Pretty jealous right now
Decided to take the car out for a bit last night and put a few miles on her. Hooked the battery up as usual and when I hopped in the car and turned the key, it acted a bit funny and didn't want to start. In fact, electrically it was acting bizarre. Flickering, buzzer acting weird and it finally cranked and fired. Shut it off and checked the battery cables to make sure they were tight and they were. Hopped back in and hit the key and fired right up with nothing out of the ordinary.
Took it out for a 6 mile drive and varied the throttle. According to the AFR readout, it would range from 15.5 when jumping off the throttle from a cruise all the way to 10.1 when stabbing the throttle quickly. It did not take well to the quick application of the throttle and it sounded like it was breaking up pretty badly. Not sure if that is just part of the learning curve with this system or if I have something else going on, but I will keep a close eye on it.
Got it back to the house and had to get out to open the garage door. When I hopped back in it to start it.....nothing. No click, crank, power for the EFI, fuel pump and the key buzzer was making a god awful noise. Shut the key off and tried again. More random noises and then the fuel pump tried to kick on but it sounded awful also. Would not click or crank. For some random reason, I tried the headlights. They didn't work either.
I'm not sure why all the sudden I have an electrical gremlin or what is causing it, but it's pretty bad. Weird since I have not had any issues the past few times and I have not touched anything since the last time I took it for a spin.
Brock
1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed
I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?
That really sucks. Sounds like you have a main power feed problem to the ignition switch. Maybe have a wire that is broken inside or the switch itself is going bad. Try checking voltage to the switch when it acts up and if it is off spec, just run a new feed wire to it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
--86 GT vert.306,Powerdyne blown 7 psi, E303, ported E7s,MAF conv, BBK shorties n OR H, 3" Mac Pro Dumps, WC T5, 5 lug'd, 17" Bullitts, 3" cowlhood, SN95 Gt front brakes, 4.11s.
--Bill
The ignition switch I'm going to take a hard look at. It is new, but it is a McParts store cheepie. I know..... It's what I had laying around and I figured it would be better than the separating FORD one that was in it.
I'm going to pick up a BWD one and replace it. Wouldn't be the first bad new part I have installed on this car lately.
Hopefully that cures it and life is good again. On the flip side, that was an enjoyable 6 miles bringing my total up to 9.7 on the odometer.
Brock
1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed
I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?
Here's hoping that fixes it. And if it is defective it could be causing the hesitation problem if the voltages are constantly changing. Whenever supply voltage changes to a PCM, sensor or ignition , the output voltage changes too. Causes all kinds of insanity in a fuel injection system.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
--86 GT vert.306,Powerdyne blown 7 psi, E303, ported E7s,MAF conv, BBK shorties n OR H, 3" Mac Pro Dumps, WC T5, 5 lug'd, 17" Bullitts, 3" cowlhood, SN95 Gt front brakes, 4.11s.
--Bill
Hopefully. I changed the ignition switch this am and so far so good on that end with limited use. The one that was in the car did in fact also come out of a BWD box like the new one I just put in, but the new one looks better built.
Took it out for a spin and made it about 3 miles and the idle took off and the car started breaking up really bad again. It was a really sketchy slow ride back to the house afterwards. I checked everything, including the timing again and couldn't get it to idle and run worth a crap. Dug around some more while the car was running and happened to stick my finger behind the throttle body. My finger got sucked against it and the car instantly died. There was an vacuum port that was not capped and was one hell of a leak.
I capped it, reset all of curves in the EFI and took it for another spin. Ran like a champ and no issues during the 18 mile trip.
I feel like an idiot.......
Last edited by 84StangSVT; 04-08-2017 at 03:30 PM.
Brock
1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed
I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?
Brock -
Don't beat yourself up over it. If you hadn't stuck your finger back there, who knows what you would have to go through to fix it? Now, it's fixed and you can move on to bigger and better things.
Bryan
1983 Mustang GLX Convertible
Welcome to the family! I come from a long line of idiots, European decent mostly. With some gypsy too
On the plus side think of all the worse places you could have put your finger.
It must have been vacuum leak week
A couple days ago my car initially acted somewhat like it was "carb icing" after a bit of warm up. I got it warmed some more to move the temperature gauge and away we went... and then it acted intermittently as if running out of gas. A stab onto the pedal and away we'd go. Stopped and popped the hood, and was greeted by a deteriorated (it was new when I did the swap) busted off vacuum cap magically somehow laying beside the carburetor, lol, which was off of the vacuum tree at the rear of the intake manifold. I replaced that, and we were back in business, no problemo. Later at home, I popped the hood to check the other one on the tree and it broke off when I gave it a twist. I'm thinking that's enough of the foreign garbage ("HELP" section package) vacuum caps, and I'll go back to a length of hose and a screw if I need something blocked, lol. I think for the two unnecessary I have back there, I'll just use a length of vacuum hose between them to block them, lol... $hit happens, my friend
Last edited by Walking-Tall; 04-08-2017 at 06:55 PM.
