Hello all I just recently bought an 05 manual Mustang GT for cheap knowing it would have some issues that I would have to fix but it seems the issues are a little too hard for me and a mechanic to figure out and was hoping some people who are smarter than me here could help me get it back up and running again. So here's what's been going on. I bought it late January and when I bought it, it would turn on and run fine (drove it 45 min home with no issues at highway speeds), then a few days later it died on me while idling at a friends house (I was idling for 20-30 minutes and had previously driven it for 10-20 minutes), I suspected something fuel related and replaced the fuel pump and checked the fp reset switch but replacing the fuel pump didn't seem to help. Checked fuses and they all looked ok.
Some info about it. Looks like it was in a light fender bender where the bumper was hit just enough to crack the areas where the bolts are holding it on under the radiator cover but it was so light that with the hood closed you can't even tell. Also (and probably important) the P.O. had cut the head lights, fog lights, and turn signal lights off and the wiring for them needs to be repaired. Im wondering if its a possible short that is causing this. I plan on finding the right gauge wire and reconnecting them. On the instrument cluster the gas gauge didn't work but I traced it back and it turned out a wire was disconnected. Reconnecting it got the gas gauge working again. PO said that he "installed" a bypass so that the car could start without the clutch being engaged (possibly because the clutch sensor is bad and he lied maybe?)
ABS light and Traction Control light are on. I pulled the DTC codes and its got a few!
B2627 U1900 C1165 P2068 P1000 P0833 P0830 P0198
Anyways, the symptoms themselves are that it started to regularly die on me. For the first start up of the day it would start right up no problem but after around 20-30 minutes of idling or driving (it would die while I'm at speeds of 20-30 mph) it would die. If I waited 15-25 minutes for it to cool down it would eventually turn back on for only 5 or so more minutes and then die again until I let it cool down. When it shut off it would crank normally but would not actually start. Crank didn't sound slowed down or anything like that.
At the time I was getting pretty busy with work so I decided to look around for reputable mechanics in town and found this guy who has been in business for 35 years and the reviews all seemed pretty good. Took it to him and after 2 months he couldn't figure it out but I suspect its because after I dropped my car off he got a huge influx of other cars to repair too which I think may have been a contributor on why he wasn't able to fix it. I told him my main suspicions were the crank shaft sensor and pcm and he supposedly only tested the crank sensor and said it was good. He also tested fuses and other things he thought could be the problem but after 2 months just couldn't even point me in the right direction.
Once I got to the shop it wouldn't even turn on. Jumping the battery didn't help either. It would just crank no start so I had to call a tow truck. Once home I noticed that there was a wire connector that was disconnected and Im not sure what it connects to. It was in between the pcm and the throttle body. Ill probably attach a picture later.
Well 2 weeks ago since my main suspicions were the pcm I sent it to get tested and today got a call that its good and that its saying 3 modules are bad (didn't say which ones but I'm fairly certain one is the abs module) and that its probably a wiring problem.
This mustang sure is proving to be a headache but Im wondering if any smart people here have seen any issues like this before. My main suspicions now are possibly that the abs module needs to be rebuilt/replaced, there is a bad diode or something burnt on the instrument cluster that is messing up the communication with the pcm, maybe a bad pcm diode, a short or multiple shorts because of the headlights and disconnected sensors, possibly replace the 2nd sending unit (but im not sure how this would cause the car to die while driving or idling) although I do have a spare sending unit too, maybe I need 2 new keys and to program them because I only got 1 key the spare key and maybe the car isn't getting a good signal from it, probably certainly replace the clutch position sensor, and getting a new engine oil temp sensor and wheel speed sensor would probably get rid of those other CEL codes.
Are my main suspects at least the majority of possible problems to you seasoned mechanics? Maybe someone has seen issues like this before? Im going to try to work on the wiring first but can anyone confirm the headlight wire gauge size? After the wiring is done going to make sure no cables or sensors are disconnected, then take a look at what's causing the abs and tc light to stay on (doesn't disappear no matter how long i press them), and go from there.
Some info about it. Looks like it was in a light fender bender where the bumper was hit just enough to crack the areas where the bolts are holding it on under the radiator cover but it was so light that with the hood closed you can't even tell. Also (and probably important) the P.O. had cut the head lights, fog lights, and turn signal lights off and the wiring for them needs to be repaired. Im wondering if its a possible short that is causing this. I plan on finding the right gauge wire and reconnecting them. On the instrument cluster the gas gauge didn't work but I traced it back and it turned out a wire was disconnected. Reconnecting it got the gas gauge working again. PO said that he "installed" a bypass so that the car could start without the clutch being engaged (possibly because the clutch sensor is bad and he lied maybe?)
ABS light and Traction Control light are on. I pulled the DTC codes and its got a few!
B2627 U1900 C1165 P2068 P1000 P0833 P0830 P0198
Anyways, the symptoms themselves are that it started to regularly die on me. For the first start up of the day it would start right up no problem but after around 20-30 minutes of idling or driving (it would die while I'm at speeds of 20-30 mph) it would die. If I waited 15-25 minutes for it to cool down it would eventually turn back on for only 5 or so more minutes and then die again until I let it cool down. When it shut off it would crank normally but would not actually start. Crank didn't sound slowed down or anything like that.
At the time I was getting pretty busy with work so I decided to look around for reputable mechanics in town and found this guy who has been in business for 35 years and the reviews all seemed pretty good. Took it to him and after 2 months he couldn't figure it out but I suspect its because after I dropped my car off he got a huge influx of other cars to repair too which I think may have been a contributor on why he wasn't able to fix it. I told him my main suspicions were the crank shaft sensor and pcm and he supposedly only tested the crank sensor and said it was good. He also tested fuses and other things he thought could be the problem but after 2 months just couldn't even point me in the right direction.
Once I got to the shop it wouldn't even turn on. Jumping the battery didn't help either. It would just crank no start so I had to call a tow truck. Once home I noticed that there was a wire connector that was disconnected and Im not sure what it connects to. It was in between the pcm and the throttle body. Ill probably attach a picture later.
Well 2 weeks ago since my main suspicions were the pcm I sent it to get tested and today got a call that its good and that its saying 3 modules are bad (didn't say which ones but I'm fairly certain one is the abs module) and that its probably a wiring problem.
This mustang sure is proving to be a headache but Im wondering if any smart people here have seen any issues like this before. My main suspicions now are possibly that the abs module needs to be rebuilt/replaced, there is a bad diode or something burnt on the instrument cluster that is messing up the communication with the pcm, maybe a bad pcm diode, a short or multiple shorts because of the headlights and disconnected sensors, possibly replace the 2nd sending unit (but im not sure how this would cause the car to die while driving or idling) although I do have a spare sending unit too, maybe I need 2 new keys and to program them because I only got 1 key the spare key and maybe the car isn't getting a good signal from it, probably certainly replace the clutch position sensor, and getting a new engine oil temp sensor and wheel speed sensor would probably get rid of those other CEL codes.
Are my main suspects at least the majority of possible problems to you seasoned mechanics? Maybe someone has seen issues like this before? Im going to try to work on the wiring first but can anyone confirm the headlight wire gauge size? After the wiring is done going to make sure no cables or sensors are disconnected, then take a look at what's causing the abs and tc light to stay on (doesn't disappear no matter how long i press them), and go from there.