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My pony is near death. What could the matter be?

RagTop

Old Grumpy
Had the vert at a local cruise in last night. The event was about 20 miles from my house and the car ran fine all the way over to the show. At the end of the evening I started it up and began to pull out of my parking spot and the engine died. Not a big deal with my cam under cold engine conditions. I re-started and the car started to miss really badly. I had to re-start several times to get out of the parking lot. I figured the fouled plug would clear itself once I was running. Got out onto a main boulevard and made it about a block and the car just died. Wouldn't even re-start or sputter. I was in a right turn lane but there was nowhere to go on these modern divided boulevards. I popped the hood and smelled gas. I removed the top of the air cleaner and hoped it would dissipate. No joy and no start. AAA towed me home and planted me in the driveway because it wouldn't start at all to crawl up the driveway into its garage stall. This morning I went out and fired it right up. Within seconds the idle got really rough and I could hear a clunk, clunk of a big time miss. I crept it into the garage and there it died again. I've got it to fire since but it begins to miss and dies, so I haven't checked the spark. The gasoline stench had returned, leading me to wonder about the Road Demon carb. If the Pertronix Ignitor or the Pertronix Flamethrower coil were bad I doubt it would run at all, although a weak spark could cause the misfiring. I checked the float bowl sight glasses and the fuel level is about mid glass. I'm absolutely awful at diagnosing and troubleshooting. Any ideas what could be wrong with my baby?
 
Sorry to hear of the troubles. I'm going to take a stab, but I'd not think really bad missing would come from a bad carb. If a cyliner is not firing, due to a bad plug or wire, it'd miss badly and the cyl would still fill up with fuel that would be pushed back up when the valve is open on overlap. Since it started right up and ran fine for a brief time until the miss returned, I'd rule out a jumped timing chain so I'd believe it to be an ignition problem. I'd check the wires first, making sure they are securely on the cap and plugs, then the plugs, check the cap for cracks or the rotor for excessive wear. The prob seems to be ignition related. My .02. Good luck.
 
Pertronics in my experience is either good or bad....no middle ground. Fuel pump type? If electric, it will flood the system real fast if the carb needles on the floats stick open. If manual pump, it can take a bit more time but will still flood the system.

Might also check the oil level if you are pumping fuel that is not being burnt.
 
Ok, I've got a confession to make. I agreed with Tom that I was dealing with an electrical issue. I went down to the local Mustang shop and dropped $130 for a new Ignitor I and a new chrome Flamethrower I. I realized that electrical parts are non-returnable, but I figured it was the cheapest possible fix if it worked. I also mused that this was a guarantee that I would find the problem and it would not require either of the electronic components. So I got home and began selecting the appropriate deep well socket to remove the bolt holding the coil bracket to the cylinder head and suddenly the positive connector wire from the coil to the Ignitor dropped across my hand with no connector. The eyelet that I had recently crimped onto the wire to replace an oversized one that was making and breaking contact was still on the + post of the coil. I removed the connector and re-crimped the wire (realllly mashed it) because, on visual inspection, it wasn't completely flattened and the + wire is like 16 ga. My standard procedure on crimp connectors is to give them a tug after installation to insure they are securely crimped. I must have screwed up on this one. It appears that the wire was still inside the blue plastic crimp collar when I visually inspected the car, but was only making occasional contact with the coil, hence the monster miss and the failure to run when the wire was far enough away from the eyelet connector. I fired the old girl up and she ran like always. Took it out for a short drive and everything is back to normal. Yes, I gave it the tug test this time.:( BTW, does anyone want to buy an brand new Pertronix set up?;)
 
Not a fan of just crimping wires. Unless you are using a quality tool designed specifically for the style connector being used. Your experience is an obvious reason why. I like to use good connectors (not the kind you find at Autozone or Walmart) and crimp/solder my terminations and then cover them with shrink tubing/sleeve. This is even more important in my mind for any engine connection. Lots of vibration and temperature fluctuations going on that will affect the durability of those connections. Aside from the obvious performance improvements it also looks professional/cleaner.
 