Mike
1986 Mustang convertible ---> BUILD THREAD
Past Fox-chassis "four eyes":
1983 Mercury Cougar LS
1986 Ford Thunderbird ELAN
1980 Capri RS Turbo
Work in progress website ---> http://carb-rebuilds-plus.boards.net/
BUT WAIT THERES MORE!!!!
The weird electrical gremlin is back. Hopped in the car to pull it into the garage and nothing but weird buzzing and clicking. Things didn't work normally and it took a few cycles of the key to get them working correctly. This time while I was turning the key, it seemed odd. I rocked it back and forth and it seemed to have a buttload of play in it. I popped it out of the column and low and behold, I may have found the issue that has plagued me recently. While cycling the key cylinder in my hand, there is a fair amount of movement, forwards and backwards, and the end that goes in the gear doesn't move. I have a feeling the key is reaching the end of its travel but not advancing the column gear fully causing the erratic behavior.
I ordered a new cylinder so hopefully tomorrow that cures that issue.
Brock
1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed
I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?
Installed the new key cylinder and through multiple cycles it hasn't acted up. I think I have that issue resolved.
Honestly, today has been a good day. I took her for a long drive and couldn't be more thrilled. While there are still some odd things with the fuel injection, the more I drove it the better it got. I think this may end up being a killer investment. I'm up to 54 miles as of now.
Brock
1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed
I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?
Real similar problem here, weird electrical gremlins. Went to start one day and no go. Battery appeared to be dead, replaced battery and while the car started the starter didn't want to disengage. Lock cylinder failed. While I was replacing, I decided to replace the switch too from LMR. Plug for the ignition switch did not want to come out of the switch.
Coincidental to have the similar issues.
Thanks previous owner for a stellar wiring job.
Bitchin' 84, hello from the midwest.
Last edited by snavesa; 04-10-2017 at 01:06 PM.
Thanks Bryan, I usually don't beat myself up for too long. I have a short attention span and forget pretty quickly.
HAHA! I know the feeling all too well.
Yeah, I had a couple of those caps laying around but I thought they seemed a bit cheap. They didn't look very durable. I still have yet to figure out where the cap went that was on that port, I'm positive that I didn't intentionally remove it but it damn sure wasn't there anymore. I used a short piece of hose and a bolt to block it off for now. Seems to be working fine.
Brock
1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed
I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?
Brock
1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed
I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?
Small update.
Got the car completely back together, interior and all. It feels good to have a car that looks like a complete car again.
I am having an issue with the passengers side door window as it only like to go up halfway. With messing with the switches, it will eventually go all the way up. I will have to dig deeper into the cause of this.
I took it out again for a session again yesterday, even though it was misting and the streets were wet. Let me tell ya, it's a bit unnerving when the rear steps out at 45+ while rolling on the throttle. I did some longer rolling throttle runs, high load runs and throttle stabs and all in all it was as expected. There are still spots where the car bucks and barely wants to run. Looking at the handheld when these events are happening, the A/F ratio is showing anywhere between 9.5 and 10.5 which tells me it is loading up on fuel. There really seems to be no rhyme or reason to when this happens as each time it is at a different throttle position, load, etc. I have yet to replicate it at the same basic parameters. This event is becoming less and less common, so I'm assuming it is part of the systems learning mode. When it does run right, it runs smooth and hard. It is way more friendly than the carb that was on it. Of course there are other factors that contribute to it, like getting the mechanical and vacuum advance functioning properly.
A few other nice bonuses to this system, as opposed to the carb, I have noticed are:
1) Cold starts and general cold driveabilty manners are next to a new car. It is almost a hit the key and go system, not like the cranky cold carb.
2) Hot starts are insanely easy now. I have yet to have any dragging/slow starter issues like before. I'm almost wondering if the reason for that with the carb was fuel boiling off and essentially vapor locking the car. With the emission system being deleted on this car, the boiling fuel had nowhere to go but in the intake.
3) While there is still a slight smell of raw exhaust at stoplights and such, I am no longer trying to kill everyone within a 9 car radius of me. I can actually cruise around for some time and not smell horrible like I took a bath in gasoline.
4) The garage no longer smells like fuel when the car is sitting in it. This was particularly bad after a driving session. I think this mirrors #2 above. I can roll it in after a long drive and close the door without trying to gas everyone in the house out. I don't even have a charcoal canister on the car.
5) Overall manners of the car have improved. It runs amazingly smooth, even at highway speeds. Before it felt like it was struggling and a bit of a misfire at those speeds.
