firing but won't start

[latamud]

Hello,

I was just driving the Stang down the road and forgot something so came back home. When I went to start it up again it fired for a second and died. I checked a few wire leads and even cleaned a few contacts and it still won't stay running. I tried a search and came up with nothing. Any ideas? Thanks.

Oh, I am going to post this on the VMF to get a little more coverage. I'm late for an appointment and am stranded, so please pardon me.

 

[kslushy]

Are you getting fuel?

 

[latamud]

I'm getting fuel, filled the tank up last night, fuel filter is full and carb does pump out fuel.

 

[kslushy]

When you crank it, are you getting spark from the coil wire- (close to) a ground?

 

[latamud]

The coil wire is not arching. The car fires up for just a second and then dies. The engine sounds fine, not too fast nor too slow.

 

[Route666]

One possibility is that your altenator is dead, and your battery has finally been drained, and so you get a little residual charge at first, then it's gone.

Another is a bad coil maybe?

EDIT: Ok I'm a dumb bum, engine wouldn't crank if battery was dead.

 

[latamud]

I was thinking the coil too, but if the coil was bad wouldn't the engine just not fire at all? Or is it possible to fire the engine for a second and die?

 

[pabear89]

There is an open in the Ign system.
If your tach grounds out.
Your saying it starts but won't continue to run,
Check key on voltage to Coil.


PB

 

[67coupe351w]

If it fires for a moment then dies I bet it is the condensor in your distributer. Also, are the points set correctly?

 

[WORTH]

You need to do a few simple tests and tell us when you fail.

1) turn key on and check for voltage at the "+" terminal on the coil. You should have9-12 volts. If you dont, pull the cap off and open the points by hand see if yo get it then.

2) crank the engine over and watch the voltage, you should still have it only it may be pulsating a bit.

3) move the meter or the test light to the "-" terminal on the coil and crank it again, this should be pulsating 12 volts on and off.

Tell us what you have and someone will set you up.

 

[latamud]

Thanks guys,
I'll pull the multimeter out soon and do the tests. I can't believe the response I received on this topic. So many ideas. I'm grateful.

 

[stangdude1968]

Had a similar problem a while back, it took me about a week to figure it out.
I put in a new condensor, clean up the points, and the grounds in the distributor. It work for me, hope it helps you.

 

[latamud]

I replaced the coil and the balast resistor and that took care of it. I did the balast resistor first and had same problem. After the coil it fired up and ran. Thank you all for the great responses.