Not a fan of just crimping wires. Unless you are using a quality tool designed specifically for the style connector being used. Your experience is an obvious reason why. I like to use good connectors (not the kind you find at Autozone or Walmart) and crimp/solder my terminations and then cover them with shrink tubing/sleeve. This is even more important in my mind for any engine connection. Lots of vibration and temperature fluctuations going on that will affect the durability of those connections. Aside from the obvious performance improvements it also looks professional/cleaner.
+1. (This is the second time in a month I've agreed with Terry!)

When I see any previous splice work, I remove it and replace it with a professional grade uninsulated butt connector, followed by shrink tubing, all using professional tooling. This method is what is used by the military in repairing aircraft; I believe that it is good enough for those folks, it is good enough for me.
 
Glad it turned out to be a simple fix. You can't return the parts even if they are unopened? If not, keep them as spares in the trunk.
 
Not a fan of just crimping wires. Unless you are using a quality tool designed specifically for the style connector being used. Your experience is an obvious reason why. I like to use good connectors (not the kind you find at Autozone or Walmart) and crimp/solder my terminations and then cover them with shrink tubing/sleeve. This is even more important in my mind for any engine connection. Lots of vibration and temperature fluctuations going on that will affect the durability of those connections. Aside from the obvious performance improvements it also looks professional/cleaner.
+2 Here on soldering and crimp tubing.
 
Ahhh...come on guys....just twist the bare ends and use wire nuts.....lol. Found that under several dashes after purchasing cars.

Do it right and do it once.....
 
Yup...you definitely have to use professional grade wire nuts.
 
Yup...you definitely have to use professional grade wire nuts.

Geez, I thought that was you guys!

Well, thanks for the advice. I have a vast collection of wire nuts of various sizes, both twist on and crimp on, that I have gleaned from various Chinese made products that require "some assembly", and I'm sure many of those would be professional grade. Should I use resin or acid core when soldering the twist on kind, or should I just use a dab of Super Glue? The soldering iron could melt the plastic you know.
 
You need to use American-made wire nuts, as the overseas stuff is crap. Strip the wires with a pocket knife, leaving 2 inches of exposed copper wires. Fold the strands over, and mate the three or more different colored wires together with the wire nut. Twist counter-clockwise. Once you can no longer twist the wire nut, seal the nut with Right Stuff. Then cover the whole enchilada with a half-roll of Scotch 33, making sure the resulting wad is the size of a baseball.

That's how I do all of my splices...
 
Do you recommend using black or brightly colored zip ties to support the baseball sized splice in the engine bay. Actually, properly painted in Corporate Blue, it might not even be noticed at shows. BTW, what is "Right Stuff"? Sounds like I need to pick some up for future electrical work and other repairs. Is it better than duct tape?
 
Sorry, I meant Great Stuff, an expanding foam insulation.

To properly show the baseball sized splice, it is best to have it chromed.
 
Well, in addition to the domestic wire nuts I found the tan masking tape used in several places in the underdash harness that was on my car when I bought it. I remember seeing it, and saying really?
 
I don't recommend that you remove your harness and send it out for refurbishment; sounds like it is in excellent OEM shape. It isn't likely to short and start a fire and burn the car, garage, and house down. Nosirreee....you're good to go!
 
+1. (This is the second time in a month I've agreed with Terry!)

When I see any previous splice work, I remove it and replace it with a professional grade uninsulated butt connector, followed by shrink tubing, all using professional tooling. This method is what is used by the military in repairing aircraft; I believe that it is good enough for those folks, it is good enough for me.

Randy, do you use the heat shrink splices that are typically used in Military aircraft? I have used these from time to time, but they are meant to be used with higher temp resistant insulation and I've learned that the automotive insulation may melt if you're not careful.

I also have an image of you having D38999 Series III connectors in your car.....
 
I use commercial quality heat shrink suitable for up to 100*C.

As far as the D38999 connectors, I think I'd like to sample whatever it is that you're smoking.
 
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