I just changed the plugs and alternator on my 1984 and now it won't start. It cranks but won't turn over. When I changed the alternator the small black wire on the back came loose and is now hanging disconnected, and I don't know where to reconnect it. Which wire is this, the field or stator wire, and where do I reconnect it? Also, would this effect spark? I did pour a little gas into the carb and still no firing, so its not a fuel issue. The truck was running before I did the work.

 

Well, I found out what the third wire is, a field ground, so I grounded it and still no results. The guys at Advance Auto Parts (three old guys who've seen this stuff before, all over 40), said that probably the solenoid has gone bad since this is a common occurance on older Fords. They don't stock the solenoid part of the coil system, but its worth pursuing.

Since I'm going down this road, would it worth it to invest the money in an aftermarket ignition system and replacement carb? I'm thinking this because if its fesible, then I might be able to get rid of the misc. vacuum hoses and emissions stuff that is all over the engine since I'm in a non-emission area. Any thoughts on this are appreciated.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions for the starting problem?

 

check codes first

 

sounds like no spart. I would check all the wires and make sure they are all hooked up right. Also if you changed the Alt you should change the voltage regulator on the drivers side quarter panel in the engine bay. Its a chrome little silver box. I was having current problems and that fixed that part. Its like a $10 part at autozone. So try that out. I have an 84 as well. Also I got way better performance when I changed the cap and rotor and the plugs so you might want to look into that.

 

Well, instead of trying to trouble shoot the current ignition system (wires are all hacked up), I'm going to replace it with the older DuraSpark system so its more reliable.

Thanks for the tip about the voltage regulator, I'll pick one of those up and swap it out this weekend.