[Vwdiesel] 2001 Ford Focus ZX3 Help needed

[Erik Lane]

Either it's missing fuel, air, compression or spark. It sounds like neither
air nor compression is very likely one this time.

Spark is pretty easy to check for, but if it's been firing just a bit then
my first guess would also be fuel. Possibly the fuel lines drained back to
the tank. Does it have an electric fuel pump? The first thing I would do is
spray some starter fluid in the intake and see if it will run on that.
Sometimes doing that a few times is all it takes before it primes its own
lines and takes off on its own. If it runs well on the starter fluid but
still won't run on its own then start looking for a faulty fuel pump, a
leaking line, or a clogged filter.

I just thought of something. Did you have the intake apart at all? Possibly
leave a rag in there? That might have a similar effect.

Erik

On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 4:13 AM, William J Toensing
<toensing at wildblue.net>wrote:

> I know it is not a VW & it is not a diesel (wish it were) but after working
> on it, the engine turns over but it won't start. You guys have been good in
> the past at answering automotive questions on other than VWs so hear goes.
> The car has set in my garage with the battery disconnected for about 2
> weeks while I replaced all 3 engine mounts & radiator & cooling system hoses
> along with the thermostat housing along with a new thermostat. The car,
> which I bought new now is 10 years old & has 143,000 miles on it. I wanted
> to start it while still up on stand to check for oil leaks as I changed the
> oil & filter while still up on the stands. The car ran fine before I started
> to work on it this time & fear I might have disturbed something in the
> ignition or fuel system that I can't see or else has lost its computer
> memory from having had the battery disconnected so long. Is computer memory
> loss  possible? It hasn't happened in the past but I have never had the
> battery disconnected so long & don't understand this electronic ignition
> system. The car has a full tank of gas & I changed the 100,000 mile spark
> plugs & wires a few years ago. If I let the car set several minutes the
> engine fires a couple of times, a
>  cting like it doesn't have gas. I do have both the  Chilton & Haynes
> repair manuals for the 2000 & 2001 Focus for the USA & Canadian Focus but it
> appears to have been written in the UK as it refers to fenders as "wings". I
> also have the official Ford shop manual as well but haven't been able to
> find any answer to any problems that might arise with the battery
> disconnected & removed for two weeks to a month or more. I also have an
> OBD-2 code reader & plan to hook it up tomorrow after studying the manual on
> how to use it to see if I can get any codes.
> Bill Toensing, Nevada City, CA
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