I'll try to make it as brief as possible. I just put a rebuilt 454 in with a Ford solenoid for the starter. It did run strong until this last Sun. I put my cowl hood on and ran the car for a half hour. I shut it down and tried to restart it about 10 mins later.Keep in mind I broke the engine in at the end of Jan. Anyways, I turned the key and it clicked for a few seconds then died. I figured I killed another starter from heat soak. I replaced the starter tonight, turned the key to the run position, lights and fans came on, then click dead. This is an 85 Berlinetta with a digital Dash. Now here are some of the symptoms....No clicking from the solenoid when I turn the key, but when I turn the key off, my alarm will come on, but there is no power to anything else. Even stranger, if I push the headlight button, the lights don't come on and the computer by the heater core starts buuzzing. I think the computer might be toast, but I honestly have no idea. I was going to take the car out of storage this weekend, so I'm desparate for ideas.
Thanks to everyone that responds

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85 Berlinetta Iroc exterior NOW 454 powered, 4.10 gears, and a PILE of other goodies..........YES, it's street driven!

check it out at http://www.bsronline.net/members/rob/rob_specs.html

 

Rob,

You ARE crazy! How the fork did you squeeze a Mk IV between the fenders on a Berlinetta and have any room for any exhaust? It must be a little cozy in there.

The digital dash is pretty much a stand-alone device, but does share some inputs with the ECM. The ECM buzzing doesn't sound like a good thing. With all your other electrical problems, I would suspect a poor connection from the battery to the body power node or a poor ground connection somewhere. A couple of quick checks with a voltmeter should take the mystery out of that. Most all the orange wires under the dash are IGNITION power, so they should provide battery voltage whenever the key is turned ON. If you are getting a reduced voltage at these circuits, you might have found your problem.

One quick way to determine if the ECM is at least working is to watch the SES lamp when you first turn on the ignition. The lamp should go on briefly, then off briefly, then back on and remain on until the engine is started or the ignition is turned off. This "flash" means that the ECM has passed some basic power-up tests and has a valid EPROM inserted in the socket. If the light doesn't flash once, you need to troubleshoot the ECM first. As mentioned, make sure the power and ground are there first.

Good luck. I'll be watching this one 'cause it sounds like a challenge.

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Later,
Vader
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"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
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Thanks Vader. The swap wasn't to difficult but the exhaust was a wee bit of a challenge. I'm going to check all my battery cables tomorrow. I got fed up tonight and left the car in pieces. Theproject was SUPPOSED to be done this weekend when I put the hood on, but of course something else had to go. It's a shame, the car ran REALLY strong.

 

It's running again!
I came home on my lunch break and put a new remote solenoid in, tightened my neg cable to the alt. bracket, and tightened the positive terminal on the battery. I'm not sure exactly did it, but everything seems normal now! I'll double check everything after work tonight when I have more time. Looks like I might be back on the road this weekend after all! Next job is to put my Biondo linelock in. It looks so lonely sitting on my dresser...........

Thanks,
Rob

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85 Berlinetta Iroc exterior NOW 454 powered, 4.10 gears, and a PILE of other goodies..........YES, it's street driven!

check it out at http://www.bsronline.net/members/rob/rob_specs.html