Forgotten Ground Connections After Engine Pull/Reinstall

[David]

Hey everyone. This my first time on any sort of forum like this on the internet and I hope I'm in the right place. I'll try to make it short and sweet. My project car is a 2002 Ford Mustang GT with the TR3650. I bought it last year and over the course of about 14-15 months (slowly but surely lol) I have pulled the engine and transmission and fixed all the gremlins the car came with. I think so anyway! Over that time I must say I have forgotten a couple of connections, if they were in fact connected to something, and was hoping some of the nice folks here could point me in the right direction. Pictured below is a ground cable going from the right front quarter panel to somewhere in the engine bay. With the past history of this car (had to have an engine swap, questionable shops doing the work, etc.) I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't go to anything. It is questionable if the harness was from the engine's old vehicle. I mean, there are a couple of pigtails that are coming from the intake valley that I assume are knock sensors (?) in the block but I have nowhere to plug them in.

On another but not so different note. After I completed the reinstall the other day, I went to fire it up and...nothing... I noticed the fuel pump wasn't kicking on, and there was no fuel pressure after multiple cranking cycles. Everything else seemed to be ok. I sprayed a shot of starting fluid in the intake and it fired right up, so I know everything is working as it should. I'm not sure if these two things are related or not, but I want to nail down the ground wiring to rule that out as the reason for the fuel pump (again, assuming it connects to something). It's going to be annoying if the pump went out simply from sitting, although I know that's not necessarily unheard of. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[07GtS197]

That ground strap attaches to the hood on the hinge.

When you’re cranking, is the theft light flashing? Is the odometer reading numbers or dashes? I doubt it’s the pump itself but something else. Oh and check all of your fuses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ttocs]

take some pics of those other harnesses.

 

[David]

That ground strap attaches to the hood on the hinge.

When you’re cranking, is the theft light flashing? Is the odometer reading numbers or dashes? I doubt it’s the pump itself but something else. Oh and check all of your fuses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input!

Ah that's why I couldn't figure it out! Haha, I sort of remember that now. So I can respond to part of that... When I turn the key to the ON position, the odometer lights up and shows the mileage, and the theft light comes on with everything else, then turns off. Once I begin cranking, the theft light turns off after about 2 seconds and remains off until I stop. The odometer goes blank once the cranking starts and stays that way until I stop. As for the fuses, that will have to wait till this evening when I have more time to mess with it.

take some pics of those other harnesses.

Which harnesses would you like to see?

 

[Rich]

I applaud you for your work. I too have torn down my car, a 2004 GT Convertible, as my CCP virus lock-down project, it's actually coming up on a year since I started it and have not been able to park another car in my garage since!

First, I would direct your attention to the fuel pump safety shutoff switch (it's actually a button) that is in the trunk, on the back firewall of the driver side. Check to see if that was triggered. You should just be able to push it and reset it. If that doesn't work, then fuses would definitely be your next bet. About a month back, I finally broke down and purchased the 3" thick Ford Service Manual which among other things, has several different troubleshooting steps to take for various scenarios. I'm sure the collective knowledge of this forum has the same, but if you end up wanting a picture of each variable in a nice table, let me know and I'll post it.

 

[David]

I applaud you for your work. I too have torn down my car, a 2004 GT Convertible, as my CCP virus lock-down project, it's actually coming up on a year since I started it and have not been able to park another car in my garage since!

First, I would direct your attention to the fuel pump safety shutoff switch (it's actually a button) that is in the trunk, on the back firewall of the driver side. Check to see if that was triggered. You should just be able to push it and reset it. If that doesn't work, then fuses would definitely be your next bet. About a month back, I finally broke down and purchased the 3" thick Ford Service Manual which among other things, has several different troubleshooting steps to take for various scenarios. I'm sure the collective knowledge of this forum has the same, but if you end up wanting a picture of each variable in a nice table, let me know and I'll post it.

Thanks! That sounds like me, except covid has made me almost less productive in my hobbies haha. As for those pictures, sure! I'm always down to learn new information.

All of the fuses are intact. The shutoff is not triggered.

Today when I was out there, I did notice a clicking sound when I turned the key to the ON position. It was fairly loud (in a sense, for an electrical *click*) sounded like it was coming from the CCRM area, but I currently don't have a second person to help me so I can have them turn the key while I listen to be certain.

 

[ttocs]

get a meter and test the two wires going to the inertia switch in the trunk. You might need a helper for this to turn the key on while you watch the meter. Ground one side of the meter somewhere easy and then check both of the wires going into the switch one at a time, with the key on. You should see 12v to them for a few seconds after turning on the key. If the switch is bad you will only see it on one wire and if its not getting any signal on either wire then we need to look further up.

You checked all the fuses under the hood as well right?

 

[David]

get a meter and test the two wires going to the inertia switch in the trunk. You might need a helper for this to turn the key on while you watch the meter. Ground one side of the meter somewhere easy and then check both of the wires going into the switch one at a time, with the key on. You should see 12v to them for a few seconds after turning on the key. If the switch is bad you will only see it on one wire and if its not getting any signal on either wire then we need to look further up.

You checked all the fuses under the hood as well right?

All is well with the inertia switch. So even though I could physically see the under hood fuse for the fuel pump was fine, I pulled it with the key in the ON position and when I went to plug it back in, I heard a electronic buzz/whine/whimper coming from the CCRM area. I was at the engine bay, obviously, so I am pretty certain of where the sound was coming from this time...Not sure if that is an indicator of anything necessarily but...that's more information for now. Until tomorrow...

 

[ttocs]

so you had 12v on both wires with the key on?

 

[David]

so you had 12v on both wires with the key on?

Sorry, no. I was responding as if I were affirming the negative aspect to troubleshooting. I honestly don't even know what I was trying to say there...it was a long day. To clarify, no, neither wire was receiving 12 volts.

Also, for what it's worth, more info that may or may not be relevant. I just pieced this together for some reason...I know the CCRM controls the radiator fan. For a split second when I was first trying to start the car, the fan spun up for about a second, then quit. It hasn't done anything since. I thought it was bizarre at the time, but didn't think anything of it. Like I said, not sure if it means anything, just throwing that out there as well.

 

[David]

Update:

I checked the fuses in the engine bay box, and somewhere along the way it blew the fuel pump fuse. So I replaced that...and nothing. I had disconnected the CCRM because I was going to test it but then found the bad fuse. So I reconnected the CCRM and swapped the fuse and now when I go to turn the key it just gives off a rapid clicking sound and the lights flicker and nothing else happens. Now, the radio won't even come on when it did before. Thoughts?

 

[ttocs]

Have you checked that fuse since you had the key on again? If the pump was bad/clogged it could blow the fuse when powered on again.

 

[07GtS197]

Sounds like a dying battery.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[David]

Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of posting. Life got hectic for a while....

The car runs! It was in fact the fuel pump. I pulled it and hooked it directly to 12V and I could tell it was stuck, and it eventually freed itself and spun but didn't sound great. So I replaced it and haven't had a problem since! It's crazy to think that just sitting can make a part go bad like that. Assuming that is the original pump, which I believe it is, it has only gone through 60,000 miles worth of work.

Now just a couple other things and it's good to go. But I'll have to start a new thread for that probably...

Thanks to everyone for their input! I really do appreciate it, even though my late response may say otherwise.