Tech. Help..

[Matts89Notch]

Ok I ran into a few problems that i need help solving. Today we were trying to remove the smog stuff and the a/c. Well We got out all of the a/c stuff and then moved to the smog. We took out the compressor and I took off the rubber lines.

I still have the lines that connect to the back of the block on the car and we left them open nothing capping them off. There were 2 smaller lines that seem to vacuum lines? We tried to start the car to make sure everything was still ok and somthing went wrong....the car started ok but it was idleing kind of weird than it sounded like the started relay stuck open and the car was trying to start itself. It died out and keept turning over!! I took out the key and it was still stuck. Well after messing with the relay we got it back to normal, I thought this was weird because its new? Do these go bad often?

Ok What I need to know is what to do with the vacuum lines? do I just plug them with a small screw? And the smog lines, I'm going to just cap them off for now but will deal with it later because tonight the o/r h-pipe is going in.

Help me figure out why the car wont start, this was also done without a belt?

 

[jrichker]

You will not gain any real HP by removing the smog equipment. It all shuts off at wide open throttle and the parasitic drag is only 2-5 HP. The only reason to remove the smog equipment is if you are building a strip only racecar.

Remove or disconnect the wrong thing and the computer goes into limp mode, and turns on the check engine light. Limp mode is reduced power mode since it does not use sensor input.

I recommend that you lean how the computer works and what the hardware does before disabling or removing it and shooting yourself in the foot.

Here's a book that will get you started with how the Ford electronic engine control or "computer" works.

Ford Fuel Injection & Electronic Engine Control 1988-1993 by Charles Probst :ISBN 0-8376-0301-3.

It's about $20 from Borders.com see http://www.amazon.com/ . Select boo...very good, and I found it to be very helpful.

 

[Matts89Notch]

The only reason why im removing the smog is because im going with a o/r h-pipe and i dont have to take it to emmisions....not for the 2hp or whatever..just to clean things up..

Ok I found out my no start issue, but have yet to resolve it. When turning on the car you can clearly hear the fuel pump turn on....now it does not turn on so i have no fuel pressure. Looked in the haynes book and it said that i have a outside pump or a inside pump? I'm a little lost now and what to do, I need to get this fixed by today but it looks like its not gonna happen....

If anyone can help me with the egr vacuum lines i really need help with that also...they are so old that I broke a few of them and was wondering if anyone had a dirgram of the lines. I kind of got it back together but i don;t know if i pluged them all in the right spot?

What could cause the fuel pump to just go out like that?

 

[Matts89Notch]

Will I have to drop my tank and replace the pump or do u guys think it could be some sort of link?

 

[TheUser]

If the fuel pump is not kicking on, it could be your fuel pump relay. HOWEVER, the most likely thing is probably this:

When you attached your starter relay, you probably didn't get all of those little wires attached. One goes to the rear window defrost, etc, and one, IIRC, goes to the fuel pump some way or another (maybe it goes to the ECU, which in turn goes to the fuel pump relay...I can't remember right now and don't feel like looking it up), but either way, make sure you have all of the little wires attached to the starter solenoid on the stud closest to the firewall (the one w/ the positive battery cable).

If that doesn't fix it, then possibly your fuel pump relay or inertia switch. The inertia switch is the little button in the hatch behind the tail light.

 

[Matts89Notch]

Ok well I checked my starter relay and everything is hooked up how it should be. Where is the fuel pump relay located I need to test that. I also looked for the inertia switch and could not tell if it was poped?

I'm getting to the point where im going to call a tow truck and haul it to a shop.....It was running this morning now it does not run..

 

[TheUser]

Take it to a shop if you want, but they'll charge you a fortune and it's probably something simple that you can fix if you do a little research. There's a "cranks but no start checklist" that used to be a sticky. If not, search for it by a guy on here named Jrichker. It's a good checklist and should get the problem if you follow it.

Most of the time, however, if you work on a car and it acts different afterward, the problem lies within the work you performed.

I don't have much experience with the inertia switch, but I'd just push it in and see if it goes in any further.

Depending on the year (you need to create a sig under user CP to tell us your car year and modifications), the fuel pump relay could be under the seat (until 91) or under the hood (92 & 93). What you could do (and I've done before) is look behind your rear bumper for a connection that runs to the fuel pump. Disconnect that connection and run 12 volts to the positive wire and ground to the ground wire and see if the fuel pump turns on...that will make sure the pump its self is fine.

Look for Jrichkers list.

If you have some time to work on the car, I'd recommend just trying to fix it yourself. You'll save a ton of money and learn about the car.

Did you figure out the vacuum lines for EGR? The EGR gets vacuum from the vacuum distribution thing that comes from the passenger side w/ 4 or five vacuum lines. One of those vac lines goes to the upper intake, a couple go to the smog equipment (cap those off), and one goes to EGR. Then, a small vac line goes from the back of the upper intake to the fuel pressure regulator.

