HELP!! New Engine Won't Run

double check all your vacuum hoses and electrical connections.

your dizzy is out of time. maybe 180 off.

ok find tdc or top dead center on cylinder 1. you can do this by either putting a long screw driver in the #1 spark plug hole and turning the motor over manually or by looking at the little marks on the harmonic balancer.put it on 0 degrees or 12 btdc. whatever you want. stock is 8 degrees i believe. then open the cap of the dizzy and see if it is pointing towards the #1 plug terminal. if not then change the wires to whatever it should be. so just get the #1 piston to the highest point in the cylinder that it will go and check under the dizzy.

your firing order is the only thing i can think of. there were 2 different ones for 302's. the firing order you want is just like the 351 firing order. it goes 1,7,3 and so on.

yeah make sure you have the HO firging order, this sounds like a timing problem of some sort...

Are you even getting spark or fuel?

try some starting fluid, if it doesn't crank then you know you definately have a problem,lol, don't gop crazy with it

Just to clarify - there are TWO top dead centers for each full cycle; you have to stab the distributor at TDC on the COMPRESSION stroke. If you stab it at TDC during overlap (end of exhaust stroke, beginning of intake stroke), then you'll be 180 degrees off and the engine will do just what you're describing.

Pull the pass. valve cover. Rotate the engine until the timing pointer is coming around to TDC AND both valves are closed. THat's TDC on the compression stroke. Rotate the engine until the pointer is at 12 or 14 degrees before TDC -- that's where you want your timing set for initial start up. Stab the dist. with the rotor pointing as closely to the #1 plug wire as you can. If that's what's causing your problem, it should fire right up. When it does get a timing light on it and set the timing with the spout out engine warm - I'd try 14 btdc with your set up.

Michael Yount said:

Just to clarify - there are TWO top dead centers for each full cycle; you have to stab the distributor at TDC on the COMPRESSION stroke. If you stab it at TDC during overlap (end of exhaust stroke, beginning of intake stroke), then you'll be 180 degrees off and the engine will do just what you're describing..

Click to expand...

well he says he is getting a spark, instead of going through the trouble of taking the valve cover off to make sure it is at the right TDC on #1 couldnt he just wait untill the spark fires on the #1 then use the screwdriver to see if it was close to TDC. wouldnt that mean it was on the combustion stroke

Cranks OK, but No Start Checklist for Fuel Injected Mustangs

1.) Remove push on connector from starter solenoid and turn ignition switch on. Place car in neutral or Park. Remove coil wire from distributor & and hold 3/8” away from engine block. Jumper the screw to the big bolt on the starter solenoid that has the battery wire connected to it. You should get a nice fat blue spark.
Most of the items are electrical in nature, so a test light, or even better, a voltmeter, is helpful to be sure they have power to them.
No spark, possible failed items in order of their probability:
A.) Coil
B.) TFI module
C.) PIP sensor in distributor
D.) ECC relay next to computer
E.) Fuse links in wiring harness
F.) Ignition switch
G.) Computer

2.) Spark at coil wire, pull #1 plug wire off at the spark plug and check to see spark. No spark, possible failed items in order of their probability:
A.) Moisture inside distributor – remove cap, dry off & spray with WD40
B.) Distributor cap
C.) Rotor
D.) Spark Plug wires
E.) Coil weak or intermittent - you should see 3/8" fat blue spark with a good coil

3.) Spark at spark plug, but no start.
Next, get a can of starting fluid (ether) from your local auto parts store: costs a $1.30 or so. Then pull the air duct off at the throttle body elbow, open the throttle, and spray the ether in it. Reconnect the air duct and try to start the car. Do not try to start the car without reconnecting the air duct.
Two reasons:
1.) If it backfires, the chance for a serious fire is increased.
2.) On Mass Air cars, the computer needs to measure the MAF flow once the engine starts.
If it starts then, you have a fuel management issue. Continue the checklist with emphasis of fuel related items that follow. If it doesn’t ,then it is a computer or timing issue: see Step 4.

Clue – listen for the fuel pump to prime when you first turn the ignition switch on. It should run for 5-20 seconds and shut off. To trick the fuel pump into running, find the ECC test connector and jump the connector in the lower RH corner to ground. See http://www.mustangworks.com/articles/electronics/eec-iv_codes.html for a description of the test connector. If the relay & inertia switch are OK, you will have power to the pump. Check fuel pressure – remove the cap from the schrader valve behind the alternator and depress the core. Fuel should squirt out, catch it in a rag. Beware of fire hazard when you do this. In pinch you can use a tire pressure gauge to measure the fuel pressure. It may not be completely accurate, but you will have some clue as to how much pressure you have.

No fuel pressure, possible failed items in order of their probability:
A.) Tripped inertia switch – Coupe & hatch cars hide it under the plastic trim covering the driver's side taillight. Use the voltmeter or test light to make sure you have power to both sides of the switch
B.) Fuel pump power relay – located under the driver’s seat in most stangs built before 92. On 92 and later model cars it is located below the Mass Air Flow meter.
C.) Clogged fuel filter
D.) Failed fuel pump
E.) Blown fuse link in wiring harness.
F.) Fuel pressure regulator failed. Remove vacuum line from regulator and inspect for fuel escaping while pump is running.

Fuel pressure OK, the injectors are not firing. A Noid light available from Autozone, is one way to test the injector wiring. I like to use an old injector with compressed air applied to the injector where the fuel rail would normally connect. I hook the whole thing up, apply compressed air to the injector and stick it in a paper cup of soapy water. When the engine cranks with the ignition switch on, if the injector fires, it makes bubbles. Cheap if you have the stuff laying around, and works good too.

A.) Pull an injector wire connector off and look for 12 volts on the red wire when the ignition switch is on.
B.) No power, then look for problems with the 10 pin connecter (salt & pepper shakers at the rear of the upper manifold).
C.) No power and the 10 pin connections are good: look for broken wiring between the orange/black wire on the ECC relay and the red wire for the 10 pin connectors.


4.) Spark & fuel pressure OK.
A.) Failed IAB (no airflow to start engine). Press the throttle ¼ way down and try to start the car.
B.) Failed computer (not very likely)
C.) Engine ignition or cam timing off only likely if the engine has been worked on recently).
D.) Firing order off: HO & 351 use a different firing order form the non HO engines.

85-302 - what you suggest won't work. Using the screw driver just determines that the piston's at the top of it's stroke. It doesn't determine which stroke. The spark has to occur with the piston coming up on the compression stroke, not when the piston's coming up on the exhaust stroke. If the dizzy's in 180 off, it will still fire when the screwdriver technique shows the piston at the top. Problem is it's firing when there's no compressed fuel/air mixture in the cylinder.

when my buddy rebuilt his motor, he later found out that he put the cam in 90 degrees off. this, at the time of intitial startup, caused the car to crank over and pop every so often but never actually start, exactly what you are saying your is doing. we found out by takeing the pushrods out, and most of them were bent. than takeing the intake off, and there were valves missing. i hope this isnt the case, but just giving my experience.

85-302, If the distributor is not in correctly, then it will fire on the number one plug at the wrong time! And will not indicate that the engine is at TDC on the compression stroke. I am assuming that you mean to put a sparkplug in the number one boot and ground it to see when it fires?

Its faster to pull the coil wire off the car completly and put your thumb over the number one spark plug hole and bump the engin over. When you get air pressure coming out you are on the compression stroke. Manually rotate the crank (manually means witha socket and breaker bar) back to (up to) zero on the balencer and put the dist in pointing to number one. Put the coil wire back on, start and time.

Did you degree the cam on install?