Help! Mustang wont start!

[aar0s]

i think what rpm was saying about the fuses is if you have checked the fuses under the dash. Im not shure but i think that there is one that works just the injectors but i cant remember which one it is.

[MustangLover71]

We cant seem to get much help here...Finally found a guy to loan us his fuel pressure gauge, will have to get a ride tomorrow to go pick it up. This is getting to be really stressful....

Got the mustang towed here to our apartment today... So sad looking at her just sit there.

Anyway, When we go to the parts store we are going to pick up a new selinoid and will get a new regulator too, we will go pick up the fuel pressure gauge and bring that home. I can't believe they wanted $40 for the gauge at the parts store, geez. Took us so long to find one to borrow. We will replace the selinoid first, then we will check the fuel pressure and I can post those results on here to see what you guys think, before we jump into replacing the fuel regulator or any other things like voltmeter testing.

So far we are still thinking this is a fuel problem, cycling the key a couple days ago as someone had suggested did not work. Of course we cant try it now cause the battery is unplugged to keep her from running (selinoid problem) So until we get this gauge we are stuck. Oh and we are fairly sure the pump is still good, held a stethascope to it and it is def working. Can hear it come on when we tried to crank the car. Like we said before we didnt see any fuel in the vacuum line, which confused us, because we thought for sure that it was the regulator and this would have proved it, I understand that would be a symptom of a bad regulator, but nothing .

I'll keep you all posted. Hope this selenoid is easy to change anyone have any tips? We don't really have the know how on replacing these parts. We are wingin it here....

Thanks again for all your help,

[Ieatcamaros]

So, you have replaced the TFI module and ign. coil thus far? You said it was firing in an earlier post. Was the fire blue or orange? It has got to be more blue than orange. But either way, it would hit a lick if it was orange. You said your plugs were dry. Then, it is definitely a fuel issue. If you have been cranking and cranking, and the plugs are dry, it IS a fuel issue. Whether it be a weak pump, clogged filter, lines regulator, etc. It could be an electrical problem but is still fuel. I mean that if you have a fuse blown or bad injector wiring or something of that nature, it has to do with the fuel.

It doesn't have to be a long screwdriver or anything metal to test the injectors. You just need something to double as a stethoscope. But a screwdriver works really good.

Your solenoid is stuck and you can try tapping on it to get it unstuck. Otherwise, you will need a new one. That is why you had to pull the battery cable to get the starter to stop turning.

I am not much of a fuel injection guru. Which is why I switched my cars over to carb. It is just so much simpler to fix. Like crazy pete said.

Stick with us here on the board, we will get your car running again.

Right now if it were me, I would double check the firing. Check the fuel pressure and check the compression. You don't have to have the fuel pressure gauge to check the pressure. If you pull the hose and it sprays fuel everywhere, it is most likely alright. Be ready to put it back on quick. LOL. But since you already have the gauge, might as well use it. Then you will know exactly what the pressure is. To check compression without a gauge, you can pull the spark plug out and put a paper towel in the hole. Not tightly though. When the piston hits the top, it will blow the towel out. If you want to do this test, you will need to do every cylinder.

Like I said earlier, I am certain it is fuel related. But these are some other things that you can check when you have lost all hope.

[MustangLover71]

OK here is our pitiful update, lol

Couldnt get the darn fuel pressure gauge on because we didnt have the right connector to fit the valve, we had about 5 minutes to utilize the help we had so we did a couple things. Banged on the solenoid, got that back in place so we could hook up the battery again. It worked, it came unstuck

Decided to use our help to listen again to engine while we crank, we noticed when key was in the ON position, we were hearing fuel in a rushing fashion at the regulator, as in it was noticably loud, like a waterfall. We think it is just rushing back to the tank. Thats is exactly what it sounds like.

Rechecked Schrader valve, seems to be plenty of fuel coming out. Took off the vacuum line to the manifold and our help sucked on the vacuum line (LOL, good helper, huh?), said he could taste vapors in the vacuum line.

Ok guys, help us out, I know you can do it!!!! Do you think it is this regualtor as we had suspected? Or is this not enough to go on? What do you think?

Thanks for your advice
All help appreciated
Mustanglover71

[aar0s]

i might have missed it but did you check the fuse that controls the fuel injectors and computer? the fuse panel is on the left hand side of the bottom of the dash.

[MustangLover71]

Hi guys!

aar, thanks for the posting, to respond to your questions, yes fuse was checked for fuel injector and computer.

Anyway, I wanted to add a significant clue, that I left out last night...

We noticed that when we turned the key to the on position on the stang last night, we could hear the fuel pump come on, but it didnt cut off like it normally does after a few seconds, it just kept running... Then we heard that "Rushing fuel" sound near the rail. It just kept going until we turned the key to off.

This was something we didnt notice before, and I have only found one place on line today that said:

"The fuel pump will engage, and then cut off when the outflow of fuel is pressurized (ie: by the regulator). If it doesnt cut off, the fuel was not pressurized, its a bad regulator or the pump." Does that make sense?

So what do you think guys? We bought a new regulator today, so we will replace that this weekend anyway, looks like it is going to be a pain though, we have to take the intake to get to the bolts. GEEEZ. We are starting it tomorrow. UGGHHHH.

I just wanted to add the fuel pump thing, incase you guys have heard of such a thing before and what it could mean?

I am hoping it IS the regulator, so this car will run after we get it in there

I am so excited that we may have this thing up and running soon!

