Hi All,

Car: 1996 EFII Falcon Gli

I am having a very specific starting problem with my car. A little background on the car is that originally when it was about 2 years old it had the dreaded BCM problem. Ford took about 3 years to correct this and it was extremely frustrating. Since then (about 2000) the BCM has been fine.

Now the issue is simply this, I go out to the car in the morning, try to start it and it will crank and crank and crank but not actually fire over. I turn the key off and then try to start immediately and it will start. The time between tries is literally 1 second. This will happen without fail every morning. It will also happen if I leave the car parked for a few hours, I will come back and same problem. Once it is started though and if you drive it regularly throughout the day it will start 100% each time.

The battery, alternator, fuel pump have all been replaced recently. I have been assured by my mechanic that the BCM is 100%. It does not appear to be the same original BCM problem because the car actually cranks. (original problem you would turn to start and nothing).

All fuses are OK. The fuel pump does whir as normal when the key is turned to the second position.
I have shorted out the fuel pump relay and the pump whirs as normal. The relays also click as normal when the key is turned to second position. Fuel lines are OK. Also the sensor at the front of the engine (forgot name) has been tested by my mechanic and is 100% working.

I hope that has given you all enough information to help me. This is the most f**cken frustrating issue because once the car has started it runs like a dream and also because I am racking my brain to try to find the problem. I hope one of you more knowledgeable people can help me.

Thanks a lot to everyone in advance

I'd call the BEM at fault again, replace it with a $30 second hand one and see how that goes.
Next thing to look at is the Ignition barrel connections.
The wiring is soldered to a PCB and staked into the barrel, as a result can loosen and fail.

remove the steering shroud and examine the backing, if its loose, re-stake it or replace it.

I think Krytox is pointing you in the right direction with his post.\

A couple of years age i was experiencing similar issues with my EF.
After replacing some parts and testing all other possible parts were
functioning correctly I finally worked out it was a problem with the
ignition barrel.

The problem with it was the circuit board that is meant to be fixed at
the rear end of the ignition barrel had worked itself loose. To make
it work again all I had to do was fix the circuit board to the rear end
of the ignition barrel again. I haven't had any issues with it since.

Ok, thanks for the help you guys

I will have a look at the ignition barrel today and if its not that i'll see about picking up a replacement
BCM.

For the ignition barrel is it just a matter of stripping down the steering column ?

I'll let you know how it goes...

pretty much, you need to remove the shroud, if its the issue, you can actually fix it in most circumstances. otherwise you need to use a center punch and a hammer to remove the security bolt in the clamp for the ignition barrel, or use a drill.

I had a look at the ignition barrel and it all looks ok. I can see the area that you guys are talking about which would come loose but it looks fine.

I think ill have a look at my local pick a part tomorrow for another BCM. Is there a tech doc on how to put in the BCM or is it pretty much rip the whole dash apart lol.


Thanks all, I hope this fixes the issue

no, all that you have to do is remove the cluster surround, remove big fat long black plug under left hand side of the cluster, then look under your footwell, and pull that socket out too, then do the reverse to install. just dont forget about the two screws holding it in. they are gold in colour and sit either side of the big black socket

thanks tony.martin11, I have sourced another BCM for the car, just need to throw it in and see how it goes.

Thanks again for the help, I will let you all know how it goes.

I have very similar problem I changed the BCM which did not fix the problem .I read on a post to try and re solder all the connecting plug pins on the board ,tried that with the orginal BCM still no joy was going to replace fuel pump but you say it didnt make any difference.Let me know how you go.

Ok, I have installed the replacement BCM i got from the wreckers. So far, all is good but the test will be first thing tomorrow morning to see if it fires up first time.

One thing I did notice though was that when reading through the tech doco for EF BCM's it states that EF1 bcm is grey and EFII is black. My car was manufactured March 1996 , so EFII right ? The BCM that I took out of it was grey and did not have any model identification such as "94DA" etc. The BCM was replaced by ford under warranty as I said in the first post but it seems a bit weird, wondering why they would replace it with that?

Anyway, I will post back and let you know, fingers crossed...!

yea, EF mk1's are grey and mk2's were black, but there isnt really any difference apart from the colour

I know cause i own an 13th august 1996 build car

EDIT: and why tomorrow?

Oh ok, maybe when they replaced it they just used a grey one instead. No biggie, just seemed a little weird being an EFII.

And tomorrow because the problem is that when I leave the car for a long period of time(few hours) upon the first attempt to start it just cranks and won't fire and then the next time (literally a second or so later) it will start fine.

The good news is that this morning the car fired up perfectly first time. Since I replaced the BCM it has started first time everytime. Problem solved, I'd say.


Thank you all for your help, krytox and tony.martin11 in particular. Cheers!

your welcome

i was having the same problem with my el xr8

i placed a new fuel filter in and so far so good...

i might check out the BCM this long weekend..

Well, the car is up to its old tricks.

This morning its back to square one. kingyxr8, I also have a new fuel filter.

This is f$%cked. I have no idea what it could be now. The only real thing I can be certain of is that it happens in the morning ,which means the car is dead cold. Other than that and once its started, it will run fine throughout the day. Unless I leave it for an extended period of time.


thanks all