Dealing with a car that cranks but refuses to start, all while showing no OBD2 codes, can be incredibly frustrating. You turn the key, the engine turns over, but it just won’t fire up – and to make matters worse, your OBD2 scanner shows a clean bill of health with no trouble codes. This situation, while perplexing, isn’t uncommon and often points to specific types of issues. Let’s delve into a real-world experience and explore potential causes when your car turns over but won’t start and throws no OBD2 codes.
One car owner recently faced this exact problem. After their Ford vehicle refused to start, their first steps were to seek professional help. Reaching out to a large Ford dealership, they were met with the disappointing news that, because the issue wasn’t related to an active recall, no immediate assistance was available. A local Ford dealer was also fully booked for weeks, leaving them in a bind. Even their trusted local mechanic, while knowledgeable, admitted to lacking the specialized diagnostic tools required to effectively trace complex electrical faults.
Frustrated but undeterred, the owner continued troubleshooting at home. Despite the engine still refusing to crank reliably, they decided to investigate a potential culprit: the Fuel Control Module (FCM) located in the C-pillar trim. Upon inspecting the FCM, they disconnected and reconnected the connector, noting it appeared clean and undamaged. On a hunch, they gently tapped the module. To their surprise, the car then started, idling smoothly for over an hour without any problems or warning lights. Even after multiple restarts, the issue seemed to vanish.
Intrigued, they attempted to recreate the fault by tapping and wiggling the FCM connector, but the car continued to start flawlessly. However, intentionally pulling the FCM connector while the engine was running immediately caused it to stall and trigger the check engine light (CEL) along with a wrench symbol on the dashboard.
This observation raised a key question: why would pulling the connector trigger a CEL, but the intermittent starting issue, presumably also related to the FCM, not? To further investigate, the owner cross-referenced the FCM part number against recall information online. The recall details suggested that certain part numbers, specifically those not ending in “5” or “5F” and associated with ecoboost engines, might require replacement. While their part number (D7790045-0C) seemed to fall into a potentially affected category, the lack of a consistent CEL during the no-start condition remained concerning.
The absence of OBD2 codes when a car turns over but won’t start, as highlighted in this experience, can make diagnosis challenging. While physically manipulating the FCM module temporarily resolved the issue, the underlying cause and the reliability of this fix remain uncertain. The owner rightly worries about the intermittent nature of the problem and the potential for it to recur unexpectedly. This case underscores that when facing a “car turns over but won’t start no OBD2 codes” scenario, even without error codes, a deeper investigation into components like the Fuel Control Module and their electrical connections may be necessary, especially in light of potential recalls or known issues. Further professional diagnosis might be prudent to ensure a lasting solution and prevent future breakdowns.
