my mother in law was driving the car so exact details might be a little fuzzy. from what i gather she was driving on the freeway and it suddenly stopped. no engine lights no misfire, nothing. so now the car sits in my driveway.

1988 taurus with 3.8L

fuel pressure at rail is approx 40psi when cranking
no spark at plugs
rotor turns when cranking
replaced coil
replaced ignition module
checked fuses

still no start

what could it be?

 

Check ALL ground connections. A "GREEN" ground can cause the injectors from injecting fuel. Loss of connection due to a GREEN ground will act as if you were driving down the road and just turned the engine off. You may need a wiring schematic. The ground will be one related to the PCM module. Check around the battery and engine compartment area first. Easiest way to see if you have a possible "GREEN" ground causing the injectors not to fire is to spray some fuel into the intake while cranking. If it starts, then you need to start looking for a bad ground.

 

sorry for not getting back here earlier but i did find the problem. it was the pick up coil.