Starting problem '99 4.0V8

My '99 4.0V8 does not start anymore.

  • Battery is full and OK
  • Starter motor is working
  • Inertia switch is OK
    so these are excluded as causes.
    I smell gasoline so the fuel pump seems to be working fine too.
    Maybe the spark plugs??? Any advice where to look next is more than welcome!
    P.S. Never had starting problems in the past, it suddenly came up.

Do you live somewhere cold? Same happened to me about 10 years ago. Living in the mountains in winter, I started it, rolled into garage and shut it down before it stabilized (still running rich on high idle). Took me a week to get it going again as it was seriously flooded. Removed all plugs to let fuel evaporate, used a blower to dry inside cylinders and then cranked it with foot to the floor about 30 times before it fired (several battery charges involved). Will not do that again!

Sudden failure suggests electrical. There are two power train control relays and a diode up front, and a fuel pump relay and diode in the rear. Check your fuses as well.

Best way to tell if flooded or electrical, test for spark. If you have spark, it is flooded.