67 EFI conversion... no fire

[Red5oh]

I am ready to start this thing and now no fire.... UGH!

Anyway, its a windsor fox harness, and I have found out a day late and a dollar short, that they are IMPOSSIBLE to get ahold of.

So.. I need help. Is there any diagnostics to run to see why no fire. There is fuel pressure and the distributor came out of a running car. The coil is questionable, but I removed it from a running car a LONG time ago.

On the TFI module, I have 12V on 2 and 3 on 'run' and 12V on 3 and 4 on 'start'

Is there anything else that would cause it not to fire. I guess the TFI module could have gone bad, but I wouldnt suspect that from just sitting.

Any help, as this thing is ready to live!

There is no popping, no nothing... I put a spark plug tester on the coil lead and I get ONE spark when you release the key from the 'start' position. It does this everytime.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[JB66]

The system will always spark once when you turn it on or off. Check the Hall efffect vane and trigger coil inside the dist. and for the little expense, replace the TFI. They go bad faster than candy melts in the sun.

 

[mustangracer]

I had the same problem initally (exact same symptoms also), turns out I had forgotten there are two different paths for coil voltage. One is from the ignition switch proper when the switch is in the RUN position. The other is via the starter solenoid I terminal when the switch is in the START position. One way to check is to run a hot lead from the battery + to the coil (bat or + terminal), and crank the car, if it starts, it means there is a problem with the voltage to the coil. Be warned it won't shut off when you turn off the key, you'll have to pull the hot wire.

 

[Red5oh]

I will test for that tonight. I did check the coil voltage when in the RUN position and it did have voltage. That makes sense.

If that is it, then I will have to find a START position to power the coil from?

I will let you know what I find out.

Thanks, Mark

 

[Red5oh]

Ok, that was it. I ran a jumper wire from the battery to the coil, and when it is connected, it ran the fuel pump etc. Engine fired right off. Of course, I had to remove the wire to kill it.

So, on the newer starter solenoid, do I run the coil wire to the 'starter' side of the solenoid, so it gets power while cranking? What did you do?

Thanks, Mark

 

[67coupe351w]

Ok, that was it. I ran a jumper wire from the battery to the coil, and when it is connected, it ran the fuel pump etc. Engine fired right off. Of course, I had to remove the wire to kill it.

So, on the newer starter solenoid, do I run the coil wire to the 'starter' side of the solenoid, so it gets power while cranking? What did you do?

Thanks, Mark

The other small post labeled "S" on the solenoid is for supplying power to the coil durring cranking I believe.

 

[mustangracer]

The S terminal is the crank input from the ignition switch, the I terminal is the crank position coil voltage source. Put a voltmeter on the I terminal and you should see 12V when cranking. Run this to the coil + terminal. I integrated a '92 harness with the stock 65 engine harness, and used a relay to provide switched 12v to the ignition versus running it all through the ignition switch.

 

[Red5oh]

I am not using the 67 starter solenoid, but the 91 version. It only has one terminal on it. Basically, the start (or engage) terminal.

The strange thing is that the TFI is seeing the START signal coming from the ignition switch, and the TFI power is on during RUN and START. That is supposed to be the power to the coil during the same time.

I know I could 'make it work' but this harness was supposed to make it right.

Could a coil that is marginal cause too much voltage loss during the START cycle and bring down the voltage to 0V? But, when I hooked it up directly to the battery, the coil worked fine.

Anyway, tonight I will check the wiring connection to the EFI harness for the power to/from the ignition switch.

Thanks for the help and I will let you know. Mark

 

[JB66]

I would try one of the late model coils and see if that works. The TFI probably doesn't provide enough amperage or duration to allow the old style coils to build up voltage enough to fire.

 

[Red5oh]

Sorry for not clarifying... I am using the 91 TFI coil as well.
Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Red5oh]

I replaced the ignition switch and it started right up. Sounds great!!!!

I started/restarted it too many times and I think I flooded it (I dont have a throttle cable on it yet) so it will have to sit a bit... I am sure it will start right up.

Now all I have to do is finish the rest of the car.

Thanks for all the help.

Mark

 

[monk302]

About finished with EFI. Now it won't start?!

So I have my car all set up and ready to go with the EFI. So now it cranks, there is fuel, but I cannot get it to start. One thing that did happen was that there was some sort of backfire that came through the air filter. Made quite a popping noise and a small amount of smoke. So now I would like to get this thing running but I am not sure what is wrong. How can I test for spark? What would cause the backfire through the air filter? Any suggestions?

 

[Red5oh]

Check timing.... Mine occasionally backfires through the throttle body and it was not getting fire during the 'crank' cycle. It was getting it when in 'run'. The ignition switch took care of my problems.

 

[monk302]

Do you mean the ignition switch in the dash? The one you put the key into?

 

[Red5oh]

Yes, the key switch