Cougar

Thanks for the vote of confidence Grossgary. Persistance pays off in these kind of issues.

When I look for current drains I like to see numbers below 50ma as a normal number. Even 150ma of current drain seems too excessive to me but that is what the info sheet says. I have wonder if that number is really a normal amount for a standard car. When accessories like a remote starter are added to a car that can have a significant change on the standard current drain. If you have a remote starter system installed I suggest you disconnect it and see what the current draw is then. Most of the fuses in the dash shouldn't have an effect on the current drain since they normally are cut off from power by the ignition switch. Apparently you found a fuse that is hot and pulling it out caused the current drain to get a lot closer to a normal level. Even with 70 milliamps draw I would still try to find what is causing that amount of draw. Pulling relays shouldn't make any changes normally since they should be turned off but it is possible that something at fault could be turning on a relay when it shouldn't be turned on. The trouble isn't with the relay but there is something wrong in the relay control circuit. Job well done with your meter fix. From what you say about, it sounds to me that the meter is working well and you need to trust yourself. You are doing the right things. Good job.

It is possible the connection problem you are having isn't with the inhibit switch and it is with something else in the starter circuit but that is the most likely culprit. Testing of the inhibit switch with just a simple test light probe will tell you if the trouble is there or with something else before or after the switch. Even though adding a relay may cut the current demand enough to make things work through the faulty connection point, the bad power connection could get bad enough that even the added relay won't work either. It is just a way to work around the problem an not really address it, and it may still leave you stranded later on.

The colored wires you are talking about are the fusible links. The green one supplies power to the fuel pump and you say it is making a loose connection, which is a fairly common problem, so that is causing your trouble. You don't need to replace it but try to clean the contacts the link fits in and bend them in to make better contact with the link. If that can't happen then you may have to wedge a thicker metal tab in with the link. One side of the link connection is hot to the battery so it may be best to remove the negative battery cable first before you work on the contacts so nothing shorts to ground.

You most likely have a bad inhibit switch causing the trouble. Bypassing it will work but I don't recommend doing that.

If 229ma is a real number and you really meant to say 22.9ma then you have a problem. That amount of current is about 10 times what it should be normally if everything is in the sleep mode. That is almost a quarter of a amp of current draw. I'm not sure how long it takes systems to go into the sleep mode once power is connected on the newer cars. You might try waiting up to around 10 minutes after power is connected to see if that current drops further down when something else drops off. If there is more than 50ma of current draw when everything is in the sleep mode I would try to find out what is drawing the extra current. Normal currnet draw on the older cars is around 20ma but I'm not sure if the newer ones draw a little more or not. I don't think you have a bad battery. There is too much current drain on it. As far as your old meter goes I suspect you blew out the fuse when you were in the 200ma current range and that is why you saw no current flow. The power circuit was now open due to the blown fuse. You will need to replace it. You have to very careful when you use that range since 200ma is very easy to go over when looking at current draw for car systems. Meters usually have protection fuses for both the low current range (200ma) and the high current range. Measure unknown currents using the high range first before going to the low range if it is needed to get a better resolution so you have an idea how much current is being drawn.

It's a capacitor alright and it helps filter the ignition pulses getting into the power supply.

You stated that the fusible links were ok but if didn't verify that good power was getting to each side of them then you need to do that.

Have you checked sensor wire to make sure that another wire hasn't bridged on to the connection? There are tests that could be done to make sure that hasn't taken place. It is kind of doubtful that has happened though. It really seems like there is too much signal getting to the ECU. You might try removing the sensor and try placing some teflon tape used for pipe threads to see if that makes the sensor less sensitive to the engine vibrations. Another thing that might help is adding a 100k ohm resistor in series with the lead but I would only do that as a last resort.

Power is being interupted between the battery and the ignition switch due to a high resistance in the power supply to the switch. First thing you should do is clean the battery connections, even if they "look ok". Especially clean the smaller wire on the battery that goes to the fuse panel under the hood. If that doesn't fix the trouble then check the voltage getting to the fuses under the hood while the ignition is ON using chassis ground for the meter return lead. If the voltage is low there then check the chassis ground connection from the battery and clean it. There could also be trouble with the main supply lead so check the voltage on each side of the 80 amp main fuse.

