It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

[dcunn]

For no reason, whilst driving normally, the engine stopped, it was as though the ignition had been turned off.

It's a Hunter with a 1996-7 Ford 2300 dohc.

Starter motor whirls it over fine, but the AA guy said there's no spark and no fuel injection.

He guessed at the crank sensor - wrong - a new one makes no difference.

I'm trying to look within the electrical system, it's almost as though there's a wire adrift somewhere (can't see one)
.................normally turning the ignition on causes a momentary rattle from the front fuel pump but it's not doing
that now so it appears the sparks aren't getting through to it.

Suggestions please before I give up and seek help.........could a relay (and which one?) suddenly have failed ?

T I A DC

[cameronfurnival]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

On the fuel pump relay (often coloured yellow) is a fuse. Thats worth a check. Also, if there's no pump and no spark maybe the feed to the ecu has come adrift? I take it its on fuel injection? Often the live for the ecu and fuel pump is common.

Hope this helps

[CosworthCabrioLee]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

Scrap it dc buy a mx5 lol will give you a buzz tomorrow

[cameronfurnival]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

I had an mk1 MX5 for a while, hated it! Yes it was very accomplished but oh so boring. I bought the missus an MGF and we still have that - dont know why but I prefer it, handling not as good, doesnt feel as fast (though technically not much in it), hood is not as easy to fold, no a/c, etc etc but for some reason I love it! Maybe its the internal masochist in me - and that may account for the fact Im building a kit car? After all - if things dont break what will you do in your spare time? Trust me after sitting on my behind for a few months Jeremy Kyle is no substitute for having a good fiddle with a wiring loom.

Let us know what happens next...

[dcunn]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

Thanks CF and LH...S*d the MX5, CF has it right about J Kyle as well IMHO
- and yes, I agree about a good fiddle with a wiring loom WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND/OR LOOKING FOR !

I'll go see if I can find a yellow relay & fuse, so far failed to find any cause for the problem, all fuses that I have seen are OK ( some in pass. footwell, some under bonnet pass. side)
and no loose wires. All looks OK around ign switch area. The inertia switch seems to rattle and reset so I guess it's OK

What is the arrowed item...is it the socket for the OBD, or just a connector to other not used bits of loom ? (Pardon my ignorance, "electric" cars are a new thing to me )

Thanks, rgds DC

[terryreed1664]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

DC, It does sound as if there's no power going to the ECU, I think Cameron may be right.
Terry

[Dane_Rescueman]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

Does the pump run? If not it may be the AMM not signalling the computer to run the pump via the relay. Another thought, did you fit the crash switch? worth checking that too.
You will have checked the ignition relay, Ign fuse and the pump fuse relay as above. Good luck with it!

[dcunn]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

You know guys it would be good to know what all these parts look like, and I don't even have a full wiring diagram
to help !

Many thanks to all for your advice, I'm now going to go and try the ideas out.

David Spolton is coming round to help tomorrow and bring the loom destined for his "still in work" Cabrio so that
should give a few parts to try and play with.

Failing that, the car's being collected later on by a man with all the diagnostic kit at his garage.

Watch this space

[cameronfurnival]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

Good luck with it Dave. I guess it depends on which parts the marlin loom carries over. In my romero Im using a PWS loom and I had to splice the engine bay loom with ECU (eec iv) into it - was easy as it turns out - just had to make sure there was a switched and non-switched live and an earth then connect up the ancilliaries. I have the original ford relays - a white one for lights, a yellow one for lights and another yellow one with a fuse attached for the fuel pump. This last one takes its switched feed from the same junction as the ecu and its likely to be somewhere round there that you find your fault. Of course, it could be that your loom is unique in which case a couple of hours with an autolectrician will save you weeks of faffing about. I dont recognise that part in your pic so it might be something to do with your particular engine - if it has the appearance of heat sink fins then it may be an amplifier for the electronic ignition???

[dcunn]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

Back on the road again - sounds like song title !

David Spolton worked his magic and identified a relay that wasn't working, it had "1106" printed on it, guess it is the fuel pump relay.
Was a black one, now replaced with a yellow one

Real big thanks to all who commented here or who telephoned me....yet again, the strength and reason for the existence of this club

Just in case this will ever help anyone else with a Hunter, it was the one arrowed in this pic

Cheers to all DC

[CosworthCabrioLee]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

So does that mean your not going to the mx5 garage in the morning, pleased you mobile again.

[dcunn]

Re: It all went very quiet - thank goodness for the AA !

Lee - you get a two word response in which the second word is "off" !

We're going to the Peak Meet today in the Auris and tomorrow the Hunter gets some more TLC and put back together.