AJJ90GT

Hi All!

Long time visitor... First time poster.... Love the site....

Here is the report in from my wife. The car was running fine. She was driving down the road when the car suddenly makes a pop pop pop sounds for 5 seconds as if it was running out of gas. Then the check engine light comes on, as the engine shuts of as if it were turned off. Then the engine cranks but won't start at all.

I checked... She has fuel. The fuel pump powers up. There is fuel spraying when the schrader valve is checked. This gives me the impression that the fuel system is ok. Next I'm thinking check the spark. We've never had spark issues before with our stangs. Which items should I check, and how...?

The car is a 90 LX 5.0 auto, totally stock. 6 months ago it got a new fuel filter, wires, cap and rotor.

Thanks in advance for your help...

Alex

firefox

OK .. well hers my stab in the dark and chances are I am wrong, but, have you checked the seliniod? (<--SP?) That happened to me on my 91 cougar 5.0. I had it towed, put in new plugs, wires, cap and rotor. 2 days later, same damn thing happened. My Dad drove to get me and took a look at the stupid little seliniod thingy and sure enough thats what my prob was. After changing it, I had no probs.

firefox

yakini

TRY this, mine had a similar issue. there are a lot of wires near the coil, I had one of the actual wires pull out of the plug that goes into the coil. A friend of mine had that problem and he had a wire come of one of the relays right by the battery. If its cranking, getting fuel, but wont start, this is a good place to start.

90GTRagtop

You can pull the coil wire to see if you have spark. Have you pulled the codes? It may have stored codes in the computer that would be helpful. That being said, it could very well be either the coil or the TFI (Thick Film Ignition) module, if your not getting any spark.

black89gt

to check for spark, you can pull one of the plugs, and leave it on the wire , then have someone crank the car and see i there is any spark from that plug.

import slayer

I'm willing to bet anything that it's the TFI module. Does it start up again after it sets for awhile? That would be a good indication of a bad TFI module. The 5.0's were notorious for those failing.
Let us know what you find out.

5.0coupe

are you sure your engine didnt suck something up. Maybe some sediment from the gas tank?

AJJ90GT

Firefox: I have not checked the solenoid out - I will give it a once over today. Did your solenoid actually look like something was wrong with it?

yakini: I tried reseating the the plug that goes into the coil as well as the wire from the coil to the cap, with no luck. I also tried reseating the plug into the TFI module. I'm going to look much more carefully at all the wires, plugs and relays around the battery.

90GTRagtop: On another car I've pulled the coil wire while someone cranked it for me and got a nasty shock... Anyone have a plan to test this way and not get zapped? I have not pulled the codes - no reader. If all else fails I might get one. Any suggestions on the best one for the least money? I had a feeling it might be either the TFI or the coil... And yesterday bought both of them. Whats the deal with those tiny bolts holding the coil to its bracket? Anyone know the right size on that? Also, is the best way to change the TFI module to mark my timing on the block and loosen the distributor turning the TFI bolts to the front? The last thing I want to do is mess up the timing too....

black89gt: Will a plug spark like that without being grounded?

import slayer: Unfortunately it just cranks and cranks and cranks... I've read alot of posts on here where after letting it sit it would start again. This is not the case here. Could it still be a case of the TFI module just dropping dead?

5.0coupe: You know anything is possible. She had a 1/4 of a tank. But if that was the case it would have to be blocking the whole line somewhere after the schrader valve, before the fuel rail. I can't imagine anything getting past the fuel filter, making it that far, then stopping just in the right place to block everything. That would be just my luck though!

Thanks for your comments so far.... Please keep them coming!

Alex

black89gt

put a screwdriver on teh tip and crank it

import slayer

Your selenoid job is finished once the engine has fired. It has nothing to do with keeping the engine running.
It has no idea if the engine is running or not.
Your TFI module could have just failed completely without warning....it happens.
I would suspect that before anything else.....especially if it has over a 100K miles on it.
I would consider that, the coil and possibly the computer at this point.
Autozone will pull codes for you for free.