Purchased 94 Town Car with 79k miles. Been under carport for 4yrs. Questions.

[casual]

I just purchased a home. The mother owned a 94 town car with very low miles on it. 79,000. The daughters did start it up and drive to make quick errands. Just to keep it running after they took the keys from the mother. But around 2009-10 they stopped and left it under the carport. Only changing out the battery for a Diehard Gold battery.

They wanted to sell it and I could not turn down this low mile car in great condition. So today I purchased it . I took the battery to autozone to get it charged. When I put it back in the car it would turn over. But just would not start. I could smell old gas when I got the car to look back there. Bout some fuel stabilizer and put a small amount in there.

Outside of old gas what other things can it be that will not allow the car to turn over ? Thanks.

 

[TownCars1]

A 4 year old battery that has spent probably the last 3 years deep cycled at 0 volts should just be replaced. Most batteries are end of life after 4 years, lead acid batteries hate being deep cycled, and cars with computers hate weak batteries. So I would start by ponying up for a fresh battery.

After that, it will be the usual spark, fuel, compression tests. A $50-$70 investment in an official Lincoln shop manual will pay off big if you plan to do your own work.

 

[Town]

You need to siphon out that old gas, it is very bad for your car. Fuel stabilizer is no good at this time, the fuel has already broken down and it probably had ethanol in it that makes it even worse.

Good luck.

 

[TownCars1]

I second the fuel draining.

You problem is mostly generic to any car that has been sitting for years, so a google search of "recommisioning a car" should help.

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[casual]

Thanks guys. I siphoned out some of the gas today. Before it had about 6 gallons in it according to the dashboard. I was about to get close to five out with the size gas can I had. Afterwards I poured in a gallon and half of fresh gas. Tried to turn it over. Would not start. Made the noises like it wanted to but just could not get there !

The digital readout did not show how much fuel was in it. In the information section of dashboard for available fuel left it had these letters. "CO". What does that mean ?

 

[Town]

CO and CS are error conditions that in your case may mean not enough fuel in tank. There are several other possibilities. From an empty tank, a gallon and a half may not be enough fuel, and you still have bad fuel in the filter and lines to the injectors. You may want to drain some of the "gas" by pressing the schrader valve on the fuel rail while the fuel pump is running. You want at least 3 gallons in the tank.

Good luck.

 

[casual]

CO and CS are error conditions that in your case may mean not enough fuel in tank. There are several other possibilities. From an empty tank, a gallon and a half may not be enough fuel, and you still have bad fuel in the filter and lines to the injectors. You may want to drain some of the "gas" by pressing the schrader valve on the fuel rail while the fuel pump is running. You want at least 3 gallons in the tank.

Good luck.

Thanks. Yeah I was thinking about the fuel level today. Stopped by the shop I usually take my other vehicle to. They told me it would about $500 to drop the tank and clean out all the fuel lines.

 

[Town]

That is a lot of money to spend when it may not be necessary. Can you drain the filter? It is located just forward of the passenger side rear wheel on the inside of the frame rail. Here is a procedure for a 1998 and up model: http://www.lincolnforums.com/forums/threads/10464-Town-Car-Fuel-system-filter-replacement where the 1998 model has the same setup as your 1994 model. That will allow you to see what the fuel is like in the filter.

Good luck

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[wa9zug]

CO means "Circuit Open" The sending unit in the tank is probably dirty from sitting around. I would just leave it and hope it cleans up after a few tanks of gas and some seafoam in the tank. Maybe your fuel filter is clogged at this point.

 

[casual]

Thank you all. I will follow that procedure.