Ignition switch 0n 83 mustang GT

[Turkeyfoot]

Spent thus afternoon chasing an intermittent electrical problem on 83 mustang. Mustang starts and runs fine most times. But has on one instance lost power while driving. And other times will not start after running. That is you park it then go inside and then come back out and it won't start. When this happens power to gauges comes on but the tach does not respond while cranking and there's no power to the ignition. Today we replaced the switch in the steering column that's activated by the rod from the key mechanism. See photo. When it's having this intermittent problem it cranks but with no start, and when you turn the key from start to run it will briefly fire as you turn the key but won't start. All ignition components are fine battery connections are fine. Everything works and the problem seems to be in the steering column. Any thoughts?

 

[Frankmn]

Spent thus afternoon chasing an intermittent electrical problem on 83 mustang. Mustang starts and runs fine most times. But has on one instance lost power while driving. And other times will not start after running. That is you park it then go inside and then come back out and it won't start. When this happens power to gauges comes on but the tach does not respond while cranking and there's no power to the ignition. Today we replaced the switch in the steering column that's activated by the rod from the key mechanism. See photo. When it's having this intermittent problem it cranks but with no start, and when you turn the key from start to run it will briefly fire as you turn the key but won't start. All ignition components are fine battery connections are fine. Everything works and the problem seems to be in the steering column. Any thoughts?View attachment 67839

Those ford starter relays or solenoids on the fender have that extra wire on them that feeds the ignition while cranking the starter.> check to be sure that terminal on that relay is energized while cranking the starter. If not, it could be that relay or one of the wires near it giving you the problem. Fords are funny that way.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Spent thus afternoon chasing an intermittent electrical problem on 83 mustang. Mustang starts and runs fine most times. But has on one instance lost power while driving. And other times will not start after running. That is you park it then go inside and then come back out and it won't start. When this happens power to gauges comes on but the tach does not respond while cranking and there's no power to the ignition. Today we replaced the switch in the steering column that's activated by the rod from the key mechanism. See photo. When it's having this intermittent problem it cranks but with no start, and when you turn the key from start to run it will briefly fire as you turn the key but won't start. All ignition components are fine battery connections are fine. Everything works and the problem seems to be in the steering column. Any thoughts?View attachment 67839

The switch may not be your problem I have replaced a many. Normally you can push and wiggle the connection at the switch to see if it's a contact issue. The way Ford mounted the switch with the connector hanging on it will loose up the white part of the switch.

 

[wore out]

Spent thus afternoon chasing an intermittent electrical problem on 83 mustang. Mustang starts and runs fine most times. But has on one instance lost power while driving. And other times will not start after running. That is you park it then go inside and then come back out and it won't start. When this happens power to gauges comes on but the tach does not respond while cranking and there's no power to the ignition. Today we replaced the switch in the steering column that's activated by the rod from the key mechanism. See photo. When it's having this intermittent problem it cranks but with no start, and when you turn the key from start to run it will briefly fire as you turn the key but won't start. All ignition components are fine battery connections are fine. Everything works and the problem seems to be in the steering column. Any thoughts?View attachment 67839

Take a look at the battery cable ends, both (+) and (-).

Dunno if this applies to your car, but Ford was known to have multiple wires besides the wire to engine block ground & the wire to the starter solenoid molded into the lead battery cable ends.

With time and the intrusion of battery acid it's possible for failed connections in that area to cause WEIRD electrical issues.