Here is a pic of her on the interstate yesterday afternoon. Still weird to have a working speedometer and I will have to have someone pace me with a known good speedometer to make sure mine is close. She ran so good here yesterday so I can't wait to do it again. I'm also up to 75 miles.
Brock
1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed
I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?
Congrats Brock, glad you got it back on the road and are getting it sorted out. It's such a great feeling when all that hard work pays off with a nice driving car!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
--86 GT vert.306,Powerdyne blown 7 psi, E303, ported E7s,MAF conv, BBK shorties n OR H, 3" Mac Pro Dumps, WC T5, 5 lug'd, 17" Bullitts, 3" cowlhood, SN95 Gt front brakes, 4.11s.
--Bill
Hey Bro, they have a great speedo gear calculator on LMR that works easy and great so for about $12 you can have a perfectly working speedo. You just put in the trans type, tire size and rear-end ratio.
Right on Brock Just in time for the driving season, well timed brother.
Beautiful day yesterday so I brought the car to work, even if it is not really ready for the season. Still a lot of work to do but I couldn't pass up the chance to drive it. Ran great on the way in and I was thrilled to show it off to my coworker who enjoys this car as much as I do. 83 miles on the clock after getting to work.
Hopped in the car after work and went to fire it up so he could hear it and all it would do is crank. No fire. Hooked up the handheld and checked for error codes. None given at that time. Popped the hood and looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Scrolled back through the handheld, checked all the component values which looked good and then noticed something odd. Upon power up, the MAP sensor showed 00 and after 10 seconds or so, it jumped to a steady 65. Still no error code though. Pulled the MAP off and did the "mouth" test on it and the handheld did not change its reading from the 65 it was showing. Cycled the system one more time and then the LED started flashing and an error code popped up. "MAP ERROR". DOH....I think I figured this out before the system was nice enough to finally tell me.
Called the tech line and they were not the most helpful people in the world. In fact.....for anyone who decides to go with this system, do your self a favor and skip the phone call and just go to their tech forum. It is way more helpful and useful for troubleshooting these things.
One bonus to this system is that if you need parts, they are GM "LS" parts which makes getting the part pretty easy, if you can figure out a part # to give to the counter guy at the McParts store. FAST will not give you a brand or part # as they want to sell you theirs. Time to do some research and that is where the forum comes in. Browsing around, stumbled on some vital information I wish I had read earlier. 90% of people that have had this error recommend changing the MAP with a good aftermarket part before ever running this system as they have all died with limited run time. Seems to be it is a cheaply made part. Also with that recommendation came a couple part #'s. The one I could get easily at the McPart store, is a BWD #EC1686.
My coworker gave me a ride home so I could get my truck, which was awesome of him considering we live in completely different directions. Grabbed the truck, hit the McParts store and gave the guy the part #. "Yeah...I got that. WHOA, that little dude is $80!" Figures. He went back and got it and when he came back, he gave me a pleasant surprise. He grabs the other guy, and tells him to sell him a part. The other guy obliged and my total out the door was $50, he gave me his employee discount. I guess it pays to be a regular and shoot the bull every now and then about random things.
Got it back to the car, installed it, hit the key and 2 cranks later she was running again. I think I'm going to buy a spare and throw it in the roadside kit as this will not run without that sensor working.
Took it on a long drive and she ran better than she did before so hopefully I won't have to revisit that anytime soon. After all the running around last night, she is up to 120 miles on the clock.
Brock
1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed
I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?
Forgot to mention that the passenger side window started acting up on it again yesterday. While already irritated with the no start issue, that about put me over the edge. My coworker said, "It looks like it is hitting the end of its travel, so maybe the gear slipped or something". I didn't think that was really possible with the way these windows are set up, but it did spur me to pull the lower door panel out and take a look up in there. Well....I found the problem right away. The wiring for the window switch popped free from the door and the end of the window arm was catching it. Pulled the wire out of the way and low and behold the window went right up. I will have to take a deeper look at that as soon as I get settled in the new house.
Also for the speedometer concern. I did run the LMR calculator when I bought the new cable and speed sensor just in case I needed to change the gear to accommodate my current setup. It gave me back the information that the gear I currently have is the correct one. Instead of having someone to pace and verify accuracy, I downloaded a speedometer app that I have used before with good results. Fired up the app and hit the road. The cars speedometer appears to be really close to the app, within 1 MPH, all the way up to 65. Didn't go any faster as the front suspension on this car is still not fixed and it gets a bit sketchy. I can live with a small variance.
Brock
1984 Mustang LX Convertible 3.8L V-6/Auto (SOLD)
1984 Mustang GT Hatchback 5.0 V-8/5 Speed
I'm an FEP Supporter and proud of it. Are you?
Congrats on getting her on the road! Seems like you can't ever just get a project car on the road without any hiccups can you?
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
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