My Ma's 1986 Crown Victoria LX

[packman]

Stock pump went to the scrapyard with the lopo and stock drivetrain. I had the fuel pump running after I made the initial ECM ground connector repair. That would have been my 2nd first-start attempt. Sometime between that time (when I was trying to figure out the no-start with key on issue) and the 3rd first-start attempt was when I realized it was not running again. Did a lot of wire harness checking; which includes replacing the ECM ground connector altogether. Cleaning and replacing the various relays. Then I finally concluded that the A9P might be the problem; and it looks like it might be part of the problem at the very least. We'll see..............

[packman]

I made a quick call to Foxresto.com earlier about my A9P and they said that I can ship my ECM to them; but I should be aware that my Quarterhorse may have damaged the processor; at which point, there is nothing they can do. I'm hoping that is not the case. If that is the case; I guess my next options are some sort of Holley efi system or something along those lines; or part the Crown Vic out.

[86VickyLX]

I made a quick call to Foxresto.com earlier about my A9P and they said that I can ship my ECM to them; but I should be aware that my Quarterhorse may have damaged the processor; at which point, there is nothing they can do. I'm hoping that is not the case. If that is the case; I guess my next options are some sort of Holley efi system or something along those lines; or part the Crown Vic out.

I told you months ago that I would help you with this. I have multiple A9P style ecus to operate the engine. I also have a bunch of experience with these operating systems. But you haven't reached out to me. The capacitor leaking is not caused from the quarterhorse. In the case that you do need another ECM I will guide you to a suitable replacement that isn't the overpriced A9P.

[packman]

Yah, I know; and I am sorry that I failed to take you up on that offer. We had a lot of things going on here. But if anything, I learned a lot about the Crown Vic; and other EFI cars for that matter. I am learning that I need to ID and check the condition of the main harness components. It might be painful to watch and read, but I am learning.

[packman]

Since the weather has been less than optimal to work on this stuff; I managed to do a small thing yesterday whilst working from home. I glued a divider onto the power accessory circuit breaker. I noticed that the factory circuit breaker had a divider between the poles. I figured it was there for a reason; so I did likewise. One of these days when the humidity and temps drop a little, I will go out there and start working on this car again.

[sly]

Probably just to keep things from shorting across the breaker since the tabs used to connect to it are not round. Definitely a good idea. Nice use of tool sales hanger.

[packman]

It was lying on top of the debris in the trash can. If I had dug down deeper; I woulda used the Duralast socket holder/hanger instead; as it's black.

[packman]

I managed to do a couple things for the Crown Vic over the weekend. I installed the circuit breaker for the power accessories (that rusty box on the starter solenoid) and reinstalled the Quarterhorse back into the ECU. Not much, but something. I still need to siphon out the old gas, reinstall the ECU, and lube the cylinders before I attempt another 1st start. That might be a few weeks from now; as I want to focus on installing the exhaust on my Merc.

Other than that, I spent the rest of the weekend replacing some of the plumbing in the basement; and bracing some of the old plumbing that's left so I can take it apart. Fun stuff!

[packman]

Brown Muscle's thread reminded me of last year's 2nd first start attempt. I put the old American Racing wheels back on the CV for that; but I left the spacers on there because I didn't feel like breaking them loose. I like the look. Too bad I will not be keeping those wheels when (if) this car gets moving under its own power.

[87gtVIC]

I always loved how those wheels look. So damn nice.

[packman]

Yah! Freakin American Racing Wheels doesn't make them in 18"+

[packman]

So, a few Fridays ago, during a quiet moment at work; I began to think about the Crown Vic. And for unknown reasons, I remembered that my Powermaster starter didn't come with wiring instructions or a wiring diagram. At the time when I installed it, I wired the starter like the OEM starter was wired. I may have errored in doing that. I went to their website to find the instructions, but they don't have anything available for that model starter (9403). But, they have wiring diagrams and instructions for their other starters for the small block Windsor Ford engines. I noticed that Powermaster had in bold print that vehicles with a remote starter solenoid must have a jumper wire installed between the battery terminal and the ignition terminal on the starter. Even though it is for other models of starters; I wondered if that applied to mine? So I sent them an e-mail about that. A few hours later they confirmed that I needed that jumper wire.

Fast forward to this afternoon; I decided that I couldn't quarantine on a day like this (got COVID a week ago); so I went outside to get a breather. Which lead to me uncovering the Crown Vic for the 1st time in over a year. Cleaned the cobwebs from under the car to get a good look at the starter. I forgot that the ignition wire is fastened to the starter lug with a spade terminal. So I took some 8AWG wire and spliced it into the ignition wire. Then I crimped a ring terminal on the other end and stuck that on the battery lug. When I get around to siphoning the 2 year old gas out of the tank; I will make a concerted effort to trying another 1st start attempt. Hoping that this jumper wire (or lack thereof) was the reason for the no crank with the key.

[friskyfrankie]

Let us know how it turned out and feel better FAST!

[Grand Marquis GT]

Glad to see you’re still kicking around!

[packman]

Been a while since my last post. Where to start? I haven't done much with this car. I had a bunch of house repairs and projects consume my time; and I got a promotion at my job; which lead to A LOT more work. As such, back in June, I decided to start paying more attention to this car. I confirmed that my main relays (fuel pump, ECM, horn, power accessories) were in good shape. I found that I failed to clean one of the relays; so I cleaned it out with contact cleaner. I had forgotten that the important relays such as the fuel pump and ECM are 5-pin; and the other 2 relays are 4-pin. I spent a good amount of time on Saturday looking it up in the EVTM manual. I also discovered that I can't go by that manual because whatever factory that this car came from, didn't follow the color code; at least not for the 4-pin relays. I ran out of time to check the 5-pin relays to see if they matched. I kind of remember that 2 relays had broken terminals; but I could only find the one relay that I repaired. Not only that; but I dug around in the basement and found the terminal that I cut off for replacement. Somebody had duct taped that wire because the insulation crumbled off and exposed the copper. I was going to mess with the fuel pump and horn relays to see if the terminals were secure; but I couldn't get to do that yesterday due to the local stray getting injured and parking itself under the Crown Vic. I was told to not go back there until it was taken care of; hopefully sometime this week. When I do get back to it; I distinctly remember a relay with a loose terminal that I want to check out. I bought 2 replacement relay connectors (5-pin) for a reason some years ago, but I didn't write down why.

In late July, I realized that I never reinstalled the A9P ECM in the Crown Vic after getting it back from foxresto. I discovered this whilst in Quarantine when I had COVID in June. Like the last run-in with COVID; I spent a good amount of time organizing the attic and my room. I was separating the Crown Vic parts from Putter Project's parts. There was a small postal box in the corner of my room labelled "A9P". I always figured that it was empty and that I already reinstalled it. To my surprise, it was still in there. So this past weekend, I pulled the tarp off the Crown Vic and reinstalled it. At least I was smart enough to cram plastic bags in the firewall where the ECM sits. The inside of the Crown Vic has a musty smell, but a dry musty smell. No mildew or moisture detected. I might have had a rodent in there because there was some plastic dust on my gauge cluster. Next time I am in there; I will inspect that area. If there was a rodent in there; it didn't do no.1 or no.2 inside of the cabin because I didn't smell any of that. My buddy's '67 Chevelle reaked of it (as well as decomposing mice that had died in there) last time we fired that car up; which was 17 years ago. So now, all I have left to do is siphoning the old gas out of the tank. Then start prepping the car for another 1st start attempt.