Cranks-no start, partial instrument cluster out

Back in October, you folks came to the aid of my friend whose 89 Super Couple would crank, but not start. Problem then was a bad cam shaft sensor which, when replaced, allowed the car to instantly start.

Last weekend, John drove his car to a wedding and at the reception he bumped into a rock protruding out of the ground high enough to stop the vehicle instantly in its tracks. He reports it was a slow speed impact, but I have no estimate of actual speed.

John says that he jacked the car up to clear this rock which was caught on the steerage undercarriage--perhaps the torsion bar or other steering linkage.

When he attemts to start the car, the engine cranks and sounds as if it's trying to start, but will not. Other symptoms include the loss of some/all instrumentation panel guages/idiot lights.

I'm not familiar with Ford products, but I wondered if the Super Coupe has some kind of "inertial" safety switch which has cut power to various electrical parts--including the fuel pump (if it's electrical)?

Whatever the problem is, it was instanteously caused by the collision with the rock.

Anyone w/ ideas, suggestions, help?

We're going to try starting/moving the vehicle from the folks yard Thursday, June 24th.

Give a holler to:
Tony
757-523-4818
757-748-6132

or John... the car's owner
575-547-8108

Thanks!

Anyone w/ suggestions as to where to look for the problem?

Hey Tony..tell Dr.John to look inside the trunk on the drivers' side,the fuel cut-off switch is there under the side panel carpet.If the car stops violently,as in an accident impact,the safty switch can be triggered.....hopefully it just needs to be reset.Don't have an answer for the elec. problem without seeing the car but would guess it to be a fuse problem..let me know if I can help.
z

Thanks, we'll look there tomorrow afternoon.

I suspected it was some kind of safety switch activated by an impact...

As to the electrical, it all inter-related to the impact w/ the rock.

His SC's been running fab since y'all helped out last fall. LOL! He's even had it painted and is looking to continue spiffing it up.

Will advise tomorrow.

tony

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOK

In less than 30 minutes checking things out using the KISS principle, Dr. John and I found the problem.... at least he did.

Fuses good
Plugs together
No obvious sign(s) of difficulty
Trunk "safety switch" (inertia switch?) NOT tripped
Engine cranked normally and "tried" to start
.... but still no instrument gauges or idiot lights

DJ took the underside cover off the steering column for us to test the electrical voltages at the ignition switch; upon lowering the cover, the major bundle of electrical wires and 1/2 of the ignition switch (not the key cylinder) fell out along w/ 1 tiny spring and a very tiny ball-bearing.

For several minutes, I placed the slider which had fallen out against the other half with the wires attached and was able to hear the fuel pump activate and I was able to start the engine and stop it by separating the 2 pieces of plastic.

It appears that the small impact with the small "boulder" was sufficient to put enough strain from the wiring harness to separate the 2 halves of the ignition switch.

When I re-assembled the parts, the two halves would NOT remain in close enough contact to start/run the engine. Taking some "baling wire" (old phone wire I had in my car trunk), I simply tied the 2 halves together and the car started and ran perfectly. So, we drove it over to DJ's townhouse and bought a new ignition switch for $10.

Wasn't able to get the 2 "tamper-proof" star screws out in order to remove the old unit and install the new yet. But the problem's found and replacement part's bought.

It was pretty cool to find and temporarily fix the broke part enough to get the vehicle back on its home turf under its own power!

Strangest thing I've ever seen, too.

Just reporting in case a similar episode happens to someone else.

Thanks for the guidance yesterday, Rick.... while not it, your suggestions pointed us in an initial direction of trouble-shooting today. Delighted to read that your new heads are so powerful! Congrats!

Best wishes to the Tidewater forum folks! You folks really have some beautiful rides!

tony

...Sorry,I should have thought about that ignition switch as these cars had a recall for this problem....but the main thing is that you got it running..congratulations and tell Dr J to enjoy his SC
z

z90sc said:

...Sorry,I should have thought about that ignition switch as these cars had a recall for this problem....but the main thing is that you got it running..congratulations and tell Dr J to enjoy his SC
z

Click to expand...

NP, Rick.... you got us going w/ some specifics.

Hopefully, since this is a recall item, this story may help others who run into a similar problem.

Yea, DJ's enjoying his SC and it's begininng to look right nice w/ the new Candy Apple Red semi-metallic paint job.

Nice vehicle!

Thanks for the quick help, Rick!

tony