1989 Problems....

Firerider

Registered User
1989 Problems....UPDATE 9/16 Still Need Help

I recently inherited/bought a 1989 SC. At delivery this past June the car had 87,182 original miles. The SC was ordered by my grandfathers Ford dealership and sold to my grandfathers best friend as the original owner. Approx. 6 years ago he traded it back in and my grandfather kept it due to the low miles and pristine condition.
My grandfather passed this past April and as the oldest grandchild I had first dibbs on the SC, so I took it. As stated above the car had 87,182 miles on it, and over the past six years the car has been driven very little. When I got it I replaced all the belts and hoses as well as the battery. I ran Penzoil 10/30 in the car for approx. 1k, then at 88k I replaced with Mobil 1 10/30 full synthetic.
Now here are the problems that I have been having.

1. At start up you have to crank for several seconds, quit, then crank again for approx. 5 - 7 seconds and the car will start. At start the car stumbles a little and there is some black smoke from the exhaust, as well as the stench of gasoline? I think I have some flooding going on.

2. When ride is in auto the "firm" ride light flashes three times and goes off for 7 seconds then repeats. Any ideas??

3. Temp guage is dead.

4. When cruise is active and you apply brake, cruise does not cut off completely unless you depress brake really hard. If you depress easily as in traffic, as soon as you let off speed resumes.

I think this is all. I would appreciate any help or suggestions. Sorry my first post is so long, and full of questions.
JCIII
 
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1. At start up you have to crank for several seconds, quit, then crank again for approx. 5 - 7 seconds and the car will start. At start the car stumbles a little and there is some black smoke from the exhaust, as well as the stench of gasoline? I think I have some flooding going on.

this sounds like cam position sensor.


2. When ride is in auto the "firm" ride light flashes three times and goes off for 7 seconds then repeats. Any ideas??

quite likely a stuck actuator. 3 blinks is (i think) the right front. due a search on here on firm ride actuator and you should find several threads that explain how to remedy the problem.

3. Temp guage is dead.

check the wire on the sending unit, it may me loose or disconnected.

4. When cruise is active and you apply brake, cruise does not cut off completely unless you depress brake really hard. If you depress easily as in traffic, as soon as you let off speed resumes.

If someone knows the answer to this one I would like to know as well. Mine has done this once or twice too.
 
Firerider said:
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3. Temp guage is dead.
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As mentioned by XR7inWI, check the wire that connects to the sender. If that doesn't help, unplug the wire from the sender and short it to ground. The gauge should now read HOT if the gauge and the wiring are O.K. The sender can be checked by measuring the resistance between the center terminal and a ground point. When cold the resistance should be between 220 and 330 ohms.

Firerider said:
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4. When cruise is active and you apply brake, cruise does not cut off completely unless you depress brake really hard. If you depress easily as in traffic, as soon as you let off speed resumes.
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The cruise control amplifier (above the brake pedal) is not receiving a signal from the electrical brake switch (at the brake pedal) to turn off cruise mode. The mechanical dump valve (at the brake pedal) is working correctly because it releases vacuum to the cruise control servo (behind the left headlight), causing cruise to cut off and then return when the pedal is released.
Check the brake switch by observing whether your brake lights come on as soon as you start to depress the pedal.
 
First try didn't work...

I replaced the crank position sensor and the car started better approx. 4 times! Is the crank position sensor the same as the cam position sensor?? Or does anyone have any other ideas???
Thanks,
JCIII
 
The cam position sensor is where the distributor would be. The crank position sensor is behind the balancer. Does the tach work ok? One sign the cam position sensor is the problem, is the tach needle will be jumping around.
The upshift light will stay on when cranking when the crank position sensor is bad.
 
Radium,
I have replaced the camshaft position sensor, starter, battery, fuel pump, fuel filter. Starting has improved but on occasion it still stumbles at start.

Temp guage was fixed by replacing it.

Still trying to find the code for the firm ride light flashing.

Any and all help still appreciated, as this car is going to be my daily driver until next fall. Just turned 91,600 miles
JCIII
 
Three times is the passenger side front actuator. Open the hood and pop off the Automatic Ride Control strut covering (its a black cap, size of your fist). Un-hook the wiring and plug that is on there. Inside you will see a tube with a little rectangular piece of metal. Mark the position of this metal. Now, get some wd-40 or penetrant and spray it into thr metal tube. Let it sit for 5 mins or so, and use a pair of needle nose pliers to twist the rectangle clockwise and counterclockwise, never doing a full rotation. Make sure the piece is back at its original position and put the plug back on (may require a bit of fiddling to get it on right). Then put the cap back on and see if it worked! If not, the shock may be going bad, which is what happened to mine.
 
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