1991 p72

[P72Ford]

I do not believe my '90 had shift interlock.

[marquisman]

I dont remember any of my 91's or 90's having shift interlock, neither.

[sly]

I think the brake pedal triggered solenoid shift interlock didn't show up until 92. Should just be a mechanical lock so it can't shift out of park until you turn the key.

[marquisman]

Probably was ford's way of getting ready for a mandated safety feature on all vehicles?

[Mr Bean]

I think the brake pedal triggered solenoid shift interlock didn't show up until 92. Should just be a mechanical lock so it can't shift out of park until you turn the key.

Ok so that part works. Weird because the mechanism looks exactly like the one on my 96'.

[DerekTheGreat]

Progress, nice!

I don't know why I didn't think of this when I read the earlier posts, but the little ground wire on the factory starter is known to corrode. I believe it was due to a crappy spade connector being used from the factory not making good contact. When the factory starter died on my '91 the replacement came with a small lenght of wire with a ring terminal, to replace the spade connector end, and that boltet to the starter for a better connection.

If the car has the factory starter this may be worth checking.

Would this cause excessive cranking times? Ashley's usually takes awhile to start but runs flawlessly once it does. My car always fires right up, maybe twist it into start for 1.2 seconds tops, hers, sometimes as bad as three or four seconds.

[sly]

could be. definitely worth checking the connectors. If there's corrosion, stuff won't work as well.

[VicCrownVic]

Would this cause excessive cranking times? Ashley's usually takes awhile to start but runs flawlessly once it does. My car always fires right up, maybe twist it into start for 1.2 seconds tops, hers, sometimes as bad as three or four seconds.

The problem I was referring to is specific to the new style starter. I don't know when it was corrected (if it's also an issue on early aeros), but I believe Ashley's 89 TC has the old style starter, so not an issue for her.

[sly]

I do know that when I put in a new starter in my 88 from a 91 listing that it started much better. The old starter started taking longer to crank right before it started locking up. I didn't take the time to tap tap tap on the starter... I just had AAA tow it home and I replaced it the next weekend.

[gadget73]

The starter relay grounds through it's mounting bolts. It does not have it's own ground lead. The older ones (CFI and older) with two wires were one small wire to turn the relay on, and one small wire output to feed power to the ignition system.

[VicCrownVic]

Here's what I was babbling about: http://econtent.autozone.com:24999/z...tbfordpmgr.pdf

[gadget73]

oh, the late style. Yeah the trigger wire gets shitty on those.

[Mr Bean]

It was warm out today so I did a little work on the Vic. Replaced all the spark plugs. The ones I pulled out still looked decent but I swapped them anyway. Pulled the intake and swapped out the PCV. I think it still had the factory one in there. Also fixed throttle cable which was hopelessly rusted. A blow torch and some WD-40 and it's good as new. While I had the throttle body off I installed brass TV cable bushing. The plastic one was still somewhat soft and would've likely lasted for a while. I swapped it anyway. After that I did the fuel filter. The one that was on the car was installed backwards. SMH

Also discovered that my power steering fluid looks like someone dumped a few cups of coffee with 2 creams in there. The only reason I looked at the fluid at all is because if I leave the car to sit for a couple of days and then fire it up, for the first few seconds the steering wheel is extremely stiff to turn in one direction. I am hoping this nasty looking fluid will fix the issue. Is there a certain procedure I can use to pump all of the oil fluid out?

Lastly, my airbag light is flashing and I don't know why. I tried removing the crash sensor and cleaning it up since it was covered in oil undercoating but no dice, still flashing. Doubt it's the clock spring because the horn still works. Are there any diagnostics I can perform on this?

[HiFiMerc]

The fix for that on my dads 91 was a piece of black tape over the light. Don't pull the bulb, it will beep at you. Ha.

[Mr Bean]

I am not a fan of Homer Simpson repairs though.