Ticking Noise/no Start

[Sonny719]

Title says it all.
My 1994 Mustang GT will start only somtimes.Might get lucky and get one start on a different set of days but when it does, it'll start up and I can hear a loud ticking noise coming from the engine somewhere. And just about a few minutes later it'll die out all of a sudden.
And when I do try to start it up again it just will not start at all. It wants to start but doesn't. Here are some videos if that helps.

Somone told me it could be an electric problem not sure if thats right or not. Also was told to get Car doctor to test it and see whats wrong but I don't really want to shell out $100 an hour and not even work...

Any Idea what it could be? Thanks guys.

Ticking Sound & Die out (@ 00:14)

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9JtAqzSS4Q


After Dies out:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-ZHlInZYNU

 

[jozsefsz]

For the no-start, my guess would be PIP, TFI, Fuel Pump (in that order). There's a comprehensive no-start checklist frequently posted on this site. But you've either got no spark or no fuel, and that's rather easy to determine which is missing when it won't start.

That ticking sounds quite loud on the video - almost as if you've blown out a spark plug. Could also be a blown header gasket? A slight possibility it's a valve problem - broken rocker or valve spring, but as I mention it sounds kind of loud to be one of those.

 

[Sonny719]

I had my cousin who knows a bit about cars and he tested it with somthing that shows if its getting any spark . He touched the spark plugs and it showed nothing. Even when you try to crank it shows no spark at all. Could it possibly be the wiresets or plugs itself? OR just the whole distributor itself.

 

[jozsefsz]

Doubtful it's the spark plugs or the wires. It's most likely the PIP (in the distributor), the TFI (ignition module under the airbox), or the coil itself. You'll want to do some more comprehensive troubleshooting before just guessing and replacing, which gets expensive.

 

[Sonny719]

I replaced the coil and still same problem. Only this time we messed with some wires right before the coil and somehow it started normally and the ticking sound was gone and seemed to run like normal. But that was only one time. It now starts but sounds as if it wants to die out. I took for a drive one night stopped at stop sign and it completely shut off slowly as if It had no power. I got out messed with those wires again and boom started back up. But it's weird some days I hear the ticking noise louder than others. And a hissing sound coming under neath the rear exhaust. Like it's losing air.

 

[jozsefsz]

If you suspect the electrical connection at the coil, replace the wires / connections. I'm still suspecting the PIP / TFI as those commonly fail on our cars. When those fail, the car will run fine until it gets warm, and then shut off completely. It usually won't restart until it gets cool. As I'd suggested, you'll want to do some more comprehensive troubleshooting before guessing and replacing parts. I usually make an exception for the PIP / TFI because if those haven't failed yet, they will soon anyways, so replacing them is rarely a waste of money. But when you're guessing and throwing parts at the car, you might want to ask yourself if taking it to a mechanic would be a better investment of your time and money.

I still have no clue about your ticking... I'd get the spark nice and solid first before dealing with that. To me it sounds like a mechanical failure or an exhaust failure - perhaps a blown header gasket, clogged catalytic converter, or corroded out exhaust. Probably easier to address once you get the car running properly.