Questions and Answers

Ford Taurus Hard To Restart When Hot Q. The car has a problem restarting after it has been run, but not always. It seems to go in waves, and may be related to the outside temperature? When we have this problem it will always start again after leaving it sit for a half-hour to an hour. So, if we are out and about and need to stop at say a store and run in for a minute, occasionally it will not start again when we come back out.

Let it sit and then it will start up again. At first when it will not start, it will start up barely and run very sluggishly at a very low idle. It does not seem to help to try and goose it to give it some gas, it will just bog down and quit. Eventually it just won't start at all until we let it sit.

Like I say, it may be related to the temperature. We did not have this problem all winter, but now that Spring is here and the days are warming up, it is happening again.

We live in Minnesota. Any thoughts? Our mechanic tells us he cannot diagnose it if it will not replicate for him, and of course we have not been able to get it to happen when we bring it to him! Any ideas? We have replaced the fuel filter, air filter, plugs and wires.

• 1999 Ford Taurus
• 3.0 liter V-6
• Automatic transmission
• 108,000 miles
• Fuel Injection
• ABS brakes
• P/S, A/C, Cruise control
• Rack and pinion steering

A. Hard starting based on temperature is almost always somehow related to the air fuel ratio not being correct for the current conditions. On older carbureted cars when the choke would stick closed they would be hard to start when hot and start easy when cold.

On modern electronically fuel injected vehicles the causes multiply exponentially. In your case you would need to check your coolant temperature sensor, intake air temperature sensor, and check for fuel pressure leak down caused by a hung fuel injector. I suspect that you will find one of these to be the cause of your incorrect air fuel ratio problem.

Added 4/13/04

Mr Ciulla, I just wanted to thank you for the reply about the Ford Taurus. I changed out the Coolant Temperature Sensor, and problem solved! Wow! Thanks again for the expert advice!

Sincerely,
Kean