The mystery deepens...

As you all recall, Charlene, my 1998 GT, refused to start after a warm shutdown Friday night, leaving me stranded in a parking lot.

A scan of DTC's today revealed nothing. No codes stored whatsoever. Just to make sure, I cleared everything, tried a restart which was unsuccessful, then re-read the codes. Again, nothing.

I plan to flatbed it to a local shop Tuesday or Wednesday; from there, it may end up hauled 40 miles north to a reputable dealership. (Or so I am told.) No mods have been done in the last year or so, and nothing underhood has been disturbed in several months. The only engine mod so far was a change of spark plug wires. I don't have a gauge that will fit the fuel rail fitting, however depressing the valve yields a nice big squirt of fuel, FWIW. And it has

7/8ths of a tank of fuel.

Other notes: I don't have the equipment to measure fuel rail pressure - it could very well be a nonop fuel pump. Spark on all cylinders is present, which indicates a PATS fault is probably not the culprit. I can hear the fuel pump relay and fuel pump engage and it cranks normally.

Place your bets. I plan to have it flatbedded to a local independent shop Tuesday. So far, my cost to tow and scan for codes: $400.00. Another tow, diagnostics and repair will probably put the total figure closer to $800.00. Buying the Scantool was a good investment however from my point of view.

-JD

Reply to
JD Adams
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Damn...I was going to say it was the fuel pump inertia cutoff switch...but that doesn't seem like it. Oh well, I saved my dollar...maybe I'll donate it to the Texas Educational Fund (aka the lottery)

Whatever the cause...it'll add to the knowledge base.

Reply to
Dinsdale

Very strange....please keep up us informed.

Reply to
Gumby

Oh yeah, the intertia switch was the first thing I checked, along with changing keys just in case it was the lack of a PATS proveout. This is a good one: there is spark, fuel and compression. (Oh yeah, I pulled 2 plugs, one on each bank to verify camshaft chain integrity. It's the simple stuff that'll get ya.)

This is one hellova mystery. More to come - stay tuned.

-JD

Reply to
JD Adams

This one is way beyond strange. Rod Serling could be here narrating, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit. It will be worth the bucks just to find out what the HELL is wrong with it.

Stay tuned - more to come. A crack team of tow truck operators and mechanics are standing by. I should know by Tuesday.

-JD

Reply to
JD Adams

So it seems like its getting fuel and fire. I wonder if the spark is at the wrong time??? Possibly you broke a tooth or two off the distributor gear and threw the timing way off???? Just a guess. Good luck, hopefully its something simple. Erik D. '94 white lightning

Reply to
Erik D.

Nevermind........

Erik D. '94 white lightning

Reply to
Erik D.

STOP right there JD. Got to AAA and join up. Membership is only something like $49 . THEN you can have 4 tows a year.... instant savings.

My bet is STILL on the PATS system.

Katie

Reply to
SVTKate

OH OH OH! I just remembered something that the tech guy told me. When you turn the key on, how does the "theft" light flash? Normally?

I remember that when I first tried to start mine that the light was blinking kind of fast, like three fast flashes. If you noticed anything like this, it may be a sign... Just a thought.

K
Reply to
SVTKate

I'm already an AAA member, and am loving all of the free flatbed tows I'm getting out of it. Finally, that sucker pays off!

-JD

Reply to
JD Adams

No, the theft light doesn't flash at all. The tech indicated that if it were a PATS fault of any kind, a code would be set, and unfortunately, a code scan revealed nothing.

I also asked about the deal fuel pump theory. Again, he said a lean fuel condition code would be set if this were the case.

Ahhh, the mystery deepens, and things get curiouser and curiouser. She now sits in the shop, and they will get on it first thing in the morning. I should know what the problem is by Tuesday at noon. Stay tuned!

-JD

Reply to
JD Adams

JD,

Moisture in the distributor cap? Just a guess, best of luck finding the problem.

Regards, Jim

Reply to
Jim C Roberts

uh, there is fuel in the fuelsystem, but how do you know the injectors are firing ?

My guess is that the PATS system lost all its stored keys out of its memory for some reason.

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Reply to
Rein

Uh, the 98's don't have a distributor.

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Reply to
Rein
98 Models have no distributor. They are "distributorless" cars ;).

-Mike

-- A happy kid behind the wheel of a 98 Mustang GT Cold air intake FRPP 3.73 gears Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter Full Boar turbo mufflers Hi-speed fan switch

255/60R-15 rear tires Subframe connectors

Reply to
<memset

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