help on diagnostics ford mustang 1986 gt 5.0 8 cylinder

Asked by MustangTerrence May 26, 2011 at 07:36 PM about the 1986 Ford Mustang GT Coupe RWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

2 Weeks Ago My Car Started Cutting Off While I Was Driving, When I Turned It On It Worked. The Next Day After This Started Happening My Turned Off Again, I Started It Up. About 15 Mins Later It Turned Off While I Was Driving And It Wouldn't Start Anymore, The Lights Still Worked, I Got A Jump From A Passerby, No Luck. They Commented That The Screws On The Battery Was Pretty Loose, But One Side Was Always Loose,also The Battery Is Brand New.I Got It Towed To My Home, The Next Morning The Battery Was Completely Dead.Today I Went And Got The Battery Charged, The Lights Work Fine And Everything Else Does, But When I Try To Start My Car All I Hear Is A Clicking Sound. It's Been Recomended To Me That The Problem Could Be The Solenoid, Wiring Or The Alternator.

9 Answers

265

How old are your battery cables, they may need replacing... You shouldn't have "loose screws" on your battery, but I am not sure what you are talking about. All battery connections need to be clean and tight.

I mean the negative electric connection on the car battery was a little loose because the cables are old, but the car was running for a full week before any problems came up

265

You need new cables.. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to replace. Do it before you do another thing.

The replacement of the cable is good.if you can place a screwdriver across both connectors on the solenoid, and it tries to start,you may also have a bad solenoid.could be two ,small,different issues.

I would check the alternator as well. If the car cut out after you replaced the battery, another source could be draining the juice out of the new battery.

Sounds like bad gas/ dirt in your tank. Try blowing out the fuel filter and see if that helps

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