Well the good news is that the Mustang has still never left me stranded anywhere....the bad news is that she wouldn't start this morning. But thankfully she was in the garage at home and not out somewhere.

I was planning to drive her to work today because we have our "Christmas lunch" and a guy from our other office has been saying he wants to go for a ride sometime...O'well, ain't going to happen today.

Basically, if I get in and turn the key the radio comes on but nothing. Won't even offer to turn over. I haven't done anything to the car since driving last minus replacing the radio antena the night before last....long story but that was an easy / cheap fix.

When I bought the car it had a battery in it. That battery died a few months ago and when checking out the paper work on it turned out it was 4 1/2 years old so that made sense it was time for a replace.

Sometimes if I have been working on things and bumped the gear shift it will push it just enough that the car won't start. But I put the car in neutral and tried to start it then put it back in park and tried to start again. The radio comes on but it doesn't even think about trying to turn over even.

This would seem to me to be likely a battery issue. I was standing at the bus stop with the boys this morning trouble shooting what this might be in my head. What I came up with is it could be

the starter cylindoid on the fender apron. I am thinking of using a pair of jumper cables to jump over this and see if she starts.

or

It could be the battery. If it is the batter (that is only a couple months old) then I am thinking I am going to pull the alternator and take it over to O'Reilly (sp?) for a test. Of course they could have simply sold me a bad battery in the first place, hey it happens.

Can you think of anything else to check? I suppose in theory the neutral safety switch could have suddenly gone bad but probably not the first place I plan to look in trouble shooting.

 

One other thing crossed my mind....I don't suppose this could be the starter?

I always thought that when a starter was bad there would be signs before hand and that it would at least crank even if it didn't start.

 

make sure car is in park and jump the two large lugs on the solinoid if it cranks then you know the battery is fine so then you can check neutarl switch and the ignition switch
good luck

 

I don't see if you have an auto tranny or not. Your neutral safety switch sounds like the problem. As the shifters ware with time, they get slop in them, and dont engage the NSS. Driver side tranny, half moon shaped piece behind the linkage. Don't replace it, just adjust it clockwise or counter clockwise 1/4 inch or so, to see if it clears your problem. There's two bolts at 3 and 9 oclock. simply loosen them and you can rotate the NSS left or right.

 

Thanks, I'll give that a shot.

Mine is an auto and the shifter for certain has some slop in it. That is why sometimes when I am working on the car if I bump the shifter it has play enough to move back just a touch and then you get the same thing...radio works but doesn't even think about turning over. Usually though if I give the shifter a slight push back towards park it cures the problem but not this time.

Ironically, I more often than not work on the Stand on Friday evenings and I was debating what to work on this evening...guess now I have something to work on, LOL!

 

I would never jump the two large lugs of the solenoid unless I thought it was bad and then I would use a heavy duty cable! The better way is to simply jump the battery side to the S (start signal) terminal. Low voltage and easier to do (you can even use a screw driver).

As to the problem, if it is not the battery or starter, it is probably a loose connection or ground. Check where the battery terminals connect and where the ground strap from the block to the chassis connect.

 

I have used a big screwdriver before for this jump. The problem is I can't hold the screwdriver under the hood and turn the key inside the car at the same time, maybe when we get home I can recruit one of my 7 year old boys to turn the key. They loved pushing the brake pedal for me when I was working on the lights, etc. What they lack in knowledge they make up for in eagerness.... :-)

I was planning on using a jumper to go from the battery to the other side of the solenoid.

It does still seem just like what it does when it is not in park good so wondering if it isn't something to do with the Neutral switch.

Either way, when I get a chance this evening I will start testing the various items and see what I come up with.

 

You don't need to turn the ign switch at the same time that you jump the solenoid. For asafety sakes just try the jump with the sw off. This will tell you if the batt is good or not. if it cranks, th ebatt is good and the problem is elsewhere. Make sure the trans is in P and turn the ign to the "ON" position, jump the solenoid and the car should start. From there its a matter of finding out if the NSS is bad or the ign switch. (as described above)
JLG

 

BTW, the rebuild kit (bushings) for your shifter is less then $10. Take a day and replace the plastic bushings in your shifter. Money very well spent. It's easy, and painless. Just time consuming.

 

Turns out it was the solenoid which for whatever reason was my initial thought regarding what the problem might be.

I know you should test things first but I happen to be going by the auto parts after my lunch deal today and just said screw it and pulled in to buy one. Replace the solenoid and she started right up.

Thanks for the tip groho. I may already have the bushings. My buddy that runs the shop we did my floor pans at gave me some sort of kit. Said he had ordered some stuff and they sent him the wrong thing and he didn't need it. I am not sure what exactly I did with it but if I can't find it or it isn't the right stuff then for $10 will sure order it.

The down side to all this is that every time I spend any time under the hood I get a bug up my backside to pull the engine to sand / paint my engine bay. But I am forcing myself to wait until I have the money for some parts I have in mind such as heads, intake, carb, etc, etc.