Hi All.
i just purchased a 2000 with a 3.0, it spins over fine for 3-4 seconds before it starts. I put a spark plug tester on it so I could see how it was firing. While it spins over for the few seconds it isn’t firing but then all of a sudden I see spark and it starts. It runs rough at idle but smooths at higher rpm.

Thank You
John

 

Welcome to the forum

Distributorless engines use a Crank sensor located on the crank pulley, lower front of the engine, to tell the computer when to start spark and fuel injectors, and also the timing of the spark and fuel injectors

There is no connection between starter motor and computer, the ONLY WAY computer knows to start spark/fuel is the Crank sensor, NOT CAM sensor, Crank sensor

Look behind the main pulley, you will see what looks like a "gear" with teeth, thats called a tone wheel, and it has one missing tooth, a gap
The crank sensor will be located so it can "read" the teeth as they pass by, in fact the crank sensor is a VR type sesnor and it generates its own AC Voltage as teeth pass by it, its not much voltage, but the frequency of the AC sine wave tells computer the RPMs and the missing tooth, gap, tells computer when #1 TDC happens, for timing

Make sure the tone wheel is clean, no mud caked in between teeth
Unplug the crank sensor connector and make sure its clean, because it uses low voltage any corrosion makes a big difference
Crank sensors rarely fail, and its the only sensor on any engine that can cause a No Start, which happens when it does fail, so delayed start would mean crank sensor IS WORKING, do not replace it, but its voltage may be too low on startup because of dirty tone wheel or wiring issue


But I don't think thats your problem
I think you may have low fuel pressure at start up, this is a more common problem

Try turning the key on, count to 3, then turn key off, repeat that two times THEN try to start the engine
This Primes the Fuel System 3 times, to build up any lost pressure after vehicle sits


As for a spark issues(rough idle), the 3.0l Coil Packs were known to get cracks, have a close look at the coil pack
Picture here of what to look for: https://www.taurusclub.com/forum/att...pack-coil3.jpg

 

I will check those out. ThankYou
John