 

[Turkeyfoot]

Thanks for all the replies guys. It's running now. But it's been an intermittent problem. We've checked all the grounds and cleaned up that auxiliary ground from the negative cable. I'm going to check the suggestions about that solenoid. Get the readings while it's working right. I'm in Nashville visiting a friend and helping him with this car. Will be going back to Kansas tomorrow. We'll see how it goes today. I appreciate all the input. We are debating about taking the key Tumbler out and cleaning up that gear and rod assembly thinking that it could be dirty or loose and that leads to the intermittent problems.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Thanks for all the replies guys. It's running now. But it's been an intermittent problem. We've checked all the grounds and cleaned up that auxiliary ground from the negative cable. I'm going to check the suggestions about that solenoid. Get the readings while it's working right. I'm in Nashville visiting a friend and helping him with this car. Will be going back to Kansas tomorrow. We'll see how it goes today. I appreciate all the input. We are debating about taking the key Tumbler out and cleaning up that gear and rod assembly thinking that it could be dirty or loose and that leads to the intermittent problems.

If it has tilt they are no fun to work on... Are you getting battery voltage to the ignition coil. Those coils are like the coils on a chevy, if they have a white smoke looking spot on the side of it they are junk.

 

[Turkeyfoot]

If it has tilt they are no fun to work on... Are you getting battery voltage to the ignition coil. Those coils are like the coils on a chevy, if they have a white smoke looking spot on the side of it they are junk.

it's a really weird problem. It fired up this morning we drove it around this afternoon we're getting on it is all warmed up and we're going down the road and it just shut off. All electrical works except the ignition! We got to the side of the road. Pop the hood coil looks fine nice and cool. It's third-party performance coil. We left the car on side of the road for about 5 hours. Came back and it fired right up and drove 4 minutes back to home. It's a head scratcher. Good looking and runs well except for this problem.

 

[Sprint 6]

I don't know if an 83 has Duraspark or TFI ignition, but your problem sounds like a failing module.

I have also had those early Fords in the shop where cheap Chinesuem cap and rotors cause too much EMI, which was messing with the ignition module.

 

[Turkeyfoot]

I don't know if an 83 has Duraspark or TFI ignition, but your problem sounds like a failing module.

I have also had those early Fords in the shop where cheap Chinesuem cap and rotors cause too much EMI, which was messing with the ignition module.

My friend's going to try changing the cap and rotor. We'll see. He only gets to work on it on the weekends and I happened to be there this weekend to help him. We were both scratching our heads. Yesterday when we took it out for a drive after replacing the ignition switch, everything was perfect for about 10 minutes. Then he was getting on it pretty hard and it just shut off like it had a kill switch. You could hear the fuel pump still running and all the gauges worked but the tach was dead. We got it over to the side of the road. It wouldn't start. After five or six hours we came back after dark and it fired right up. I wondered if it was possible that the magnetic sensor in the distributor was failing at high RPMs and or higher temperature.

I'm not sure which ignition module it has but he already replaced it early on when the problem first appeared. He has the new one just zip tied to the firewall because he hadn't bothered to remove the the old one from the fender . The screw heads are facing out so you have to remove the front wheel to get to them . I told him I would get the new one secured properly if I were him in case it's causing the problem. Hopefully he'll do that.

 

[Janicholson]

My friend's going to try changing the cap and rotor. We'll see. He only gets to work on it on the weekends and I happened to be there this weekend to help him. We were both scratching our heads. Yesterday when we took it out for a drive after replacing the ignition switch, everything was perfect for about 10 minutes. Then he was getting on it pretty hard and it just shut off like it had a kill switch. You could hear the fuel pump still running and all the gauges worked but the tach was dead. We got it over to the side of the road. It wouldn't start. After five or six hours we came back after dark and it fired right up. I wondered if it was possible that the magnetic sensor in the distributor was failing at high RPMs and or higher temperature.

I'm not sure which ignition module it has but he already replaced it early on when the problem first appeared. He has the new one just zip tied to the firewall because he hadn't bothered to remove the the old one from the fender . The screw heads are facing out so you have to remove the front wheel to get to them . I told him I would get the new one secured properly if I were him in case it's causing the problem. Hopefully he'll do that.

