I am hopping to get the car running today. It is a 79 pinto wagon with a 2.3 turbo out of an 83-85 Thunderbird. The wiring harness is an unknown year from a junkyard which was given to me with the engine. I am not getting any spark from the coil. I have checked all the grounds no not have an inertia switch yet and I know it car run because I saw it run before I bought the engine. I am at a loss at where to begin the wiring diagrams I have are not very clear. PLEASE HELP!!! I need this puppy tearing up the road
Thank you,
Dylan
Check for power to the coil first off if you havent.
Second have the Tfi module checked.
And report back on those 2 first.
You said all the grounds are hooked but is the one that bolts to the cold side of the turbo hooked up?
I have the ground to the turbo hooked up. No power to coil. I don't think I'm getting power to the control module either. I don't know how to test it so i stuck a paper clip into each hole and touched it to my test light connected to ground and didn't get power to any.
Power to the coil should be the stock Pinto red/light green if I remember correctly. ECU #1 should be constant 12v, #37 & #57 should be switched 12v (start & run).
Check everything twice.
Mike
use a meter and not a test light. The test light will blow, but not before allowing some bad current past to where you do not want it to go possibly. Harbor freight give them away from time to time, at worst, they cost less than $10
I hired a mobile mechanic yesterday and got a little bit further on the turbo pinto. We got power to the coil now. There are two wires going into the coil a white/blue wire and a green and yellow I think. I hooked the white and blue wire through a relay to the ignition. But the car still will not start. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do next? This job has turned into an electrical nightmare as the wiring harness is from a different year turbo coupe than the motor. I have all sorts of wiring diagrams now but none that show voltages that or what charge should be at each wire does that exist?
Thanks, Dylan
White with blue dots and red with green stripe come from the ignition switch, hot in start or run. If you hooked the "white and blue" wire to the ignition, you just made a loop.
What are you using to power the ECM?
Mike
where should I be powering the ECM?
Quote from: yogetthephone on March 20, 2011, 06:52:48 PM
where should I be powering the ECM?
See reply #3 above.
Either the red/green or the white/blue. Test it to make sure that it is 12v and only on in start and run. Get constant 12v from battery, a fusible link would be nice to have.
Do you have the EVTM* for the '83/84 'Bird?
Mike
Electrical & Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1983-FORD-THUNDERBIRD-ELECTRICAL-VACUUM-EVTM-MANUAL-SUP-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2eb33c803fQQitemZ200575582271QQptZMotorsQ5fManualsQ5fLiterature (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1983-FORD-THUNDERBIRD-ELECTRICAL-VACUUM-EVTM-MANUAL-SUP-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2eb33c803fQQitemZ200575582271QQptZMotorsQ5fManualsQ5fLiterature)
Thinking more and more about this. The problem may lay in the "unknown" wiring harness as the harnesses varied from year to year and model to model.
You really need to get an accurate pin-out for your computer (hence my advice above) and check to see that each and every wire in the harness is correct (dollars to donuts they are not).
If not, you'll need to repin the harness, which is simple to do with a home-made tool.
Let us know.
Mike
I am getting power to the coil and the TFI module. But I am still not getting any spark
This is something you need to be patient with. On my '88 T/C conversion the Yellow wire carries the power to pin #1 to the ECU. It it 12V. But, as has been stated different harnesses and ECU's wire up somewhat different over the years. I think all the ECU's used the #1 wire for the 12 volts but you should confirm this. The good thing is you said you saw it run, so I would assume the harness matches the ECU.
I had the full donor car and my car started on the first turn of the key. But years later and replacing virtually every single component (ECU, VAM, o2 sensor, etc. etc.) and my car still won't run decent without the spout out.
Try hooking a meter up to the coil (swinging needle type) and crank the engine. If the needle moves at least the ECU is sending a pulsed signal. If not the problem is upstream of the coil.
All the best. It is difficult..., but following a logical process will hopefully get you running.
Tom