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  1. #1

    Default Coil red hot- no start

    Hi guys, need your insight. I bought the car a couple weeks ago, and it stalled on me this past week at a idle. Would not restart. Cranked engine over and car backfired thru the intake. Checked voltages at battery and key on ignition, 12 bolts at battery and 9volts at coil. Ran a fused wire to +coil directly from battery and only got to ten volts. Coil overheated and started to boil yay the top. I know I must have a direct short somewhere. The wiring was suspect so I pulled one wire at a time going to coil and distributor and used wire connectors. The previous owner was a hack and had twisted wires together with electrical tape. Car has a duralast gold distributor, and I took apart wires one at a time but could have easily wired one backwards. Car will crank but not run. Disconnected battery cables so I did not explode coil. I can provide pictures if need be. Thanks for any help.

  2. #2
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    Would help to know what car you're working on?

    Disconnect any wiring on the low voltage side of the coil. If you run a fused wire directly from battery to the positive side of the coil with nothing connected to the negative terminal, no current should flow. If the coil overheats, sounds like a bad coil.

    If the coil stays cool, lay the high voltage lead connected to the coil near a ground. Hook up a jumper wire to the negative side of the coil. If you tap the jumper to ground, should get a nice blue spark from the HV lead to ground. Don't leave the jumper tied to ground.

    Please post your results.

  3. #3
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
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    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
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  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by darkd0r View Post
    Would help to know what car you're working on?

    Disconnect any wiring on the low voltage side of the coil. If you run a fused wire directly from battery to the positive side of the coil with nothing connected to the negative terminal, no current should flow. If the coil overheats, sounds like a bad coil.

    If the coil stays cool, lay the high voltage lead connected to the coil near a ground. Hook up a jumper wire to the negative side of the coil. If you tap the jumper to ground, should get a nice blue spark from the HV lead to ground. Don't leave the jumper tied to ground.

    Please post your results.

    I apologize, it’s a 1984 mustang lx 5.0

  5. #5
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    Have you made any progress?

  6. #6

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    9 volts at the coil sounds about right. There is a resistance wire that drops the voltage to the coil (it is the rubbery feeling one). 12 volts direct will boil the coil especially if you run it hot to the battery.

    Take everything back to stock. Pull the coil wire off the cap, insert a spare spark plug in it and ground it. It should spark when the engine turns. If it does, then your issue is cap/rotor or timing. If it doesn't spark, I usually start off on the Duraspark Box (a known failure point, especially if they die when hot then restart). You might have cooked that coil, so you might need to start with the coil.

    Kenny

  7. #7

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    Car is at shop getting work done. I bought this car for my father in law and simply didn’t have the time to fix it. I do, but it would be nonstop every day haggle on its progress, and working 60 hours a week with three kids doesn’t help. Anyway, I labeled all the wires that were hacked in there. Only to find out the shop ripped all the wires out, then proceeds to tell my in law that they can’t “find” the wires that they need. I had to make my wife the point person as I was angry yo say the least. Car should be done in a couple weeks. I know there are probably a lot of questions but all I can say is I think there was a possible timing problem, and then they MAY have done some stupid things that would have prevented them from getting the car done. I’ll check back in a couple days. It’s been a trip.

  8. #8
    FEP Power Member fgross2006's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevnic View Post
    Car is at shop getting work done. I bought this car for my father in law and simply didn’t have the time to fix it. I do, but it would be nonstop every day haggle on its progress, and working 60 hours a week with three kids doesn’t help. Anyway, I labeled all the wires that were hacked in there. Only to find out the shop ripped all the wires out, then proceeds to tell my in law that they can’t “find” the wires that they need. I had to make my wife the point person as I was angry yo say the least. Car should be done in a couple weeks. I know there are probably a lot of questions but all I can say is I think there was a possible timing problem, and then they MAY have done some stupid things that would have prevented them from getting the car done. I’ll check back in a couple days. It’s been a trip.
    if its an 84 LX it most likely has a TFI not a Duraspark. And should be a CFI fuel delivery. can you verify that?

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by fgross2006 View Post
    if its an 84 LX it most likely has a TFI not a Duraspark. And should be a CFI fuel delivery. can you verify that?
    Not really sure?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    FEP Power Member fgross2006's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevnic View Post
    Not really sure?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    This is a link to a U-tube vid I made of me testing my dashpot for vacuum. This is what a CFI set up would look like. Im pretty sure you'd have it because 84 GT's came with 4 barrel carbs.

    Also, you should have a ECM with a thick black ground running along the passenger side. They came with w blade connector that should pull apart. But after years they become corroded. If your ECM loses ground you'll get a crank, no start condition. I replaced my ECM ground because it caused me trouble more than once.


  11. #11

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    I see your video. I did not have that on the car. It had a 650 edelbrock on it. I will see if I can find a picture. I do know that both front fenders have plastic where it seems they must have pulled air for the engine, it had a box for the distributor and a rectifier?

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by fgross2006 View Post
    This is a link to a U-tube vid I made of me testing my dashpot for vacuum. This is what a CFI set up would look like. Im pretty sure you'd have it because 84 GT's came with 4 barrel carbs.

    Also, you should have a ECM with a thick black ground running along the passenger side. They came with w blade connector that should pull apart. But after years they become corroded. If your ECM loses ground you'll get a crank, no start condition. I replaced my ECM ground because it caused me trouble more than once.




    A pic


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  13. #13
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    Kev, thanks for the update. Sorry you didn't have the time to fix it yourself, but life gets in the way of hobbies sometimes.

  14. #14

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    84 5.0 auto will be CFI and have a TFI ignition. Manual will be carb and duraspark.

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