I got a '65 Mustang. I just got it out of the shop 3 days ago, had the shop finish the disc brake conversion cause my dad got sick and couldn't help me finish. But thats besides the point, my real ? is, I drove it to a friends house to show him, pulled in and turned it off... Well the power got cut off, i.e. the gas gauge went to empty. But the engine kept running.I took the keys completely outevery timeI stuck the key back in and turned it to the on position then tryed to turn it off and the same thing happened... I did this repeatedly and after about 5 trys I decided to take it home. Got home and it shut off like nothing was wrong. Then I took it to another friends house down the street and it shut off and started right back up no problem.

Could thisbe a loose switch on the ignition? Orwhatis it ya think?Any one that has an idea would be greatly appreciated! Thanks guys.


And if I don't figure it out, what is the best/easiest way to shut it off without hurting anything?

 

It sounds like it is dieseling. do you have an auto or manual? if you have a manual tranny you can leave it in gear and let out the cluch and stall it that way. I am not sure how to fix it but if Im not mistaken it is a timing issue.

 

Nope it's an automatic, thanks for throwing that out there I'll toss it at my dad and see what he says. Still looking for more ideas, Thanks!

 

You can do it by leaving an auto in gear too. It puts a load on the motor and lowers the idle. With that said, what you want to do is set your timing where it is supposed to be and set the idle. Too much timing and too high of idle will cause that.

 

need to tell us if it still runs like the key is on(runs like it will while driving)or if it runs like crap when key gets turned off.if it runs ok its still getting power to coil could be switch .if it runs like crap its (dieseling )could be gas or timing

 

+1 that's the most important info. does it run like crap when the problem happens turning the key to off or does it run normal like you never did anything with the key?

 

Well I never drove it with the key out, I talked to my dad who is extremly smart in cars and he is swearing it's not dieseling. He also talked to a good friend of his and he said the same thing, I am going out tomorrow morning and buying a new ignition switch for it. Hopefully this will take care of it even tho it hasn't happened in the past 9 times i've driven it. I drove it 4 times before it happened, then it happened, now i've driven it 9 more times and it hasn't done it again, but then again it's all been short distance. Thanks guys I appreciate it!

 

hi stegey,

i'm quite sure it's not dieseling as well as you would have told us that the car is trying to shake you to death while it happens.
So from that ignition switch would be my first bet as well

 

If you have the push on type connectors on the coil primary, you could pull the positive side wire when it's doing it. If the engine then quits it's still getting power to the coil. If it doesn't quit, it's dieseling.

If it is still getting power to the coil it could also be the starter relay and not the ignition switch. There is a tap off of the relay which bypasses the resistance wire to provide a full 12v to the coil for starting. I think this may use a different contact within the starter relay than the big terminal that goes to the starter. The wiring diagram shows that the internal contacts are separate. If it hangs then the coil is getting 12v straight from the battery. For that you could probably whack the relay to see if the engine shuts off. Or disconnect the wire if it is a push on friction type connector.

 

I didnt think a gasoline engine could diesel well enough to actually continue to run for any given length of time let alone what sounds like at least 15 to 20 seconds of pretty smooth running. If it were dieseling I think he would have said car pops and clanks on shutdown not "continues to run"

Sounds more like the coil isn't having the voltage cut to it.

-Gun