Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

all you need is a paper clip and either a test light, or the check engine light.

sounds like the tfi to me. I don't bother with the testing, they almost always test good even if they are bad (at my local autozone anyway...).

Just buy a new one, slap it on, and if that wasn't it, keep it as a spare. Because some day it will be it, hehe.

I will see about getting an buttstuffog meter today, and try this.  am I going to be watching for the sweeps?  is that how I decipher the codes?

Or you could use a test light. Or you could buy the $80 code scanner that does the same thing as a paper clip, or you could read the links that people give you, or you could do your own search.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/OBD_I.html

Or you could use a test light. Or you could buy the $80 code scanner that does the same thing as a paper clip, or you could read the links that people give you, or you could do your own search.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/OBD_I.html

I use a cut piece of sheet metal the width if the connector slots to plug them together. It always stays in  my tool chest in a separate little box. I have to use my buttstuffog meter to see the pulses, as the check light doesn't flash codes in my cougars. (it did in my 88 E-250 though). I really should get a light to do this one day, and make it easier to count.

I just flip up the toggle switch next to the meter and don't even have to open the hood.

Is that there just for codes?, or is it a voltmeter to?

I use a cut piece of sheet metal the width if the connector slots to plug them together. It always stays in  my tool chest in a separate little box. I have to use my buttstuffog meter to see the pulses, as the check light doesn't flash codes in my cougars. (it did in my 88 E-250 though). I really should get a light to do this one day, and make it easier to count.

to start off with, this is the new 87 TC.  the car starts and runs fine but dies like its running out of fuel after about 4 blocks of driving and wont restart, if I let the car sit the cycle repeats.

ok,, something is getting warm and then finally killing the eec's ability to supply ref grounds to produce signals on the tfi for spark.  What you need to do first before getting too deep into this is to tell us this....
**DURING THE FAULT***, do you still have spark delivery out of one of your plug wires
-if yes,, its fuel related
-if no,, its spark related.

knowing this will help narrow down options.  The spark must be nice and bluish white,, not of this orangish color.

Next,, during the fault,, does fuel spray all over hell and creation when you purge it,,
if not- lets get the pressure tested
if yes- its a spark issue.

however,,
once upon a time i had intermittant orangish spark and also had fuel pres. My little red wire slip on boot was partially eaten by a mouse thus causng wierd problems with my starter relay.



  I have replaced the fuel pump and fuel pressure regulator and inspected the injectors.  not really sure where to go from here,  I know I am going to be asked to pull codes, the car came with a code reader but I havent had a chance to get it figured out to pull codes.  has anyone had a problem like this before?

Yes, once- exactly like yours but cant remember what caused it.

 also can a bad O2 or bap sensor cause a problem like this? 

i would never put money on that ,, far fetched, at the least car would run rich.

the FP never dies and keeps pressure so I am assuming that the problem is somewhere around the injectors or related parts. also, what tells the injectors to fire?

the injector grounds are managed within the computer, the eec makes and breaks the grounds to each injector based on the position of the rotor fin thing a ma jig in the dizzy.  thats why one fin is narrower to id cyl number 1.  the eec manages the pulse width modulation based on tps position mainly pluse a few other inputs.

  the FP never dies and keeps pressure ?

see diagram below for options but in effect, we all have onboard test lights if you just use them.
ford solved this by employing option 3 (ie- paper clip haystack mentioned), you just sit in the drivers seat and watch the "check engine" light,,if it works.

That doesn't work in my car. And the light does actually work.

Righteous! :burnout: