SAD DAY my horse is dying! :( :(

[wazazzle]

was heading west bound on 512 and got off at canyon rd exit. stopped at the light with the rest of traffic, when suddenly car died. was running fine with no indication of troubles, when just DEAD. tried to cranking over several times, wouldn't even do that.:damnit:light turned green, hit my flashers and started pushing my car. the homeless guy even ran over to give me a hand pushing it. (i'm gonna give him some $$ next time i see him) left on side of off ramp went to gas station called tow truck. took 15min came back and state patrol already marked my windows green. an 1hr wait and phone stole 8 quarters. tried a few more times to start. has full tank, just went through engine this wkend checked everything twice. took tow over 1hr to get there and paid him $100 cash. i work in auburn but live in 40min away, gonna have to get a hold of my brother to drive me there. possibly for rest of week. (kind of a coincidence) during lunch i was researching 351w swaps at work today. note my car well over 165k with no rebuild. this horse was on its last leg and heading for the glue factory. now i'm gonna have to rip it apart this wkend and come up with a conclusion....whether to give it an easy fix or completely blow the brains out this mofo.. fu#% it, rocky never gave up and neither will i! 351w here i come!!!

 

[gospeedgo]

hot day....shotgun an ignition module
well, at least check it...i bet she starts after it cools down


ohhh....wait..just re-read it, wont crank...probably not the module

 

[wazazzle]

just got back from looking at it. gas is getting to it, i can smell it in coming from the exhaust. wasn't sure, so i sprayed gas in the intake manifold and tried cranking it. won't turn over, there's no spark. i'm thinking it's the ignition box, since plugs and wires are new. will spend more time during this wk. wish me luck.

 

[codemonkey]

Does the motor actually crank over?

 

[gospeedgo]

won't turn over, there's no spark.

yea...good question, maybe I have misread it?

will it not turn over, cause if it cant, it sure wont spark

 

[Rootus]

Yah, that is a good question. If it's turning over, but not lighting, then she ain't dead yet, but keep the shotgun handy just in case...

 

[stock50LX]

This is not a dead motor. If the engine won't turn over and you have no electricity, it's your charging sysem and/or battery. Disconnect and recharge the battery, check your ground wires -there are several. Check the other wires that go to/from the soloniod and battery, that's where you must start. Your alternator might be a suspect too. You don't need a new engine yet. These are tough engines; they can take a lot of abuse.

 

[codemonkey]

if you're lookin for a reason for a 351, great, but I'd be willing to bet it has something to do with your ground. I'm having some ground issues with my car right now, I'll let you know how I resolve it. (I'm thinking another cable to the body, and maybe some ground strap action).

I had similar issues with my 87 and 89 I've had in the past, and one time, the starter wouldnt come on at all, and my neg wire was hotter than hell. Cleaned up the ground, added another ground, and it worked great. Could be your issue.

 

[gospeedgo]

Nothing funnier than having someone come in stating that after replacing their engine the problem is still there. You can shotgun a lot of parts if you want, but there are steps to diagnosing properly. First step is defining the problem.

 

[RazorsStang]

The starter won't turn? It could be a bad starter solenoid. Check to see if your radio is receiving power, if not, it could be the starter relay. But to be sure it's always best to have a continuity tester handy and to see where exactly the volts aren't coming in. Check the battery out too. It would really suck to just start buying new parts if it happened to be a poorly charged or old battery. Check out the terminals to see they are clean and the clamps are on perfectly tight. If that's all copacetic then work your way on up from there. I know from personal experience that gremlins in the electrical system are NOT fun.

 

[ddonaca351]

a strait-forward, informative, well thought out post from Razor????

what is the world coming to?!?!?!?!?!



Dave-

 

[YardSpecial]

ignition module would be the first suspect on a fox, second would be the starter.

My fox did the same thing, bad ignition module

Wish I was in the USA, I would fix her in no time flat.............

Your stang has low miles, don't give up on her.

I had WAY over 200K miles and still droped 205HP to the wheels. (89 fox)

 

[wazazzle]

thanks guys for all the input, i will def check those out too. i've had to buy a few extra electrical tools/testers, was actually thinking about buying an analyzer ($300). but too expensive. this wkend i'm pushin it in the garage and go through the entire electrical system. starting from the ignition module, check connectors, grounds, plugs, alternator, etc. i've spent all wk reading during lunch about what the problem may be. i will keep you guys posted. i just hope i have it fixed in time for the Round Up next wkend. i'm pretty sure its the electrical syst because it just wasn't cranking over when i sprayed into the TB. if the engine turned that would have meant there was sparks, right!? but didn't turn, thus no spark. no spark means elect prob.