have a 2000 Windstar, 38000 miles.
when i tried to start it this afternoon (temperaure around 50 degrees) it would start up, then immediately die. if i pressed the accelerator a little it would keep running. as soon as i released the accelerator it would die again. tried this several times.
finally, i put the van in neutral and it started up right away and kept running with foot off the accelerator. drove it around the neighborhood. shut the van off and this time it started fine in park.
is there any difference between starting a car/van in park vs neutral? any idea why i originally couldn't start the van in park but could in neutral?
also noticed last night (after driving about 50 miles, car rested for 7 hours, then another 50 miles) that there was a faint rotten egg smell when i got out of the car. also, noticed it today. postings on newsgroups say it's the fuel (put in about 8 gallons to fill it up yesterday before driving the
100 miles), the catalytic converter, or an O2 sensor.i'll keep an eye on the smell to see if it gets worse but any thoughts on whether my not being able to start in park is related to the smell (i.e. could something like a bad O2 sensor prevent you from starting the car)?