Any ideas about this running pump, and rushing sound
much appreciated

Thanks so much!

[RPM427]

You just need to remove the upper intake, takes 30 secs if u know what you are doing. Replace the regulator, and your car should start. Sounds like your regulator is just divering flow back to the return line, and not letting pressure build up in the rail.

[MustangLover71]

Thanks for the posting RPM, .....

30 seconds?!?!?!??!?!??!?!

Yeah, if we knew what we were doing, LOL.

It seems like the wiring harness for the injectors SNUGLY lay all over this regulator, and the fuel lines themselves immovable! (they are metal) Are we just supposed to move (if possible) all of that out of the way to get to these screws?

I am sure you know, these crazy screws for this regulator are only approachable from the bottom! (what were they thinking?) Seems like heavy labor, not a quick job. Maybe we are assuming it is more complicated than it really is ...Any suggestions?

Feelin lucky here.....think we will get her runnin this weekend!(fingers crossed)

Mustanglover71

[RPM427]

It is a quick job, not heavy labor.

Once you pull the wiring harness out from its hiding spot, you can get to all three screws with a small 90 degree allen wrench (the bolts are allen heads).

After you install the new regulator, and before you re-install the upper intake, hook your battery back up and turn the key to the ON position and check for any fuel leaks. They will be easier to fix while the intake is still off.

Keep us posted.

[MustangLover71]

OK guys, replaced the regulator, and nothing....

It still cranks great but wont turn over

Guess we are going to search for the relay and test it now, because we have someone her with the stuff to test it....

Also seems as if the pump is still running until we turn key off...

Any ideas?

[canukracer]

wow what a headache this is!>> buy a noid light it plugs into the one of the injector plugs, pick the easyest one, crank it over it should flash!!!!. also look and see if the tach needle is moving when cranking if not try an other module, it could also be the pickup inside the distributor look and see if it is gummy to the feel. stop using starting fluid to start it try carb cleaner/ check that timing to. we still gotta know the fuel psi please,could still be a bad fuel pump

[MustangLover71]

Ok new fuel pump relay didnt help either-
Seem to make the noises on the pump worse, clicking, knocking, coming on (humming) and then cutting out intermitently.

Check engine light is really dim, until we try to crank the car..
Could that have something to do with grounding somewhere or insufficient voltage to the computer?

And YES< the tach needle moves when we crank the engine, to about 600-700 rpms.

How do we check the ground for the computer?

Canu- Like I have said before if we buy that fuel pressure gauge, we wont have any money for these parts. Sadly we are limited on the tools we have access to. Have to work with what we havbe got. Would have been more convenient for the car to break down when we had money, of course. We only used the fluid once the other day before we towed the car here, to check the fuel system, it did fire then, and we havnt used the fluid since.

Any ideas?

[RPM427]

Something is wrong with the computer.

[MustangLover71]

Just a side note- We just tried to pull codes in the KOEO position using the check engine light, but only the airbag light flashed what appeared to be a code 44, which we cant decifer....????????? Check engine light wont flash. Honestly we think we are not getting codes.

what do you think?

[7DMACH1]

Have you replaced the EEC power relay?? It's located right above the computer in the right side kick panel. This energizes the fuel pump relay and the injectors.

[MustangLover71]

Is that ECC relay the same kind of relay as the fuel pump relay? We may as well try to use this extra one for something if it does..

[7DMACH1]

It is the same type of relay and looks the same, but it's a different part number. You can't use a fuel pump relay in place of it. You must get the proper one. RAY

[MustangLover71]

well, we are thinking now that we may need to replace the ECC relay. Looks like it will be tough to get to, we'll have to take the computer out to reach it.

It was odd to us that the new fuel pump relay actually started to make the pump sound funny (well different anyway), maybe we bought a bad relay (it was new). So we put the old fuel pump relay back in.

So now we think that this will either be a ECC relay problem, a bad computer, or the actual fuel pump. The fuel pump is the only thing out of the 3 that is less than a year old. It appears to be priming fine. Car still cranks but wont turn over. Can still hear fuel rushing at rail. Chech engine light is dim until we try to crank the car, then it brightens up.

We have access to a voltmeter today, anyone have some suggestions about testing the pump or relays with it?

Someone also suggested to us to check the fusable link, where is it and how would we do that? Would that cause a crank but no start?

Please keep in mind that we dont know much about cars or wiring here. We just want to know if there is a simple way to check these components for power.

Thanks for your help.
Mustang hasnt run in 9 days and counting......

[MustangLover71]

Ok, so we removed the fuel pump relay to check the wiring at the harness... here is what we got...

Key OFF-

Pink/black wire- 12 volts
Red wire- very little resistance
Green wire- 0
Blue wire- 0

Key ON-

Pink/black wire- 12 volts
Red wire- 12 volts
Green wire- 0
Blue wire- very little resistance

Can you guys tell what this means?
Anything else we can check with this voltmeter?

[MustangLover71]

Good grief you guys, we are at wits end here,

Put the new fuel pump relay in again, and cant hear the pump, we even tapped it, nothing.

So then we put the old fuel pump relay in and didnt hear anything, so we tapped it and pump came on! WTF!?!

Does this mean the new fuel pump relay we bought is bad? Maybe the ONLY problem is the fuel pump relay still? So now we have to take this fuel pump relay back and get a new one. Still trying to figure out which wire is the fusable link too in case another new fuel pump relay doesnt do it....Will it ever end?