Cougar

If you haven't eliminated a intermittent Main Relay as a possible cause of this trouble I suggest you do that.

Your thinking on both of those areas is correct. You could just bypass that added circuit with a jumper wire if you want to see if that is the cause of the trouble.

Make sure 12 volts is getting to the solenoid wire of the starter when the starter fails to turn. You may have gotten defective starter since you stated it didn't work on the first attempt to start the engine. If voltage is getting to the solenoid wire then the solenoid contacts aren't making connection to the starter motor windings.

My data for a 97 model shows power is tied to the pump motor by a wht/blu wire from fuse #2 and the return side is controlled by the wiper switching system. You should be able to ground the grn/red wire on the return side and make the pump turn on if the power side is ok. There is a connection in between the motor and the switch which could be where the trouble is at. There is a 20 pin connector by the brake master cylinder the return side passes through. Perhaps seperating and reconnecting it will solve the trouble if the power side of the circuit is ok.

You could try some WD-40 or dip the ends in Coka-Cola. I've heard it works pretty well cleaning things. As far as using a sealer I don't like covering the contact surfaces with a insulator. Putting the sealer over the outer surfaces is a better think to do I believe.

Your logical conclusion sounds good to me. You could do a resistance check on pins 1 and 4 to see if the connection is open. If you are sure you are on the correct leads to the pump then the connection is either open or the motor is jamed. Some folks have freed up a jamed pump by reversing the polarity to the motor briefly. I think using the hair dryer to warm up the hose should work ok as long as there are no gas fumes in the air.

This is one of the reasons why I suggested making sure the fuel pump was bad before opening things up. Have you tried using a couple of pairs of pliers and hold the tube with one set while twisting the hose with the other? You can also break the seal using a small screw driver and shoving it into the end of the rubber tube.

The pulsing of the voltmeter may be just due to grounding issues or a weak battery. To see if the alternator is ok turn on the headlights and blower and then check the voltage at the battery while the engine is running around 1,500 RPM. You should see between 13.5 and 14.8 volts DC at the battery. The voltage at the alternator output lead should be close to the same also. Check for AC ripple also. There should be less than .1 volt AC across the battery if the alternator is ok. A note about the dash voltmeter. It can read up to a volt lower than the actual battery voltage due to internal wire losses.

Try removing the electrical connection to #1 injector and see if there is a difference in the engine operation.

Good catch on the ground wire problem. Bad engine grounds can cause strange things to happen. I assume when the engine fails it is while moving down the road. The trouble could be with the fuel pump relay and swapping it out is an easy thing to do. Another relay I highly suggest you replace is the Main Relay. Some folks have had a problem similar to this and the trouble was due to that relay being intermittent.

You stated you replaced the O2 sensor with a new one so the sensor should be ok. The fact that you aren't seeing any voltage from it is puzzlling. If there was a problem with the wiring to the sensor you should see a code indicating that. Have you checked to see if the injectors are working ok on the right side for #1 and #3 and they are firing ok?

It sounds like you found the trouble. Thanks for the update and you're welcome for the help.

I would guess then you may have a severe air leak on bank 1 somewhere after the MAF or the injectors may not be working correctly. Have you looked at the fuel trim values?

You're welcome.

The most common troubles that cause a starter problem is bad battery connections, faulty inhibit or safety switch, or dirty starter solenoid contacts.

Some info I have for a later model shows the colors to the pump are blk/red for power and blk for ground. Pins 1 and 4 respecively on the connector. The info also shows there is a couple of connections between the relay and the pump that could be causing the trouble.

The right side should have the pump on it. The other side ties to a second level sensor I believe. I wouldn't pull any covers off until you have confimed the trouble is with the pump.

I wouldn't replace the fuel pump until you have proven it is causing the trouble. I would suspect the relay is the trouble before the pump. Using a test light probe will show where the trouble lies.

I suggest you purchase a can of starting fluid and spray a small amount into the intake air duct. You don't have to take anything apart to do that. If the engine then tries to fire you know there is a fuel delivery problem. You stated the blower doesn't work and that may be related to the fuel pump not working also. A fusible link may be bad or a commom fuse is blown somewhere. It is a good idea to make sure that fuses are passing power by using a test light to verify power is getting to both sides of the fuse. It is common for folks to pass over a bad fuse the first time thinking it is good. You should be able to hear the fuel pump turn on briefly when turning the key to the RUN position.

Newer audio systems use what is called a balanced output to drive the speakers. This means neither of the speaker output leads tie to chassis ground. In order to connect the speakers properly you should replace at least the common ground speaker lead with a lead tied directly back to the proper speaker wires from the deck or run a new pair of speaker leads to each speaker.

To post a picture click on the icon that shows a mountain scene in the area above the reply box and enter a URL address to the picture. To clean the EGR valve you may need to scrape out the hard crude and follow up with some cleaner.

Since there wasn't a problem before you jumped the battery I suspect what caused the fusible link to blow was the jumper cables were connected in reverse of what they should have been. To see if there is a shorting problem you could check the resistance on the protected side of the fusible link connection and check for a short to ground. You could also connect a brake light bulb in series where the fusible link would normally connect. Then connect up a fully charged battery and see if the brake light glows brightly. If it does then there is a problem down the line somewhere. Pulling fuses should help locate the area of the trouble.

A bad fusible link connection is a fairly common problem and may be what is going on from what you describe of the problem. The links are in a small plastic box mounted on the coolant reservoir. Make sure the connections inside the box are clean and making a good snug connection to the slots. Also make sure they aren't blown out which is indicated by a break in the middle of the wire though you can't see it usually. If power is getting to both sides of the links then you need to check for power getting to the fuses under the hood. If that is good then check the ignition switch next.

Code 34 is for the EGR valve or circuit. The circuit may be open so check that. It may be a good idea to clean the EGR valve also along with the MAF sensor. Check the fuel pressure. The regulated pressure should be 35psi.

Unless the slipping is extremely bad I wouldn't think that would cause the warning lights to turn on. The voltage regulator could have an intermittent problem and may be causing the things to run higher than normal. The warning light circuit is tied to the field circuit of the alternator and is at ground potential when the alternator isn't running. The lights turn on with power provided from the ignition switch. When the alternator gets going it provides power to the field lead also and that turns the light off, unless there is a problem with the alternator.