1994 3.2 help!!!

[1998v8sho]

Hey guys,

My 1994 SHO will not start. I thought that it was the starter. I changed it with a new unit and also put in a new battery. No luck! When I turn the key I hear the fuel pump activate but no crank at all. Everything else electrical works. I checked the connections to the starter twice. Everything looks to be where it needs to be. What is going on? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your help guys.
Would love to see her on the road again!

 

[93rev2sev]

Neutral safety switch? Have you tried to start it while in neutral?

 

[1998v8sho]

No I haven't. I will give that a shot now and post.

 

[1998v8sho]

Tried that. No luck!

 

[luigisho]

Starters are a crapshoot out of the box. Might still have a defective unit. That or a bad ground.

 

[ViPER1313]

Multi-meters are your friend. You need to check to see if the solenoid trigger wire to the starter is getting 12V power when you turn the key to start.

 

[1998v8sho]

Well today, I started the process of elimination as to why the SHO will not start. I took the starter out. Tested all the wires to make sure the juice was flowing. The starter was also tested and works fine. The culprit was the little black wire that hooks onto the solenoid. There was no juice flowing. I will have to change that out. I am thinking of just running a straight connection from the positive terminal to the starter solenoid and see if that will work. If not the next place to look will be the CPRM (thanks to Eric L. from the V8SHO group)

Does anyone else have any other suggestions?

 

[Off Road SHO]

Well, whatever you do, don't do the last thing you mentioned! That will cause your starter to crank as long as the wire is attached. I assume with the 3.2 it is an automatic car, so you have to find out why that black wire is not getting 12 volts when you turn the key to "start".

The shift lever has to be in Park or Neutral for the 12 volts to get through, though without my wiring diagrams at hand, I can't tell you how to trouble shoot it. The shift lever position is monitored by the MLPS Manual Lever Position Sensor which is on top of the transaxle right where the shift cable attaches to the unit.

I believe the MLPS is keyed so it can only be mounted one way, but there is an adjustment to the cable attachment so that when the lever shows you being in Park, the transaxle really is in park and not Reverse.

Tom

 

[1998v8sho]

Thanks for the advice man. Can I just replace the black wire entirely?

 

[jayro]

Thanks for the advice man. Can I just replace the black wire entirely?

Replacing the wire would fix it if the wire was broke somewhere. If you find where the wire starts and ends you can ohm it to see if you have continuity. If you do then the wire is good. I believe what people are saying is that there are certian relays along the path of that wire and the likely culprit is that one of them is bad. You could check for voltage before each relay. If you have voltage before it, but not after then you just found an issue. Or you could probably jump the relay and see if it works. Just be careful not to have your hand some place bad if it turns over. For saftey sake I would probably unplug the DIS to make sure the car doenst actually start instead of just turning over. Good Luck

 

[LeddZepp8687]

Well, whatever you do, don't do the last thing you mentioned! That will cause your starter to crank as long as the wire is attached. I assume with the 3.2 it is an automatic car, so you have to find out why that black wire is not getting 12 volts when you turn the key to "start".

The shift lever has to be in Park or Neutral for the 12 volts to get through, though without my wiring diagrams at hand, I can't tell you how to trouble shoot it. The shift lever position is monitored by the MLPS Manual Lever Position Sensor which is on top of the transaxle right where the shift cable attaches to the unit.

I believe the MLPS is keyed so it can only be mounted one way, but there is an adjustment to the cable attachment so that when the lever shows you being in Park, the transaxle really is in park and not Reverse.

Tom

What he said, I had an extremely intermittent no start condition that turned out to be an MLP..

FWIW, Stright from Ford:

TR/MLP Sensor Resistance Tests

Set ohmmeter to 1000 ohm range.
Connect the positive lead of the ohmmeter to the TR/MLP jack.
Connect the negative lead of the ohmmeter to the SIGRTN jack.
Move transmission range selector lever into each gear position.
Record resistance at each position.
Refer to the following chart for values.
If out of range refer to Pinpoint Test D in the service manual or transmission reference manual.

