I finally found an engine for one of my Mavs....I bought a complete 88 T-Bird with a 5.0 and an AOD. I bought the car cheap, in non-running condition. The previous owner, who had never driven the car, had tried to get it running a ways back....said the engine started and ran when he squirted fuel into the F.I. intake, so I assume the fuel pump or regulator/relay has gone bad. He said it ran, but had a bottom end "rattle". I said "You mean it knocked?" and he said no, it rattled. Now, I'm wondering if there's a bottem-end problem at all. I'd think squirting fuel into an intake of a fuel injected car would likely make all sorts of rattles....gas pinging, lifters, etc., and maybe there's a possibility the engine might be ok if I fixed the fuel delivery. Now I'm a fuelie dork.....no experience with anything but carbs, so I need to know what plan of action I should take as to what to check and/or replace, and in what order. I was thinking about pulling the tank (it needs to be cleaned of old gas anyway) and replacing the fuel pump,....then the pressure regulator/relay under the car,....any fuel filters, replace the fuel log and injectors, air filter, do the regular tune-up routine with new plugs, wires etc. then add some fresh gas and see what happens. Am I missing anything? Any other small parts or systems I should check or replace? If I use the motor in my Mav, it will likely be converted to a carb, but getting the engine running in the car it's in now will tell me alot of what condition the motor's in before I do the swap.
Or maybe it just had a bad ground or bad connection somewhere....EFI...thousands of wires, could be about anything really. read up on Ford's EEC fuel injection here: http://www.fordfuelinjection.com
Start simple....turn the key to "run" and listen...you should hear the fuel pump run for about 3 seconds or so to pressurize the system. If you don't hear it, look in the trunk for the impact "sensor". It is black with a white rectangular button...press on it and see if it got tripped somehow. A long shot, but the easiest explanation. Next I would get a wiring diagram ( I have one somewhere if you need it) and see which relay is the fuel pump relay. Once you find it you can jumper the proper wires and see if you can get the pump to run. If you do, either the relay is bad or there might be a bad connection. If it doesn't, the pump in the tank is probably bad. Another relay to check is the main EEC relay..if something is wrong with it the pump won't run either. The previous advice about checking grounds is good too. (DOH! I see someone beat me to the inertia switch advice...oh well! )
MavMark is right on with the procedure. I just went through this with the neighbors Ranger. Turned out to be a bad wire to the Fuel Pump Relay - which also fed back to supply injectors with power. Cleaver
I have diagnosed a bad inerta switch also though, anything is possible with this one. I don't have a book on the 88 but the 89 shows the relay in the back. Book says "relay is located In the left side of the trunk, behind the wheel well". Good luck...
My : You should be able to break the fuel line loose near the front of the engine and turn the key to ON to see if there's any fuel coming out. Disclaimer: Of course be careful. Don't hold the fuel line to your face while smoking. Don't point the line at baby seals, or spotted owls, etc., etc. Also, a special tool is (might be?) required to break the connection. VatoZone will have a set of the tools for less than $10. Also, I assume there are two fuel lines - a Supply line and a Return line. I'll bet you can guess which one to check. Good luck and keep us posted.
Thanks for all the tips. Should give me a good place to start from. If I was smart, I'd just haul the car over to my mechanic friend's garage, but I loathe loading that 'Bird on and off the trailer again (T-Birds aren't "light" cars!) If the motor's good, I might use it in one of my Mavs,......but I'll probably go carb, as much as I'd like to have the fuel injection set up on a Maverick, I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle the hassles of getting it to work. And, seeing as my Mavs are a 69.5 and 70, with small trans tunnels, I don't think the AOD will fit without major bending and hacking. Besides, I'm leaning more to a 4 or 5-speed for one of them (one's already got the pedals, and I just scored a V-8 clutch linkage setup off ebay) I've got a 71 4-door parts car with a (supposedly) good running original 302. If that motor is as good a runner as the guy who sold it to me said it was, I'll use it first. The T-Bird is all original, and a fully loaded LX model with a super straight solid body and good interior that just needs cleaning, so if I get the 5.0 in it running good, I might just cruise the 'Bird as is for awhile. Right now, I'm just waiting for this endless heat to break long enough to let me get out there and tinker with it.....no garage, so I'm at the mercy of mother nature....and she's really bein' a "Muthuh" lately. BTW, Anyone know the HP specs on 88-89 5.0's out of Lincoln Towncars? There's one for sale nearby that I can get cheap, but I've heard the TC engines were low-po compared to the Mustang and 'Bird motors.
There is a way to force the fuel pump on with the diagnostic connector but I can't remember which terminal it is. You can jump the relay. Pull the relay and look at the bottom of it. It will be numbered 30, 85, 86, 87, 87a. Check for power at 30. should have power all the time. If you got power, jump 30 to 87(not 87a) in the harness. The fuel pump should run if it's not bad. With a pressure tester hooked up to the fuel rail you should have at least 35 psi. You should have more (like 45) but it will idle with 35 psi. If jumping the relay doesn't do anything, find that inertia switch in the trunk and check for power with the jumped. If you got power on BOTH wires and still no fuel pressure you got a bad pump. If you get pressure but its low, pull the return line off the fuel rail and block the opening in the rail. Retest. If its now got good pressure get a regulator. This is the stuff I do all day long. If I had to guess I'd say its an electrical problem. The fuel pump relay socket on ALL Fords between 86 and about 93 get a lot of corrosion on them. That's where I would start.
Well, was able to brave the heat and humidity long enough to put in a Fresh battery. Good news: It cranks well, and no "knocking" or "rattling" sounds while spinning over Bad news: Didn't hear the fuel pump kick on. That's all I could manage before being blinded from the sweat in my eyes. I did look for the "Impact sensor"/"Inertia switch" thing.....but couldn't couldn't get all the trunk's interior panels off to find it in the short bout of sight I had. What's the official name of the thing? I'll try and look it up in the 'Bird's Chiltons manual. I'm not going to be able to get under the car til this heat breaks, if it ever does.....around the mid to upper 90's today....and humidity is already at 83%!
I'm haveing the same problem with an '88 Mercury Grand Marquis that my grandma bought new, but has been sitting since '98 after the overdrive in the transmission went out, and an '85 Lincoln Town Car my grandpa got for free and has sitting in his field. They both ran fine a couple of years ago, but I got behind on makeing the rounds with a battery every 6 months to keep the cars running. Now they just crank over... no fuel pump whine. From what I understand, the fuel pump relay is a common problem on 80's Ford Fuel injected cars that have been sitting a while.
fuel pump relay the fuel pump relay is usually brown and it is usually on the driver side in the engine compartment and if pump not running probably fuel relay take shrader valve loose from the fuel rail. valve should be on the passenger side take it loose and turn key to on position and try to start and see if you get fuel from valve if you do you need to find out how much pressure. you have to have the right pressure for engine to run. you can try to use a sport bottle with gas in it and have someone crank the engine for you while you spray fuel into throttle body to see if it starts. fuel injection is great better performance and fuel economy and more reliable for performance. mass air system measures air and adjust fuel faster than any human can. i say do your homework and stick with it and learn as much as you can about fuel injection.
