83_4eyes_Convertible
New member
I recently went through a long agonizing summer troubleshooting my ill 83 5.0 Foxbody which still had many original factory installed parts.
Here is my story and I hope other older Mustang owners will find what I did to find and solve the issue helpful
In the late spring I began experience irregular and inconsistent engine shut down/stalling issues under very different conditions
Suspect #1 Carburetor
Taking into account the age of the vehicle, some research on symptoms that pointed to the carburetor, and suspicion that the carburetor may be in poor condition.I had the carburetor rebuilt
This solved some if the stalling issues but the stalling continued although less frequently
Suspect # 2 Vacuum leaks
After replacing and or eliminating suspected failed or malfunctioning components in the factory emissions control system. Things again improved but one could tell things were just not quite right. Other issues like hard starting, occasional stalling, rough idling, misfiring and other performance issues began to appear
Suspect # 3 High Voltage Electrical Components
Considering the car still had almost all its original High voltage electrical components Plugs, Wires, Rotor & Distributor Cap the next step was to change all these aforementioned parts. Success the stalling issue seemed to have been corrected but the engine was operating poorly and the idle was very rough. While corrosion and arcing was found on the Distributor Cap and rotor 7 of the 8 plugs seemed to be in good condition and the 1 fouled plug was the result of a bad lead
Suspect # 4 Ignition timing
While checking the timing with a borrowed timing light I noticed that the strobe of the timing light was very erratic at idle to the point it was almost impossible to read the timing marks. After moving the timing light pickup sensor around to other wires, seeing the same effect and observing erratic movement of the tachometer needle which gets its signal from the coil the health of the Ignition coil became suspect.
After a quick run to the Autoparts store and about 10 minutes to install a replacement coil The strobe on the timing light became very consistent and once the timing was set the car's performing improved greatly becoming much more reliable.
Conclusion
Even though much of the work done to achieve a much healthier Mustang was probably long overdue It is felt that a failing Ignition coil due to its age may well have been the root cause of many of the issues experienced. So don't forget about the coil or assume it is ok just because there is a spark. It may not be as healthy a you think
Here is my story and I hope other older Mustang owners will find what I did to find and solve the issue helpful
In the late spring I began experience irregular and inconsistent engine shut down/stalling issues under very different conditions
Suspect #1 Carburetor
Taking into account the age of the vehicle, some research on symptoms that pointed to the carburetor, and suspicion that the carburetor may be in poor condition.I had the carburetor rebuilt
This solved some if the stalling issues but the stalling continued although less frequently
Suspect # 2 Vacuum leaks
After replacing and or eliminating suspected failed or malfunctioning components in the factory emissions control system. Things again improved but one could tell things were just not quite right. Other issues like hard starting, occasional stalling, rough idling, misfiring and other performance issues began to appear
Suspect # 3 High Voltage Electrical Components
Considering the car still had almost all its original High voltage electrical components Plugs, Wires, Rotor & Distributor Cap the next step was to change all these aforementioned parts. Success the stalling issue seemed to have been corrected but the engine was operating poorly and the idle was very rough. While corrosion and arcing was found on the Distributor Cap and rotor 7 of the 8 plugs seemed to be in good condition and the 1 fouled plug was the result of a bad lead
Suspect # 4 Ignition timing
While checking the timing with a borrowed timing light I noticed that the strobe of the timing light was very erratic at idle to the point it was almost impossible to read the timing marks. After moving the timing light pickup sensor around to other wires, seeing the same effect and observing erratic movement of the tachometer needle which gets its signal from the coil the health of the Ignition coil became suspect.
After a quick run to the Autoparts store and about 10 minutes to install a replacement coil The strobe on the timing light became very consistent and once the timing was set the car's performing improved greatly becoming much more reliable.
Conclusion
Even though much of the work done to achieve a much healthier Mustang was probably long overdue It is felt that a failing Ignition coil due to its age may well have been the root cause of many of the issues experienced. So don't forget about the coil or assume it is ok just because there is a spark. It may not be as healthy a you think
