Hi Scotty! I have a 1998 Ford Windstar GL, 3.8 litre engine with 186,000 kilometres on it. This vehicle has run excellent for the 20 plus years I have owned, maintained and run it. It has an automatic transmission. This past Sunday This van stalled (motor shut off) after gaining speed after a stop light. I placed it in neutral and started it up thinking “that’s odd, why did it just shut off? Is it out of gas? No it has about a quarter tank of gas still. Anyway I carried on for about 30 seconds of running after I restarted it in traffic and then the engine just dies again! I tried and tried to start it again while coasting but it would not restart. My neighbour helped me tow it home. I noticed the “Check Engine” light came on. I connected my OBDII scanner to the van’s input and no codes came up. I checked the fuel rail and there is lots of gas with good pressure there. I changed the fuel pump a couple of months ago. I pulled out a spark plug and checked for spark while I cranked it - no spark. I notice the RPM gauge registers around 200 RPM while I am cranking it. I need your help, please. I was thinking it is the Crankshaft position sensor but RPM is registering when I crank the engine. Could it be the Camshaft position sensor? Please help. Thank you. David Kihn, Edmonton, Alberta
You're right about the computer using the crankshaft position sensor to display the engine rpms on the tachometer.
You should test for spark at the coil pack and if not, checking that the coil pack connector is receiving 12 volts on 1 wire and the 3 Ground switching signals on the other 3 wires.
Here's a 7 page Step by Step tutorial on how to do that.
https://easyautodiagnostics.com/ford/3.0L-3.8L/how-to-test-the-coil-pack-1