Cap and rotor will not fix a ded tachometer. That indicates an electrical connection failure, or a bad module. If it won't start, see if electricity is getting to the coil from the ignition switch. then see if there are pulses on the distributor side of the coil. if none change the module. They are cheap. Jim

 

[John M]

My friend's going to try changing the cap and rotor. We'll see. He only gets to work on it on the weekends and I happened to be there this weekend to help him. We were both scratching our heads. Yesterday when we took it out for a drive after replacing the ignition switch, everything was perfect for about 10 minutes. Then he was getting on it pretty hard and it just shut off like it had a kill switch. You could hear the fuel pump still running and all the gauges worked but the tach was dead. We got it over to the side of the road. It wouldn't start. After five or six hours we came back after dark and it fired right up. I wondered if it was possible that the magnetic sensor in the distributor was failing at high RPMs and or higher temperature.

I'm not sure which ignition module it has but he already replaced it early on when the problem first appeared. He has the new one just zip tied to the firewall because he hadn't bothered to remove the the old one from the fender . The screw heads are facing out so you have to remove the front wheel to get to them . I told him I would get the new one secured properly if I were him in case it's causing the problem. Hopefully he'll do that.

If it has the silver box, it should have a blue grommet on the back side where the wires come through. That unit has to secured and grounded very good or it can cause those problems. Good looking stang BTW!

 

[SkipperII]

Ford had problems with the Dura Spark II ignition modules. To start with they would shut down when warm, and fire back up by the time a mechanic could get there. Eventually they would fail altogether. I used to carry one under the seat of my truck(I drove and 80 F 150) just in case, and twice used my spare on other peoples cars. If you remove the module and look on the bottom side, you might see to parallel melted marks in the insulation. That's a dead give away. I think they still used that system in 83. I actually used an aftermarket module from Carquest by the name of Switches.

 

[4play]

The back side of the duraspark modules are open but has that thick gel stuff covering the electronics. If that stuff has melted and running down from behind the module, that too is a sign of failure.

I doubt it's the ignition switch, possible but doubt it. Most of the time those ignition switches get loose and start failing, wiggle the connector or plastic end. Where the plastic meets the metal, there are metal tabs bent over the plastic to hold it together tightly and through time these can become loose and cause the contacts to fail. This was also the reason for a huge ignition switch recall back in the 90's, just about every Ford vehicle used that style of switch, the pickups were different but the same design. Man I replaced a ton of those switches, the safety recall number was 95S28, lol.

 

[4play]

Thats a nice foxbody, the 4-eye cars are my favorite, I've got a 81 wagon and 88 GT, both are healthy builds. I could really use most of that interior, if you don't feel like fixing it anymore .

 

[Pat80flh]

That has the external ignition module, bolted to the fender, right? They were high fail items back in the day. I'd buy a new one, and plug it in when it dies.
The pick up coil inside the distributor is also a possibility, they heat up, fail, cool down, work.
Nothing worse than intermittent electrical problems...

 

[ford4wd08]

If it is duraspark, you can convert it over to the GM HEI module, I'm running that on my '85 Bronco II that I converted over to a duraspark ignition. The GM module is smaller and cheaper, and seems to work well. I'm running it with a "square" TFI coil and had no issues.

You could run a hot wire from the positive post of the battery to the hot side of the coil, if it runs and has no issues, you have a problem in your keyed ignition circuit. To kill the engine, you'll have to remove the jumper wire.

If it is a TFI module, I would move it from the back of the distributor, as it gets hot there, and relocate it to the fender on an aluminum heat sink. There are aftermarket kits out there for that or even Ford did it themselves later on in the 90's. Wouldn't be hard to make your own harness to relocate it either. Heat kills TFI modules.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Sorry it has nothing to do with the question but this reminded me of Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck Twelve Days of Christmas:

Twelve pack a bud
Elevin wrastlin' tickets
Tin of Copenhagen
Nine years probation
Eight table dancers
Seven packs of redman
Six cans of spam
Five flanel shirts
Four big mud tires
Three shot gun shells
Two huntin' dogs
And some parts to a Mustang GT