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Just driving down the street.....car suddenly died...what gives?

6

67resto-coupe

Member
Well, this was really odd. After several moderate distance trips without any problems....I was just driving down the street and the motor died. Thankfully, I was able to immediately turn into a parking lot and not get stranded on the street. Motor turns without hesitation. Pumped the linkage and fuel is squirting, but it won't turn over.

Motor/ignition is all new as of june....any ideas?
 
The motor turns over without hesitation but does not turn over? Is the starter cranking?

I had a similiar problem with a Camaro one time and it turned out to be the coil plug vibrated loose. It looked like it was on but slid off the terminal.
 
problem solved. thankfully a motorhead buddy of mine was in the neighborhood when i called and he stopped by to trouble-shoot.
we traced all the ignition system wires and found that the jumper wire from my ignition switch to the solenoid is shorting out.
i showed him the hole in the firewall where it's routed....a quick tug here, wiggle there and vroooom...back to work i go...
but the car is staying put in the garage until i can isolate the short and insulate or re-do the connection.

once again, a friend comes in and saves me a $50 tow and $85/hr diagnostic fee....
call or email all of your car buddies and give 'em a thanks.

Thank You to the Stangfix Community for always coming thru...
 
Did a PT Cruiser by chance drive by? Happens to me all the time.
 
and found that the jumper wire from my ignition switch to the solenoid is shorting out
Click to expand...

Are you referring to the wiring harness.... or an actual "jumper wire"?

If you have a jumper wire running from your ignition switch to your starter solenoid.... you may want to park the car and spend some time on some more permanent type fixes.
 
jumper wire.....just pulled on it from the engine side of the firewall and it "connected", allowing the car to stop. made it home without a hitch. the jumper wire is connected to the pink wire on the ign switch with one of those speed crimp thingies...it connects without having to splice kind of things. car is parked in the garage for a while as we're expected more rain this weekend. i'll peek under the dash this weekend and see if i can just replace the pink resistor wire with a new line to the coil. any other suggestions?
 
any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Without seeing the car.... sure, I have a few.

If you haven't already done so, replace every metal/rubber brake line on the car. If you still have drum brakes anywhere, rebuild/replace the wheel cylinders. Expecting original metal/rubber brake lines to still be servicable after alomst 45 years is asking way too much. They're likely ready to burst the next time you have to make a panic stop and slam on the brake pedal, but then it will be too late.

As for your jumper wire.... it's very likely that the requirement for this is the result of using original decayed/ruined wiring. Most people have no problems with installing new suspension/steering components. They understand that it is a neccessity as these components over time "wear out". Your wiring harnesses on the car are no different. Over time.... 45 years.... and usually several "less than stellar mechanic" previous owners... the wiring on these cars is barely functioning. If your plans are to make this a reliable driving car you should really consider replacing all of the original wiring.
 
"daveSanborn" said:
As for your jumper wire.... it's very likely that the requirement for this is the result of using original decayed/ruined wiring. Most people have no problems with installing new suspension/steering components. They understand that it is a neccessity as these components over time "wear out". Your wiring harnesses on the car are no different. Over time.... 45 years.... and usually several "less than stellar mechanic" previous owners... the wiring on these cars is barely functioning. If your plans are to make this a reliable driving car you should really consider replacing all of the original wiring.
Click to expand...

+1. Of the 85+ harnesses I have refurbished to date, I believe I've seen only 2 that were not hacked up by someone previously. I find about 20-30% of the crimped connectors and about the same percentage of the molded connectors are bad: they either have to be re-crimped or replaced entirely.
 
I read this topic somewhat differently regarding the issue here. I'm seeing a "new ignition" and a "jumper wire" to the "solenoid" followed by the "coil."

My bet here is the new ignition is something like the Pertronix II, perhaps with a matching coil, which requires 12V. The jumper wire to the coil (with the original misspeak stating the solenoid) supplies that 12V. Could be nothing wrong with the wiring harness at all.

If I am correct in my assessment, then OP simply needs to modify or otherwise more securely connect his 12V lead from the ignition switch to the coil.
 
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