Help for a newbie

[86 5.0 Capri]

Have a 1986 Mercury Capri 5.0 that has been modded including removal of EFI and installation of normal aspiration (Carb). The previous owner set this car up nice as a street/bracket car and my wife fell in love with the looks so now it is her pride and joy.

Now the help part. A week or so ago she said it started cutting out like running out of fuel then backfired and died. Being the typical male, I told her must be something she did and drove it a day or two and found the same thing, an occasional hesitation and if you feathered the throttle it would usually recover. Initial diganosis - water in the fuel and or partially clogged fuel filter. (The car has and externally mounted Holley Rotary fuel pump and filter as part of the EFI conversion.)

Added some fuel dryer and she reported it only did it once or twice the next few days so figured that may be the issue until last night. She started the car and while idling to warm up it died. Engine cranks but no fire, and NO FUEL PUMP running. Towed car home and dove into wiring for fuel pump and cannot get any power to the fuel leads using good test light etc. Checked the threads in this forum, and looked for fuel pump reset, found something similar to pics but belived it has been bypassed by previous owner. reset anyway and still no power to fuel pump with key in run position.

Also when the key is turned to the run position to check power, the ignition coil gets really warm really quick. Could the fuel pump power somehow be routed through the coil and a bad coil be my problem?

By the way I hooked the existing holley pump to an external 12v source and it ran fine, so the issue seems to be power from the car wiring circuit as opposed to the fuel pump. Also I noticed when it hesitated when I drove it that the stock tachometer would fluctuate, also indicating a possible electric issue?

The cars previous owner is a relative of mine and unavailable for consultation as he is turning wrenches for Clay Millican, on his top fuel dragster. So need some help if possible tyo keep momma's whells rolling!


Thanks

5.0-less in Oregon

[86 5.0 Capri]

Yahoo, found the problem. The previous owener had installed an aftermarket fuel poump relay on the firewall of the engine compartment. So after tracing the loom and wiggling all the wires, I found the culprit - a loose relay that was not grounding properly. After tightening it down we are back on the road and Momma can spank all those other wanna be hot rods around town.

Another benefit is that I found this forum so will stay in touch and maybe talk and post some pics of the wife's hot rod.

Thanks all

86 5.0 Capri

[n8r]

nice, only took you two hours!! Now that its fixed, post some pics in our "Show your stuff" forum and introduce yourself in the introduction forum. Welcome to ME

[lowflyn]

Awesome, I read your post earlier but had absolutley no idea on that one lol, glad you got it fixed

[86 5.0 Capri]

Will do, as soon as I get the car put back together. Nothing major, just the fuel pump electrical and lots of interior trim panels necessary to trace wiring etc. Of course need a test drive to although its raining so may have to delay on the test drive.

86 Capri