 

[jrichker]

Fuel Pump Troubleshooting for 86-90 Mustangs

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.

If the fuse links 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. A tire pressure gauge can also be
used if you have one - look for 37-40 PSI. Beware of fire hazard when you do this.

No fuel pressure, possible failed items in order of their probability:
A.) Tripped inertia switch – press reset button on the inertia switch. The 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. All the applicable fuse links are in the wiring
harness up next to the starter solenoid.
F.) Fuel pressure regulator failed. Remove vacuum line from regulator and inspect
for fuel escaping while pump is running. If you find fuel escaping, the regulator has failed.

The electrical circuit for the fuel pump has two paths, a control path and a power
path.

The control path consists of the inertia switch, the computer, and the fuel pump
relay coil. It turns the fuel pump relay on or off under computer control. The
switched power (red wire) from the ECC relay goes to the inertia switch
(red/black wire) then from the inertia switch to the relay coil and then from the
relay coil to the computer (tan/ Lt green wire). The computer provides the ground
path to complete the circuit. This ground causes the relay coil to energize and
close the contacts for the power path. Keep in mind that you can have voltage
to all the right places, but the computer must provide a ground. If there is no
ground, the relay will not close the power contacts.

The power path picks up from a fuse link near the starter relay. Fuse links are like
fuses, except they are pieces of wire and are made right into the wiring harness.
The feed wire from the fuse link (orange/ light blue wire) goes to the fuel pump
relay contacts. When the contacts close because the relay energizes, the power
flows through the contacts to the fuel pump (light pink/black wire). The fuel pump
has a black wire that supplies the ground to complete the circuit.

Remember that the computer does not source any power to actuators, relays
or injectors, but provides the ground necessary to complete the circuit. That
means one side of the circuit will always be hot, and the other side will go to
ground or below 1 volt as the computer switches on that circuit.

See the following website for some help from Tmoss (diagram designer) & Stang&2Birds (website host) for help on 88-95 wiring http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/

Ignition switch wiring
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/IgnitionSwitchWiring.gif

Fuel pump, alternator, ignition & A/C wiring
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/fuel-alt-links-ign-ac.gif

Computer,. actuator & sensor wiring
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/88-91_5.0_EEC_Wiring_Diagram.gif

Now that you have the theory of how it works, it’s time to go digging.

Look for 12 volts at the Orange/Lt. Blue wire (power source for fuel pump relay).
No voltage or low voltage, bad fuse link, bad wiring, bad ignition switch or ignition
switch wiring or connections. There is a mystery connector somewhere under the
driver’s side kick panel, between the fuel pump relay and the fuse link.

Turn on the key and jumper the fuel pump test connector to ground as previously
described. Look for 12 volts at the Light Pink/Black wire (relay controlled power
for the fuel pump). No voltage there means that the relay has failed, or there is a
broken wire in the relay control circuit.

Check the Red/black wire, it should have 12 volts. No 12 volts there, either the
inertia switch is open or has no power to it. Check both sides of the inertia
switch: there should be power on the Red wire and Red/Black wire. Power on the
Red wire and not on the Red/Black wire means the inertia switch is open.

The Tan/Lt Green wire provides a ground path for the relay power. With the test
connector jumpered to ground, there should be less than .75 volts. Use a test
lamp with one side connected to battery power and the other side to the
Tan/Lt Green wire. The test light should glow brightly. No glow and you have a
broken wire or bad connection between the test connector and the relay. To test
the wiring from the computer, remove the passenger side kick panel and
disconnect the computer connector. It has a 10 MM bolt that holds it in place.
With the test lamp connected to power, jumper pin 22 to ground and the test
lamp should glow. No glow and the wiring between the computer and the fuel
pump relay is bad.

If all of the checks have worked OK to this point, then the computer is bad. The
computers are very reliable and not prone to failure unless there has been
significant electrical trauma to the car. Things like lightning strikes and putting
the battery in backwards or connecting jumper cables backwards are about the
only thing that kills the computer.

Diagram courtesy of Tmoss & Stang&2birds

See the following website for some help from Tmoss (diagram designer) & Stang&2Birds (website host) for help on 88-95 wiring http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/

Ignition switch wiring
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/IgnitionSwitchWiring.gif

Fuel pump, alternator, ignition & A/C wiring
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/fuel-alt-links-ign-ac.gif

Computer, actuator & sensor wiring
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/88-91_5.0_EEC_Wiring_Diagram.gif

Fuse panel layout
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/MustangFuseBox.gif

Vacuum routing
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/mustangFoxFordVacuumDiagram.jpg

 

[Matts89Notch]

wow lots of info. thanks for the help.

I put on a new fuel pump relay and nothing still. tried to reset the inertia switch but still nothing....I'm going to go out and get a test light to check a few other things and check the fuel pressure. if nothin prevails its getting a tow to a shop in the morning...