Mustang 65 V8 won't start, no spark!

naika

New Member
Jan 9, 2019
8
1
1
france
Hello,
I have a 1965 fastback since 2010, I have been working on it here and there, replaced floors, new paint, tons of new parts on it.
I've been working on the manual transmission and rear end for the last year or so, and have been starting the car regularly, no issues.
Last week, I start the car after replacing the carburetor, and forgot to turn off the ignition, it drained the battery, which I put on charge.
Since then, car won't start :( I thought the coil (ACCEL yellow super coil) was dead since I had no spark, and I bought a new one, won't change anything.
I have tested different things, with my little electrical knowledge.
I have about 4 volts coming from the ignition switch to the "i" stud of the started solenoid, and that seems odd to me.
I have tried to pull a wire straight from the battery to the + of the coil,, I then have about 11 volts between the positive and negative of the coil, but car won't start anyway.

I am unsure on what to test, and value I should find. I have checked grounds, which seem ok, I have charged the battery, and starter cranks over with no issue, which leads me to think the starter solenoid is OK.
I have no spark at the coil, so I don't think the distributor (ACCEL unit) is out either.
I'm wondering if there could be something with the ignition switch that died? but unsure on what the symptoms would be.

Gas seems to get to the cylinders when I take a plug out, it won't even hesitate when I crank it over, so I have something that might have died but don't know what.
If someone has a clue, please let me know.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Franck
 
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Call Accel tech, they should have a method of testing the module with a multi-meter. If they don't answer they might have the test procedure in their FAQ section. I've got a Pertronix and it shut down, turns out a ground strap broke under the plate and the module was bad. It was still under warranty so I got a new module. But they had a couple of resistance tests that confirmed it.
 
Thanks, I sent them an email to check with them.
I tried to look for the same distributor, but can't seem to find it for sale. Would there be a replacement for it?
Since I just bought a brand new coil, would I be able to install another brand distributor with it?
Sorry to ask silly questions, but I don't want to mess things up more than they are :) :)
 
If it’s been discontinued, It might be better to go ahead and replace it instead of trying to find old parts. It’s not necessary to have a matching brand coil, but the coil specs must meet the distributor requirements. Check with the new distributor mfg and they should tell you if it’s compatible.
 
Hello everyone,
Coming back with some news!
The car started last night, after taking the odometer, ignition switch out. I checked all wires, took a few out (added along time and pretty much hanging off the switch)
I tested the ignition switch, and pigtails wires. after taking everything out and testing what came out of the switch, I found 12.4 volts, and thought a wire fried between the swtich and the started relay, which would explain the 4 volts I had there and at the coil. But when I tested the relay and coil, I had 12.4 volts.

I must have had a bad ground or a wire shorting the circuit under the dash, and it basically solved when I took everything out.

Good news is that I don't need a new distributor :)

I have a question that comes to mind since I checked under dash and found a few "hanging" wires. Is there a topic where I could find the purpose of most wires to make sure I have everything wired correctly? The car must have been tweeked along time and I want to make sure I am not dragging along some problems from previous owners :)

Thanks a lot everyone for the feedbacks and suggestions! Mustang helpers have striked again :) :)