Check the wiring near and under the fuse panel under the hood. Look for connectors with signs of corrosion on the pin connections of the connector. Some others have had this kind of trouble though with a different model car. The troubles are similair though.

Thanks for the update and glad you got it working ok.

The sensor pots are in series with each other I believe and I don't think the total resistance should be anywhere near the megohm area. I would think possibly a few k ohms at best. If one of the sensors is reading in the megohm area I would check that one for a contact problem. Compare the readings of each sensor. I don't think they are the same but I think there are fairly close in readings.

Another good thing to check is the fuel pressure regulator. Make sure it isn't over pressuring the fuel to the injectors.

See if the engine will start up by spraying a small amount of starter fluid into the air intake. If it does start then that would seem to confirm a fuel delivery problem but it might not be the pump. I wouldn't replace it until you have proved the pump is bad. It seems you have an ignition problem also. Perhaps the ignitor has a problem, which is fairly common. It could be something else as simple as a faulty power wire. Proper testing will lead you to the trouble. Check for power to the ignition as a first step when the trouble happens.

Your definition of MPFI is correct. Each cylinder has an injector for the fuel delivery. You have proved the ignition is okay since you say you can force it to run. Since the fuel pump doesn't even turn on for a few seconds when the key is turned ON it means something is either wrong with the ECU or the pump circuit. You have proved somehow, that the pump circuit does work manually so unless a power supply line to the ECU has a problem I would think the problem is with the ECU. It is pretty easy to replace it so it might save a lot of hunting by just installing another one and see what happens. When the engine is running, the ECU checks for ignition pulses to keep the fuel pump running. If it doesn't see any pulses it will shut the circuit down. The circuit should still work though when the key is turned ON and the engine isn't cranking, in order to prime the fuel system.

I assume that the engine is turning over at least and if so try spraying some starter fluid into the air intake and see if that will get it going. If that doesn't work then make sure the ignition system is working okay.

My data shows that power to the fuel pump relay coil comes from fuse 16 in the dash panel. Verify power is getting through the fuse and to pin 1 of the relay coil. You state that you can ground either side of the coil and make the pump work so I'm a little confused with that statement. One side of the relay coil has power on it from fuse 16 and grounding that side would blow the fuse. The data shows that the hot side of the coil uses a yellow wire and the ground return side is a violet wire. Pin 1 of the relay socket is the hot side of the circuit. Make sure the violet wire is making good connection to the pin of the ECU for the controlled ground connection. If that is okay then you may have to replace the ECU due to a defect in the relay control circuit.

It appears then the inhibitor switch has dirty contacts. Look for a gray plug with 12 poles, just behind the flywheel on top of the transmission, in the engine compartment.

Power to the front and rear wipers is supplied by fuse #2 via a wht/blu wire. The same fuse supplies power to the rear wiper so it would be nice to know if the rear wiper also goes out at the same time. This would point to a fuse connection problem. There are three main components to the wiper system. The motor, the intermittent module, and combination switch. I suggest you first pull the connections apart for these things and reconnect things to see if that will clear the trouble. If the other speed still doesn't work then I suggest you replace the module and see if that gets things to work. If that doesn't help then the combination switch may be the problem. You might be able to find the problem area by lightly tapping on those things mentioned previously using a screwdriver handle. The module should be near the console, on the driver side.

Have the coolant tested for exhaust gases. From what you describe about the trouble you might have a headgasket leak.

If there is a short on the sensor lead I would suspect it to be in the engine area more than the dash since the engine area is less protected. To see if there is a short on the lead you can check the resistance of the sensor lead end while it is disconnected from the sensor and the ignition is turned off. If the resistance between the wire end and chassis ground is close to zero ohms then it is shorted and you will need to hunt down the trouble. For the tach circuit it sees electrical ignition pulses coming from the minus side of the coil that are generated with each firing of a sparkplug. The faster the firing pulses go, the higher the tach speed reading. Usually it is a yellow wire that ties between the coil and the tach in the cluster.

Perhaps the tensioner is causing the problem. I would try putting on a new belt and turn the engine over by hand to see if that shows up the trouble. Removing the plugs will make it easier to turn the engine over.

You're welcome for the help. Thanks for the update and glad you got it fixed.

Can you turn each of the cam shaft cog wheels by hand?