my mind. I just picked up an 04 3.0 Tribute w/ 158K on the odometer. Ran very well on both test drives, but was told the coil packs are starting to go. No Big deal.
I need to replace the front brakes, so at the end of the job there was a little fluid spill from the brake master cylinder- no big deal. A little simply green and a light spritz from the hose, problem solved.
Well, the car would only rev to 4k and barley move. The following day, floored the car would only go 10 MPH. I replaced all the coils(Denso) all the plugs(NKG), new Fel-Pro gaskets. Job done.
NOW this darn thing won't start!!!!!!!!!!! It cranks and cranks and cranks. Plenty of fuel. NO vacuum leaks!! I have literally taken this car apart 3 times. NO CHANGE. I thought maybe the Crank Angle Sensor, so for 25 bucks I threw on in. NOTHING. I didn't hose the PCM(but it's very well insulated anyway)
This is ridiculous!! I know a thing or two about cars and this makes NO SENSE.
ANY Ideas????????
I'm not taking this thing to a Mazda dealer and paying insane prices. All the under hood relays have been check and are good. I haven't been able to check for spark, since I don't have a helper to crank the engine and Ford/Mazda doesn't label the underhood fuse panel so I don't know where the starter relay is.(I'll try to find that info shortly). My 90 Miata(which I bought brand new and still own) has never been a problem.

PLEASE ANY IDEAS

 

You removed the intake to replace the 3 rear coils/plugs i assume. If you got water on the back 3 cylinders it would go into the spark plug tubes and cause the coils to arc to the cylinders. A vacuum hose in the wrong spot (especially egr related hoses) could cause that. Try unplugging the MAF. You should have a check engine code if it runs that bad.

 

So you replaced the crank position sensor.
How bout cam position sensors.
You did disconnect the battery while working on it to re-set the ECU. I definitely would clean the MAF and throttle body (with that mileage). While i was there @ intake manifold, I also would have changed the PCV valve and cleaned the egr.

 

The issues started well after the light engine cleaning. ALL new coil packs, the EGR lines are fines, NO disconnected/improperly connected vacuum lines.
All of the issues arrived after replacing w/ brand new, quality parts. Just tested the old crank angle sensor and it's well within the spec. parameters.
There's is definitely fuel.
The battery was left off of over 1/2 hour (several times).
I can't get any codes, since the cars absolutely doesn't run. Just cranks over. All relays good. I don't want any more raw fuel powering through the system.
Somewhere, somehow I've probably lost spark.
Guess I'm going to have to lay on the cold ground and get a helper to turn the key while I run further checks.
ANY input appreciated. This makes no sense. I'd didn't replace the lower intake runners, since I didn't separate them. Had no issues prior to standard repairs.
Going to have to track down a wiring diagram and PVC system schematic.

 

Codes will set whether the engine runs or not.

 

Yes, but prior to this I had the codes cleared, since they showed the faulty coils. The service engine light hasn't returned, so I'm not sure it's storing info.
I'll have to go get my code reader. I was trying to determine if anyone else has run into this strange problem.

 

Hmm, I assure you it can set a code just turning the key to the on position if say the MAF is disconnected. Only 1 way to find out though is to check for codes. Some components take 3 key cycles to set a code. Some take 13,etc. The PCM has some info for you though if it won't start,regardless if the codes were cleared.

 

Refit your old coils & plugs and see what happens.

 

There's no way 6 brand new coils are all faulty. So far I haven't been able to locate a engine wiring harness schematic to trace of the line from the coil packs to the PCM. Heck, Ford/Mazda doesn't even label the underhood fuse/relay panel(power distribution center).
I probably will pull the lower intake and install a new PVC valve. Might as well pull the balancer and take care of the ever present Ford leaking front seal.
But, I really can't believe that something so simply as gently cleaning an engine can totally kill a vehicle. Great bit of engineering Ford. I guess only those who live in a desert should purchase these cars.

 

I have seen this happen thousands of times. Send perfect running car to detailer. Detailer cleans engine and now it won't run. Pull coils,dry out cylinders and car runs fine. Detailer very confused because the coils/plug wires look waterproof. They are definitely not waterproof. Detailer continues to clean engine,i make money,detailer continues to deny any chance it could be his fault. Fire detailer, new detailer repeats process, i make money, detailer fired. repeat,repeat,repeat. Kinda funny lol.

Not that this is what is wrong with yours. Did you by chance stuff a towel/rag in the intake ports to keep trash out while cleaning and forget them? Have you checked the inertia switch? Have you removed the upper O2 sensors to eliminate the possibility of an exhaust restriction?