PLease help i am about to lose it

Try putting a KNOWN good battery out of another car in it first before getting too excited. Let us know what it does with a fully charged good battery.

Takes a pretty healthy battery to start a 5.0, I've tried with several cars that could not turn it over. Replace with good battery as stated previously and you probably will be good to go.

I would also check on the condition of contacts between the battery terminals. If they are all grungy and corroded looking that may be a problem too.

when you say it does nothing, does that mean it does not crank, click or anything (as if you tried to start it w/o pushing the clutch pedal in/the auto trans in Drive)?

if so, i would also try jumping the solenoid - a starter interlock device could be on the outs (clutch switch/neutral switch come to mind). make sure you are getting 12 volts to the solenoid trigger.

the other advice is spot on as well - i just had a question and two cents worth of stuff to add in addition to previous comments.
good luck.

If you have a volt meter I would put it on and see what it is doing. If it dropps below 10V replace the battery. If it does nothing at all, you have a different problem. Either the starter or ignition switch most likley. You didn't remove/break/unplug the clutch sensor (nuetral saftey switch) did you? It's on the clutch pedal and it wouldn't be too suprising if you mangled it prying on the old quadrant. A bad battery will do funny things. It can read more than 12.6 V on the surface, and keep good voltage to a point, but when you put a real load on it, it will completly loose power. Even if you get it jumped, it will suck so many amps it can kill the alternator.

90mustangGT said:

If you have a volt meter I would put it on and see what it is doing. If it dropps below 10V replace the battery. If it does nothing at all, you have a different problem. Either the starter or ignition switch most likley. You didn't remove/break/unplug the clutch sensor (nuetral saftey switch) did you? It's on the clutch pedal and it wouldn't be too suprising if you mangled it prying on the old quadrant. A bad battery will do funny things. It can read more than 12.6 V on the surface, and keep good voltage to a point, but when you put a real load on it, it will completly loose power. Even if you get it jumped, it will suck so many amps it can kill the alternator.

Click to expand...

Man... that's why I like this site. I'm sitting here reading posts and zoned in the possible charging system problems when *bang* 90 mentions the neutral safety switch. Working on your quadrant, that makes perfect sense.

there is a little pushbutton on the back of the switch. when the button is pressed, the switch closes.

so now it cranks but will not start?

if so, find Jrichker's 'cranks but no start checklist' and go to town.

good luck.

As requested...

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 - look for 12 volts at the fuel injector red wires
E.) Fuse links in wiring harness - look for 12 volts at the fuel injector red wires
F.) Ignition switch - look for 12 volts at the ignition coil red/lt green wire.
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. 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.

You have all the linkage parts, that isn't it. There is a way to bypass the neutral safety switch, but I don't know what it is. Not having your radio, climate control, etc in the loop shouldn't matter. Can you hear your starter relay clicking when you hit the key? You could check for voltage at the starter solenoid, and also make sure you still have cable connection at the starter. You still can't pop the clutch even with a new battery? Why do you have the dash all apart again? During my short stint in the car audio trade, I saw some pretty messed up cars due to cheap and improper alarm installs, and depending on what system it is and what the instalation entailed you could have a residual problem even with the box out if things aren't put back together right- but I couldn't tell you what that involves without seeing it. If you have a local starter/alternator rebuilder, sometimes the bigger ones are a full service auto electrician joint. I use one frequently, I've just accepted that wiring problems are part of Ford ownership This sounds like the kind of thing that any good tech should be able to trouble shoot though, the hard part will be getting the car to them. Have you run down Jrichker's list yet anyway, just to see if anything pops out at you?

im confused about the part where you said the 'hot and ground for the kill switch together'.
most alarm installs kill the starter pulse (referred to as interlock device). one of the wires should have shown hot while cranking (dead otherwise) and the other side would be dead at all times (it goes to the solenoid itself - but if not connected to the 'hot when cranking side' it is an open wire).

i would find those and put them together (if you have not already - maybe that was what you were saying).

were i you, i would put a test light on the solenoid trigger (as others said). check for 12 volts during cranking. if no soap, do the same at the clutch safety switch. one can remove the switch's connector and install a blade fuse to bridge the switch (THE SWITCH IS THERE FOR A PURPOSE - I WOULD DO THIS ONLY FOR DIAGNOSTIC PURPOSES. CORRECT THE FAULTY SWITCH IF NECESSARY).

if no juice at the clutch switch, do to the ignition. at some point, you should find juice. so go forward from there to where you last where that you had none. i still bet the wiring that got buggered from the alarm could be at fault.

BTW, most alarms use a passive starter kill - if the circuit fails, the car will always start - as opposed to never starting. not that this is true in your case - just info.
for schematics, see Tom's diagrams:
www.veryuseful.com

good luck.