that didn't sound good.

[donkey_punch]

well no too long ago i posted about changing my battery wires. well i can forget about that. the car sat for a week and a half so i went to the garage and started her up. fine. then shut her off so i can work on her. dam have to move her back so i have more room. put the key in turn to on to prime the pump, everythings is a go. turn to crank and *CLACK* dash lights go out and the car does nothing

any ideas on were i should start?


here we go again another weekend without my stang.

 

[donkey_punch]

oops

 

[donkey_punch]

well i went back out cause the other day i changed the cap and rotor. and thought maybe i put the wires back on wrong. but after looking at some pics of other mustangs. the wires seem to be right. so then i gave it another try and my dash lights came on and then it did the same **** again once i tried to crank it. and now i have no power again

 

[donkey_punch]

come on someone has to know something

 

[ECU5.0]

how loud of a noise is it. does it come from inside the engine or just under the hood. i would say maybe its a thrown rod or something or broken valve, but i dont know why you would lose electical power.

 

[Irv]

if it is a clicking from the solenoid, check all of your ground connections.

 

[hllon4whls]

Sounds to be like you have a bad connection that is opening up under the load of the starter.

 

[ninety15.0]

I would try testing the ground and 12v wires to the starter...and maybe try starting the car by bridging the wires. You may just have a bad starter or just a bad ground.

 

[noslow5_0]

yeah another vote for connection problems since you had changed up the wires.... Good lucK!!!

 

[donkey_punch]

ok so how would i test the ground and 12v wires to the starter? and then how would i start by jumping the starter?

thanks for everyones replies.

 

[Gravel]

You definitely have an issue with the battery wires.. Could be either the ground or the pos and could be at either end... If it was just a starter issue, it would not cause the power to go away in the rest of your system...

With the description that you have, I would first look for a loose connection. I would next bypass the electrical by using a set of jumper cables and connecting them into your circuit.. Take the cable and connect one end to the ground terminal and the other end to a good ground location on your block, this will bypass your ground cable. If that does not work then try the same thing with the pos side.. The pos side is a little harder because you need to get to the starter..

Hope this helps!!

 

[Stang951]

You definitely have an issue with the battery wires.. Could be either the ground or the pos and could be at either end... If it was just a starter issue, it would not cause the power to go away in the rest of your system...

Actually that is not true. Donkey what did the noise sound like? Was it a terrible grinding metallic noise that sounded like something was being chewed to hell. If it was the starter went the the great Ford started heaven in the sky. Mine did the exact same thing. Only I was leaving to do some errands in my weekend driver. Got to the first stop, conducted business, tried to leave and no start, and a terrible load on all of the electrical system that shut everything else down for a few seconds. Look at your voltage and see if it drops off to nothing when you turn the key. If it does then the started disintegrated internally and is grounding everything out.

If the starter is gone I highly recommend going to a newer mini (somewhat smaller) and lighter hi-torque model.

If that was not the noise, check your cables for corrosion and work from there,

 

[Asha'man]

My buddy's '86 was doing this a couple weeks ago when we were getting the new motor running....ended up pulling off some loom to look for busted wires and it fixed itself. Okay, I guess that wasn't much help....but don't give up, you'll probably tweak just the right thing eventually.

Ash

 

[donkey_punch]

i would like to thank everyone for their input. and was just wondering were would be the best place to ground the jumper wire to the blcok? could i just connect it to the intake manifold? or a bracket thats bolted to the engine? i would think it would ground. but just want to make sure. and thanks again.

 

[Stang951]

Best bet would probably be a bracket.

You havent figured that thing out yet?

If it does not jump, then check your voltage drop when you crank it. I bet it is way off the charts!!

 

[donkey_punch]

the jump worked. i put my jumper cables from the neg. battery terminal to the alternator bracket. and it started right up. so i changed my negative wire from battery to a new ground. and it hauling ass now. thanks again for everyone's input and advise.

all this bull for 3 weeks and it turns out to be a f ucking ground. still can't believe it.

thanks again and hope i can help one of you guys some day.

 

[fordman54935]

I'd check your battery cables, solenoid, and the often overlooked ground straps.

 

[Stang951]

That's great. At least you didn't have to replace the starter.

 

[donkey_punch]

yeah but in the last 3 weeks i replaced:

battery, to a new 140 amp chrome alternator, 2 set of wires, s hithole amount of plugs, 2 caps and rotors, new coil, countless hours of cursing, and drowing myself in beer. i also have a new positive battery wire and a new motor ground strap, that i have to install still. talk about blowing it into the wind.

 

[Irv]

OUCH! Oh your poor wallet, but think of all the spare parts you have now!