So to be clear this is the 86 CV w/ a 351w and an aod? If so the black wire is only the key in ignition sensor, it has nothing to do with the electrical part of the ignition switch which is down the column. I’m watching the race so i am here.

 

Yes, this is for the Crown Vic. A member on grandmarq.net said the same thing yesterday. After I get some cleaning done, I will go out there and take a look at the ignition module and its connector to see what kind of shape they are in.

 

I replaced the ignition control module and inspected the connector harness; at least as far as I could until it went into the firewall. I didn't see anything obvious like severed or chewed wires. The ignition module is a replacement as its spade terminals look new; and the 2 bolts that fasten it to the steering column are Home Depot bolts.

I also looked at all of the wiring in the steering column and although kinda dirty; nothing is severed. I will wait until my replacement ignition cylinder comes in and install it. Then see if anything changed. Other than that, I have no clue what to do other than pulling the engine and checking the wiring coming out of the firewall.

 

Turn that switch over and you can test it electrically by sliding the contacts just like when you turn the key switch. It sounds like all the accessory things power up but no ignition stuff and no crank. The switch is adjustable on the column so that the key lock and the electric part line up the same. The starter function is pretty tough since it had to release and move all the linkage and key switch when you let off crank position. I can pull up the factory schematic for that switch, let me look. That would be tomorrow. You may only have accessory power for the main fuse box and no battery direct power.

 

I replaced the lock cylinder with no change in the problem at hand. However, the door chime is annoyingly loud. Makes me think when it stopped working. I know it worked when we got the car; and some members of grandmarq.net noted that when we had a small meet 10 years ago.

As such, I went back through the wiring harness for the starter solenoid and traced out the wires going to the coil and dizzy. I double checked the wiring against a couple YouTube vids and it appears that I incorrectly wired the dizzy and coil. I mixed 2 of those wires. I corrected the dizzy wires, but when I pulled the coil connector out; it crumbled internally; and the terminals were stuck on the coil pins. Went to pull out the terminals and one snapped. It was getting dark, so I called it quits and will deal with that tomorrow if the weather holds. I don't know what effect an incorrectly wired dizzy and coil would have on the ecm and the rest of the system; could this have been the problem? I guess I will find out tomorrow or Monday.

 

I corrected the MSD 6AL wiring; with no effect on the "no power" situation. As such, whilst waiting for DOT to clear up an accident on the way into work this morning; I realized that I failed to check the inertia switch in the trunk. I was told that even with no power in the system, the inertia switch can be popped with enough shock/vibration; and the car was hit by my neighbor's tree last year. Next weekend I will pop the trunk lid and check the switch. I hope this is the problem as I am out of things to check.

 

I went out this afternoon and put the test light on what I think is the fuel pump relay. My old notes say that the tan wire with black stripe is the fuel pump power wire. So I tested that wire at the relay and had power. Went out back and tested that same wire at the fuel pump and had no power. So I pulled the connector and saw that the terminals were very cruddy. I cleaned them with contact cleaner and let it dry for a hour. I just found my replacement relays that I had in case something went wonky. I will use the RY46 relay that I have and see if it makes a difference. If not, I will plug the old relay in and see if it works.

 

Not much of an update. We're getting the garage demolished next week. So I spent the day putting the old summer wheel/tire set up back on the Crown Vic and put her back on the ground. My custom exhaust is a little lower than I would like, but a little higher off the ground than the old BBK setup. It sits above the width of my hand; which I couldn't do with the BBK setup. The good thing (I think) is that the lowest point is more forward (toward the front of the car) than the BBK fox body shorties/H-pipe. If I get the car running; I am curious to see if I will still need ramps to get it in and out of the driveway.

I also suspected that I would not see a drop up front because of the weight difference between the 5.0 and the 5.8; and that is IMO because of the aluminum heads. They were a lot lighter than the E7 heads that came off the 5.8/F4TE. Don't know the weight difference between the E7 heads and E6 heads on the lopo.

After some clearing out of the garage, I spent a little time replacing the coil connector that disintegrated when I removed it a couple months ago. Once everything is cleared out of the backyard, I will put the CV back up on jacks and continue to work on solving its various issues.

 

I wouldn't like my exhaust being that close to the ground. Lots of dead animals lying the roads in North Alabama! And you can't always dodge around them.

 

Yeah, the exhaust was and still is the issue with this car. I originally had BBK shorty headers and matching H-pipe for a fox body Mustang. I got a Hearthrob Exhaust catback for a '94-'96 Impala for the tailpipes (dead ringer for the stock Crown Vic tailpipes; just 2.5"); and hacked the bends off one of the mid-pipes to make my own. Everything lined up, but the H-pipe hung really low. After I put the drag springs under the suspension, I had to use ramps to get in and out of the driveway because they lowered the car 1.5". Fortunately, that exhaust lasted 8 years before all of the knocks/bashing from the roads did it in.

I was hoping to get the current exhaust tucked closer to the chassis, but the angle of the headers made that difficult. I guess the sbf engines mounted at a different angle on the 67-70 Mustangs; which is what my current headers are for. In any event, I am not worrying about that until I solve the electrical issues this car seems to be having.