96 Cobra wont start

[recklessop]

So here is the back story:

Coming home one night and it randomly shuts off and we coast to a stop. It had ran fine all day. I had noticed it was taking a little longer to start, but nothing more then half a second or so. After it shutoff i tried to start it but it would just crank and crank and crank and would not even attempt to fire.

It has sat like that for about a month as i havent had time to work on it, but i started working on it today and have not had any luck.

Here is what i know:

First i thought it might be the fuel pump because i cant smell any fuel, and for a motor that has been cranking for 20 -30 seconds i would think i would smell fuel, so i unplugged the harness to the fuel pump, and hooked a 12v battery directly to the pump (After figuring out which wires were the proper ones) And the pump started right up and i could hear gas coming back into the tank.... ok so its not the pump. (i also checked the inirtia switch and even swapped in a known good one... no luck)

OK so i pull a plug and put it back into the wire and hold it against a tower bolt while the wife cranks it over.... no spark at all.

After some googleing i thought ok maybe the crank or cam position sensors were bad... so i head down to the store and get a new one of each and just installed them.... still nothing, just cranks and cranks.

The last thing i did was hook my SCT XCAL2 to the ODB port, this tuner if for my GT mustang, but i figured i would plug it in and try to read the codes... i expected to get either a code or a "no codes found" message. Instead i get an "error reading codes"....

At this point im thinking someone the computer is fubar... thoughts? ideas on a next step?

Thanks guys.

BTW if anyone has a stock 96 cobra computer for sale let me know ill come get it as soon as you can have it ready.

[bobtsgt]

need to hook up a big boy scanner and watch all the voltages and make sure everything is getting proper signal. Sometimes the wires in the harness for the crank and cam sensor can get loose at the plugs. Doubt both coils went out but could. Check the coils for cracks and if you can test the other spark plugs but do it against the head instead or get a cheap tester. Basically tracing the problem back to the computer before just swapping it out Could also check the voltages at the sensors and coils to make sure they are correct along with resistance checking.

[06V6Andrew]

it's a 96 so i could be a PAT's system malfunction...has a similar problem with a GT 96 and the PAT's was the problem...sounds very similar

[Stangman]

Sounds like the EDIS8 module, maybe

[Goober]

Body control module (I think thats what its called. It has the relays for the fuel pump, a/c and a bunch of other stuff).

[Brandon Alsept]

When you turn the key on does the fan come on?

goober is talking about the CCRM relay module.

[akagreg3]

fuses? pretty sure the fuel pump would not work if the pump fuse was blown even with 12v but ya got start some where, and i think if your sct is married to the gt it wont read

[Adam@S&MMotorsports]

Is the theft light blinking ?

[recklessop]

SO i decided to go back through everything again... this time with a flash light and by damn wouldnt you know it that one of the maxi fuses (20amp) was blown... i totally missed it the first time.

So the car works again (thank god) .... hard to believe a car with 27k miles on it would have issues like a PCM or something already since its spent most of its life in a climate controlled garage.

anyhow im sure you know what my next question is.... what would have caused it ? and should i be worried it will again? i drove it about 25 miles tonight and no problems but i have some extra fuses ... if another one pops ill probably just drop her off at the dealership or take it over to mike

[wolverine8490]

I would not be to worried about it unless it does it again. After that, start tracing wires related to that fuse for shorts.

[recklessop]

Welp, i guess i need to start tracking down a fuse.

I put about 500 miles on the car, and no worries at all. Then it blew out.
I started the car, backed it out of the garage took it about 3 miles down the road and it died. After i swapped in a 30 amp it ran find the next five miles to the auto parts store... i got two more fuses and put a new 20amp back in.

I then took it on a short business trip to cleveland (put about 400 miles on it) and it ran great the whole time. I got home Wednesday, it sat in the garage till last night when i went down to a friends place and on the way (About 2-3 miles from my place) it died again, so i knew what the problem was, got out with my last 20 amp fuse, but it in and started the car... popped it right away. So i went back under the hood, stole the 30 amp fuse and put it in and then i was good for the remaining 8 miles.

ON the way home, the CEL came on with Code P1000 and P412 (the fuse i borrowed was the Thermactor fuse)

So I will start tracing wires down, but im wondering how a wire would be bare on a car that only has 27k miles on it and has always been in a garage .... i mean unless a mouse got in there....

Also I have noticed that my Volt meter on the car isnt out of the normal range, but does lean toward the 8 or low side, alot if im running anything more than the radio.... I guess my question is, is there anything else that is electric that could cause the issue besides wiring ? Could the alternator be going out ? I would just think that would blow other fuses...

[Goober]

Does it stay down around 8 at idle and WOT, or just idle??