My 1998 Mustang GT Won't Start!

Help needed please! My 1998 4.7L GT (22,000 miles) cranks but won't start. This is a sudden occurrance. I drove the Mustang into the garage, left town for a long trip, and returned to find a truly dead battery. I replaced the battery with a new one from Ford. The engine cranks and cranks but I don't get any ignition. I've gone through the disarm sequence for the factory anti-theft, and done the same dance with my aftermarket Clifford Avantguard III alarm. I've also checked the fuel pump inertial reset switch but it seems fine. The fuel pump 20 amp fuse looks okay. How can I tell if the fuel pump or relay are operating? Could my fuel filter be clogged? (Where is the fuel filter?)

For the life of me, I don't know what to do. I'm out of ideas and I hate the thought of getting a tow to a dealer. I'll be vastly grateful if anyone can guide me to a solution.

Many Thanks,

-DOUG

Hi Doug, The exact same thing happened to me. It turned out to be a wire in the steering column that is connected to the PATS system. A wirte that is connected to a sensor.. There is a TSB on this. The wire was made too short and it has a tendency to crack

If you are getting fuel, you should be able to smell it. Try holding the pedal all the way down and cranking for 15 seconds. If by some bit of bad luck is flooded then it should start.

Before taking it to the dealership we replaced the battery AND the starter because they battery was low and then it seemed that the starter may have been weak. Come to find out, we were just over reacting to a sound we were unaccustomed to hearing . By the time we had it hauled 85 miles to an SVT dealership, it was flooded (silly me- my fault)

Wiggle your steering wheel, put it in a down position that will shorten it the wires within it., and try it again. Let it turn a little, it can't hurt it.

Keep it on a trickle charger while you are trying to get it going to keep from running that new battery to death.

If it were me, I'd bite the bullet and take it into the dealership. Ask about that techincal service bulletin. Oh! and when you DO find out what it was, post it please!

Kate

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