Ford Mustang Mach I

1978 Ford Mustang Mach I Ignition System Upgrade When starting Always

we put an 78 electronic ignition in to a 69 351w. the problem is matching up the wiring. we wired it color for color and nowwhen you try to drive it the car will shut off. Are we missing a wire some were or could you explain how to do this correctly?

Does it stall after driving for a while? If it does you may have a defective module (it happens new right out of the box) or a bad ignition coil.

Or does it stall as soon as you put it in gear?

it stalls within a minute or two. it is a new module. also should we have a wire going from the module to the starter silnoid

Can you tell me the manufacturer or brand of conversion kit you have installed?

1972 Ford Mustang Mach I Electrical / Lighting Systems   

i replaced,starter,alternator, voltage regulator,starter solonoid, starter cable, neg battery cable, positive battery cable,have ordered a new alternator harness,from alt to voltage reg.
the ground cable is grounded to engine, the extra neg lead from battery grounded to fender.i chrage the battery run it one day 20 mile trip,an hour to hour and half later won't have enough battery to even excite the solonoid.low to no lights, Tested for open circuit for constant drain nothing there, No draw.I have polished every bolt that would serve as gound.What am I missing? tested new alt, solonoid, regulator, they all tested good

I would have the system tested by a shop with a AVR tester. Might be battery or a regulator that has a different amperage rating than the alternator. One out of every 20-30 alternators and starters from the rebuilders is a dead player to begin with. Had a similar problem with a '69 cougar, till I changed the alt 2 x . Have the alternator tested under load, as thats where most fail.

1971 Ford Mustang Mach I Ignition System Making Noise Happens sometimes When warm 

I have a 71 mach 1 351W motor that we have installed in a 86 E350 van..., should we do away with the 86 351W Duraspark ignition and install a 71 points distributor..? we are getting valvetrain noise at a leveled out throttle with little/no load on the engine..., the engine has been rebuilt recently...,thanks

Hi;
This question has been up for awhile. The best way to go about it is get rid of the timing light. Keep the distributor you got. Leave the distributor loose enough to where you can still turn it. As you are driving down the road turn the distributor only about 1/16 of an inch at a time. as soon as the noise goes away. You will be there. This is the only way I time Vans. I have been doing it for 20 years and it works. Good Luck Les.

1971 Ford Mustang Mach I Ignition System Lagging When accelerating Always

I have a dead spot while accelarating or when hitting the gas. The engine is a 351C 4V, the distributor is a MDS which I changed the wieghts and springs which seemed to help quite abit. But the problem is still there. Is this in the ignition or carb set up? The carb is a edelbrock.
Also does MDS make a lower profile distributor or cap for this engine. The orignal air cleaner base does not fit with this unit.

thanks Dave

the dead spot or lagging could be the pump in the carb also it could be slack in the timing chain

need reply

1970 Ford Mustang Mach I Ignition System   

When trying to start the car the the ignition stays on even when the key switch is turned off. I have replaced the firewall solenoid but still have the problem. Any ideas?

Be 100% sure the two small wires on the solenoid are in correct. They are marked 's' for starter and 'i' for ignition.
Get them on wrong and you will get your symptoms. Can be tested with a test light, 'I' terminal should have power when key 'on'. 'S' Terminal should have power only when cranking.
If that is not the problem, remove the 'i' wire and temporarily run a wire from that solenoid terminal to battery '+'. Start the car, then disconnect the temp wire. Car should stop running.
If that happens reconect factory wire and test start.
If problem persists then you require an ignition switch on the dash.