Transmission Gear Selector Position Resistance (ohms)
Minimum Maximum
PARK 3770 4607
REVERSE 1304 1593
NEUTRAL 660 807
OVERDRIVE 361 442
SECOND/DRIVE** 190 232
MANUAL 1 78 95

TERMINAL DESCRIPTIONS

196 Power Feed
199 TR Sensor Signal
359 Sensor Signal Return
463 Liftgate Release Circuit
33 Starter Circuit
140 Backup Lamp Circuit
298 Fused Accy Feed
32 Starter Circuit


I hope this helps, you can atleast check for power and such...

 

[1998v8sho]

Thanks for the wealth of information guys. I was able to get a starter circuit diagram (trying to read it and understand it as I write this) from a master technician from Pep Boys. His guess after testing the starter (passed) is that it may be the little ground wire (black) that hooks on the starter solenoid or a blown fuse. Where can I find the fuse box and what fuse would it be? I am not that familiar on the Gen IIs yet. So this is a learning process for me. The SHO is in immaculate condition inside and out. I would love to get it back up and running.

 

[Off Road SHO]

The little black wire is not a ground wire. The starter solenoid is grounded through its frame to the bell housing where the big 4 or 2 Guage battery ground cable is attached with a "stud bolt".

That little black wire is the wire that carries 12 volts to the solenoid when you turn the key to "start". Not "On", but "start". However like I and others have mentioned, there are other conditions that must be met for that 12 volt trip voltage to get through to the black wire.

Tom

 

[1998v8sho]

Well guys...I have installed the new starter, changed the ground wire, and the little black wire (what a pain in the ass), checked all the voltage readings and everything looks fine except for the little black wire. Had a buddy of mine sit in the car and try to crank it and I was under it with a meter trying to get a reading. There is no juice flowing through it.
My next guess is that there has to be a fuse that is out.
Where is the fuse box?
What fuse controls the starter?

Does anyone have a diagram of the fuse box?

Thanks you all for helping.

 

[93rev2sev]

This is an ATX...

I've heard tell of a fuse that makes ATXs not start (I don't do ATX shos so I can't recall from memory). I think it has something to do with the coolant level sensor. Someone will chime in with the fuse number but you can google "Ford owners manual" and the first unsponsored result will take you to a site where you can D/L the owners manual, which should lay out the fuse panel for you.

 

[hawkeye18]

Yeah, a shorted coolant level sensor will blow the IGN fuse, which of course is what the wire that sends the start signal to the starter is on. IIRC it's a 10A fuse.

Triple-check the MLPS. I had an ATX that didn't want to start for the longest time because the MLPS was going bad.

 

[1998v8sho]

I do remember the previous owner telling me that there was a coolant leak. He gave me the hose for it. I have not replaced that hose yet. He mentioned that the leak was very small. He would have to put new coolant in the SHO every 2-3 months. Where is the coolant level sensor located?

The SHO is a 1994 3.2 ATX that I bought about a month ago.

 

[1998v8sho]

Well today I installed the new starter, checked to make sure that all the wires, ground, positive cable, and the little black wire, are getting juice. They tested out fine. I checked the fuse box by the firewall, driver's side, all look good. Still the SHO is not starting. My next guess is the ignition switch. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks,

 

[pjtoledo]

per a 95 book: power goes into the ignition switch on a heavy yellow wire. in the start position power is applied to and leaves via the W/PK wire. it then goes to a splice jointwhere the lamp out warning and power antenna module sample the voltsge. the main start volts go thru 2 connectors and into the tranny range selector sensor on the w/pk wire. if the tranny is in park or neutral the volts leave on a R/LB wire and go to another splice where the ignition control module samples the voltage. the main start signal then continues on the the starter on a R/LB wire,,,but you said black?


Perry

 

[1998v8sho]

The black wire that I am referring to is the wire that connects to the starter solenoid.