My 1983 Continental Mark VI!

[mercurygm88]

I keep forgetting to post it but I got the Marti report on the Mark VI Saturday. I'm guessing that March of 1983 was right about the end of Mark VI production.

[mercurygm88]

re-seat the connector for the crank position sensor too. If that connector is crusty you get no spark and no injector pulse. Should be roughly at the front passenger side corner of the intake, don't remember if its on the front or on top but somewhere in that general area. Look for the wire coming up from the crank pulley and thats the sensor.

I'll check that out while I'm at it.

[gadget73]

re-seat the connector for the crank position sensor too. If that connector is crusty you get no spark and no injector pulse. Should be roughly at the front passenger side corner of the intake, don't remember if its on the front or on top but somewhere in that general area. Look for the wire coming up from the crank pulley and thats the sensor.

[mercurygm88]

It appears to be an intermittent issue. I came home plugged the inertia switch back in, put the spark tester on it, and it fired right up. Maybe I should just replace the inertia switch for now?

Kind of annoying.

[mercurygm88]

The plastic cap on the coil is on tightly however just wiggle it upward. There are two wires that slip into the plastic cap, then clip onto the coil. You will see it when you remove the cap.
The ignition box on the fender (like my 83 MGM with TBI) could be bad. They do go bad frequently. Power goes through the box before the coil so check out the box and the connections to it before replacing the coil. Non Motorcraft brands ignition boxes are not the best as far as long lasting. There is the ignition switch on the column which should be checked out too. Don't know what the inside of your distributor looks like. Some have replaceable parts, others don't. Crank position sensor is another real possibility of being bad.
I would check around to see if there is a well know trusted mechanic in your area who knows THESE cars. Better to diagnose it properly then to throw parts at it. At least it is cheaper in the long run.
Hopefully you don't have the problem I have with my MGM. So far it has not been fixed. My problem is electrical.

I have unfortunately been through every mechanic in the area and none of them can be trusted or can work on anything they can’t plug their scanner into. The ignition module that’s in there currently is NAPA branded and looks fairly old.

[Mainemantom]

The plastic cap on the coil is on tightly however just wiggle it upward. There are two wires that slip into the plastic cap, then clip onto the coil. You will see it when you remove the cap.
The ignition box on the fender (like my 83 MGM with TBI) could be bad. They do go bad frequently. Power goes through the box before the coil so check out the box and the connections to it before replacing the coil. Non Motorcraft brands ignition boxes are not the best as far as long lasting. There is the ignition switch on the column which should be checked out too. Don't know what the inside of your distributor looks like. Some have replaceable parts, others don't. Crank position sensor is another real possibility of being bad.
I would check around to see if there is a well know trusted mechanic in your area who knows THESE cars. Better to diagnose it properly then to throw parts at it. At least it is cheaper in the long run.
Hopefully you don't have the problem I have with my MGM. So far it has not been fixed. My problem is electrical.

[mercurygm88]

I think those animals have a crank position sensor. Coils do fail. Those "can coils" tend to fail when hot from my experience but it could be the problem. Distributor cap and rotor are worth a look.

Fuel filter may also be worth checking on. Especially if the car has been setting.

No worries. We'll get it running. Or a carb conversion.

I would like to know if this car has two fuel pumps. In tank and in-line. I've heard varied tales about how their car was equipped and would like a straight answer from a real confirmed owner!

I’ve heard the same stories. I’ve also heard of EEC III CFI cars having three fuel pumps! One in the tank, one in-line and one on the engine driven by the cam like on a carb setup. I would really like to avoid a carb swap if possible.

The cap, rotor, plugs, and wires were done less than a month ago according to receipts that came with the car. It’s been daily driven for at least the past three months. I don’t know it’s history before the guy I bought it from.

[Tiggie]

I think those animals have a crank position sensor. Coils do fail. Those "can coils" tend to fail when hot from my experience but it could be the problem. Distributor cap and rotor are worth a look.

Fuel filter may also be worth checking on. Especially if the car has been setting.

No worries. We'll get it running. Or a carb conversion.

I would like to know if this car has two fuel pumps. In tank and in-line. I've heard varied tales about how their car was equipped and would like a straight answer from a real confirmed owner!

[mercurygm88]

Supposing I get home and find out I have no spark which I assume is the case considering I have fuel where do I go from there? Do these have a pickup coil like the later cars with TFI? I grabbed a coil today because my cost was only $10 but I'm assuming coils just don't up and die like that. I've had coil on plug coils just randomly go from perfect to dead the next day, but not a single wire or cannister coil. Also how do I change this thing? I'm assuming it's just a two wire coil but there's some kind of plastic cover over the top of the coil and I can't really tell how the wires go into it.

Thanks in advance for any advice, this one has me worried unfortunately. I'm really considering the possibility that the previous owner bandaged this thing so it would run long enough to sell it and leave the buyer high and dry. I don't trust people.

[mercurygm88]

Pull a wire and see if you are getting spark.

I’ll have to grab a spark tester from work and check it out later.

[Tiggie]

Pull a wire and see if you are getting spark.

[mercurygm88]

The Mark VI wouldn’t start this morning. I thought it might be the fuel pump inertia switch as the previous owner was having issues with that. But I hear the fuel pump running so that’s not it.

I guess this is the beginning of my CFI troubles. Plugs, wires, cap and rotor are new, coil looks to be original. Having never messed with a CFI car I’m not sure where to start.

[gadget73]

I generally consider that a requirement for owning any old car. shop manual and an EVTM will cover a lot of ground

[Mainemantom]

If you don't have one already, get a factory Ford shop manual. It REALLY helps.

[gadget73]

Thats the "normal" one, 2 wires and it just reverses I think, same as a power window motor works. The other one is basically 2 motors in one physical package. ground through the mount, up or down depends which wire gets power. Its way too complicated for what it needs to do.