02- 08- 04---- Well I just got the ol' Stang started again after two long days down. My wife stopped to get gas after work one night and when she got back in the Mustang it wouldn't start. The next day I went out to do some checking. I assumed the timing belt had broken (I still have the 4 cylinder in it until I get the 302 rebuilt).
Well, that wasn't the case so I checked for the two things needed for a car to start. . . . .Fuel and Fire. Fuel? Check. The carburetor is squirting. Fire? No!! Ok, now, why don't I have any fire? I pulled the coil wire and check for spark there. Nope. Nothing. I wondered if the computer was pulsing the coil? I put my trusty multimeter
in the plug and cranked the engine. Yeah, the computer is o.k. Huh?! Now what? I know! The coil is bad, or so I thought. I took the distributor and the coil to the parts house, so I could have them check the module and pick-up coil on the distributor and check the coil itself. The coil tested bad, but everything on the distributor tested good.
So, I bought a coil and went back to put it on. I was relieved because it was an easy fix. Once the coil was on and the distributor was back in I tried to start it. Nothing! What is going on here? After asking around and having 3 or 4 car guys tell me it was probably the pick-up coil, I decided to change it. This was not a 10 minute fix, but it still
wasn't too bad. I just had to pull out a pin and knock the gear off the distributor shaft and everything came apart pretty easy. Once the distributor was back in I cranked her again. RReeeaaaaaeeeRRRRrrrrrAaaaaEEeRrr. Still, the damn thing won't start. I consulted my wife's uncle who has been a mechanic for better than 30 years. He advised me it was
probably a power relay by the computer. So, I got one and after a half a day of trying to find out where it was on the car, we put it in and tried to start again. Still no dice!! What the hell is wrong with my car? Now the only part I had not changed was the ignition module that I had AutoZone test in the beginning, so I bought a new one and put it on.
RRRROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!! BINGO!!! Their tester lied! Oh, well. At least MuscleStang rides again. While I was under the hood I put the timing light on the car and set the ignition timing to about 12 degrees BTDC. Now MuscleStang has more power and is more responsive than ever....
