no start, 0 fuel pressure, but gas on plugs

Dude, for the love of God remember one troubleshooting bit out of the thread;

LAST THING FIRST

You can't imagine the horror stories I've read on here from guys doing something easy, screwing it up, and chasing a dozen ghosts and shadows before they realized the simple thing they did was done wrong.

Put your old coil lead on the coil with a grounded spark plug on the other end and check for spark there. If it's there you screwed up the install.

Remove the cap and make sure you put the new rotor under it (been there, done that)

Make sure the spring conductor is hitting the center pin on the cap (been there, done that too)

Roll the motor over with the cap off to make sure you are putting the wires on in the same direction the rotor turns (seen that)

Finally make sure you are following the 5.0HO / 351w firing order, not the 289/302 order.

As a future tip, remove the old wires and cap as a unit and keep them together until you get it running again.

Jamie

They will likely have a performance coil in stock. I get them unless the price its very high.

not sure if you count the short ones - I'd count them all. You might try it both ways and see if the codes match up? I remember there was a very short one when I first hooked it up, and that was the only short one I remember.

Jason, i would use a bulb that draws the same amount of juice as a test light. otherwise you risk blowing a circuit and the flashes might not accurate due to the high draw of the bulbs you are using.

good luck.

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.) MSD or Crane ignition box if so equipped
B.) Coil
C.) TFI module
D.) PIP sensor in distributor
E.) ECC relay next to computer - look for 12 volts at the fuel injector red wires
F.) Fuse links in wiring harness - look for 12 volts at the fuel injector red wires
G.) Ignition switch - look for 12 volts at the ignition coil red/lt green wire.
H.) 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/article...c-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. Look for 12 volts at the Pink/Black wire on the fuel pump relay.
C.) Clogged fuel filter
D.) Failed fuel pump
E.) Blown fuse link in wiring harness. Look for 12 volts at the Orange/Lt Blue wire on the fuel pump relay
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.) A Noid light available from Autozone, is one way to test the injector wiring.
B.) 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 from the non HO engines.
HO & 351W 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8
Non HO 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8

If there's no spark at the coil w/ the new coil, the next thing I'd check is the TFI Module.

Here's some info from "How to understand, service, and modify Ford Fuel Injection & Electronic Engine Control" by Charles O. Probst, SAE:

"The PIP signal goes through the TFI module to the control module for advance or retard adjustments. The SPOUT signal from the control module goes back to the TFI module (if SPOUT connector is in). The TFI module opens the primary circuit to control spark timing, and switches primary closed. If the TFI module does not receive a SPOUT signal, it times the ignition directly from the PIP signal."

You do need a special tool to remove the TFI Module though - they're about 5 bucks at autozone. I think if you could pull the codes, you'd have more info here. I believe it should generate a code if the TFI wasn't working because the TFI sends an IDM signal to the EEC so that it can check for TFI operation.

Also, since I'm not there, I can't say for sure, but you do hear a "hissing" kinda sound when fuel goes through the rails, so that's probably what it is. Unless you smell or visually see it, I would concentrate more on the lack of spark.

Jrichkers list is very helpful.

siege said:

EDIT: now, when you say to look for 12 volts at the fuel injector red wires, which red wires do you mean? the ones going directly into the fuel injectors, the ones going into the black/white connectors mounted on the upper, or is this at the computer? kinda confused here....

edit2: and I have 10.2v at the red/green wires going to the coil...

edit3: I tested the red wire on the fuel injector plug in case that's what you meant and I get between 6.7-7v...it fluctuates.

Click to expand...

The red wire on the injectors should read battery voltage, whatever that is in your case. The 6.7-7 volts is way too low, check the MAF red wire and look for 12 volts there. If you don't find the full 12 volts & the battery reads 12 volts, the ECC relay located above the computer is bad or you have a bad connection or broken wire.

If you get 12 volts on the red MAF wire, clean the 10 pin connectors. See http://fordfuelinjection.com/index.php?p=6 for a pin diagram.

yea btw the key has to be on to check for the voltage at the injectors and maf...to crank it pull off that little red wire on the solenoid and get a little short wire and run it from that little stud to the postive post on the battery, alot easier than getting bunch of sparks with a screwdriver across the lugs...i dont get...in the very beginning didnt u say u did have spark? or u didnt, i forget...good luck