TTA died on the road today...fusible link, ign. sw ?

[Scott89TTA]

took the TTA out today and just as I came off the ramp on to 95 it just shut off. i coasted to the side of the road and tried to start it back up...it was completely dead...nothing, no dash lights, gauges, scanmaster, etc. The horn, interior dome light and the parking lights worked. 2/3's of the fuse block is dead...only 12v on the 3 mentioned. Had to have the car towed home. Last Fall id did a similar thing when I stopped to get gas...when I went to start it back up it was dead...about 15 min later it started up and was fine...neverr knew what it was.

I got it home today and checked the fusible links...pretty sure one was broke. There are 4 at the starter...replced 2 so far, one was broke unless I broke it...car is still dead. Same 3 things still work, nothing else...when I turn on the key the interior light goes out.

Anyone have similar problems and if so what did it turn out to be?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[80/89TTA]

Did you find the problem yet?

 

[Scott89TTA]

Not yet...had to walk away last night. I had to go pick up my new tires this morning and help my neighbor put together a BIG A$$ grill. Getting back on it now...going to replace all the fusible links at the starter and see what happens.

will update later...

-Scott

 

[alwayscode390]

This pisses me off, I have read MANY posts like this and nobody knows WHY it happens.

My damn car has gotten 100 miles since I bought it a year ago ... because of WHATEVER problem you are dealing with.

It literally starts when it wants to , and doesnt when its on its RAG.

I have bought $150 red top batteries, and used $40 batteries. It STILL acts the same. There is NO "security" light on, shes just a BITCH !!!

I dont ever drive it unless I know I will shut it off at home, because I dont trust it to start back up ... now that is f'n sad ---

 

[80/89TTA]

did you test the starter itself?

 

[Scott89TTA]

I cut out and replaced all fusible links at the starter...tested the one by the batery that go's to the ECU connector on radiator support and it is good. Still dead

What next...how do you check the VATS ?

 

[alwayscode390]

Do some searches, its somewhere in the kick panel. Is your SECURITY light coming on? If not, chances are it isnt the VATS ---

 

[Scott89TTA]

Do some searches, its somewhere in the kick panel. Is your SECURITY light coming on? If not, chances are it isnt the VATS ---

yeah pretty sure it's not the VATS...no lights. Been on the phone with JD & Steve Kaminski a couple times and the next step is check the ignition switch...kind of makes sense since it did pretty much the same thing as it did last Fall but never started back up this time.

Also while I was messing with the starter I rung off the small stud for the purple solenoid wire so 1st thing tomorrow morning I'm off to get a LT1 starter and get rid of the huge POS stock starter.

stepped away, got a shower and cracked a few cold ones...I feel better now

-Scott

 

[Grumpy]

I doubt its the VATs system with everything ya have there dead.

 

[Pronto]

V8 Killer went through something similar with his TTA. He did alot of diagnosis and finally found he needed a new hot wire style injector harness. I don't know if he had the issue with the dash lights, etc out but it would crank and not start. Heat and corrosion caused too much resistance in the harness. Something similar could be going on for you.

 

[Scott89TTA]

V8 Killer went through something similar with his TTA. He did alot of diagnosis and finally found he needed a new hot wire style injector harness. I don't know if he had the issue with the dash lights, etc out but it would crank and not start. Heat and corrosion caused too much resistance in the harness. Something similar could be going on for you.

not really the same...I wish the car would crank then it would be doing somthing...2/3's the fuse block is dead. When I turn the key there is zero...like the battery is gone. Going to get into the ignition switch and see what i find...keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[garyk1970]

please test with dvm and move probes as described and post back;

1) voltage at pos and neg battery terminals (refence voltage)
2)leave pos on batt,move ground to block....if not ref voltage bad ground to block.
3)neg on starter chassis,pos on large battery bolt on starter,not ref voltage bad pos battery cable.
4)batt pos post and ground on body should be ref voltage,if not replace ground wire to body. by your symtoms/decriptions, i think this is the coulptrit.no matter how clean the battery terminal bolts look,unbolt them,snap them out of the plastic housings and clean the terminals,bolts and battery.re-install.

 

[Scott89TTA]

please test with dvm and move probes as described and post back;

1) voltage at pos and neg battery terminals (refence voltage)
2)leave pos on batt,move ground to block....if not ref voltage bad ground to block.
3)neg on starter chassis,pos on large battery bolt on starter,not ref voltage bad pos battery cable.
4)batt pos post and ground on body should be ref voltage,if not replace ground wire to body. by your symtoms/decriptions, i think this is the coulptrit.no matter how clean the battery terminal bolts look,unbolt them,snap them out of the plastic housings and clean the terminals,bolts and battery.re-install.

Gary, I'll check those tomorrow...battery is pretty much dead now and is recharging. I'm pretty sure I have checked all of these but will do them again.

Replaced the ignition switch today and no luck...same problem. Thought it as the switch because I had 12v at the input terminals of the switch and did not get 12v on the otput terminals...no such luck.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[1tufam]

If you loose everything when trying to crank, I would take a hard look at the ground side of your circuit. Could be at the block connection or a failure within the cable itself. Grounds can be major problem. You can temporary ground using one side of jumper cables from the battery to a good spot on the block. Hang in there electrical problems can drive you nuts. It will be simple to fix but a bear to find.

Good Luck

 

[dvernst]

X2 on a grounding issue...

 

[alwayscode390]

not really the same...I wish the car would crank then it would be doing somthing...2/3's the fuse block is dead. When I turn the key there is zero...like the battery is gone. Going to get into the ignition switch and see what i find...keeping my fingers crossed.

I didnt know we could mount up an LT1 starter, thats good news even though I just swapped my stock starter 10k miles ago.

This seems like my problem. I dont even get a CLICK , but my dash lights up...my antennae goes up, I have brake lights, and interior lights.

It may be a ground problem for me too. It just sucks how it starts fine and strong sometimes, then out of the blue it acts up. I can even walk away for 10-30 min and retry, and it will work SOMETIMES and not other times, lol. I even have a brand new 910 crank amp redtop Optima battery ---

 

[dsmith4994]

re: short

run your test light from neg battery terminal to ground on fender. If it lights up you have a short. Pull out fuses one at a time until you find short and light doesnt come on. Or go under your dash to the starter relay at the end of your steering column and look for a pink and a yellow wire. They might have melted together. If they did, replace about 14" of pink and yellow wire.........They will all be doing this as time goes on......

 

[Scott89TTA]

run your test light from neg battery terminal to ground on fender. If it lights up you have a short. Pull out fuses one at a time until you find short and light doesnt come on. Or go under your dash to the starter relay at the end of your steering column and look for a pink and a yellow wire. They might have melted together. If they did, replace about 14" of pink and yellow wire.........They will all be doing this as time goes on......

I'll check this stuff out tomorrow if i get a chance.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[Razor]

Power on these cars goes from Batt+ to starter. From Starter there are fusible links that supply power to the fuse box. On your fuse box there are some terminals that are constant power Batt and some that are switched like IGN or Radio. If you turn on the ignition switch it applies Batt to the Ign/Radio.

If your Batt terminal is dead on your fuse box, then you have an open circuit between the starter and the fuse box. Either a fusible link, broken wire, etc.

Understand when someone uses the word "dead". Dead means "everything" is dead. If some circuits have power.. then its not dead.

If interior lights work, horn works, lights work.. the car is not dead.

Also quit replacing parts. It only adds drama and creates more problems. When troubleshooting you need to molest as little as possible to get to your problem.

 

[Razor]

This pisses me off, I have read MANY posts like this and nobody knows WHY it happens.

My damn car has gotten 100 miles since I bought it a year ago ... because of WHATEVER problem you are dealing with.

It literally starts when it wants to , and doesnt when its on its RAG.

I have bought $150 red top batteries, and used $40 batteries. It STILL acts the same. There is NO "security" light on, shes just a BITCH !!!

I dont ever drive it unless I know I will shut it off at home, because I dont trust it to start back up ... now that is f'n sad ---

Your problem is starter is not getting the 12v it needs to activate the solenoid on it. This is due to the long length of wire used on the TTA to supply power to it. I bet if you got a multimeter and probed the Starter wires on that are on the drivers kickpanel it will show you like 6-7 volts not 12 when you move the key to the start position. the fix is hotwire the VATS relay or install a Ford starter solenoid by your starter as they need less amperage to transfer power.