festiva no run

[K O D]

ok guys iam new hear and new to the world of festivas. my 1990 ford festiva automatic with 1.3l fuel injected over head cam, arived today on a trailor. well got it into the garage and put the battery charger on it charged the battery, it has a new battery, altenator, spark plugs and wires. well put the key in and all the little dinging noises started so i turned the key on over and all it did was make a humming noise it would not start for nothing. I checked all the fuses and they were all good;I have no clue what to do or what to start with, iam looking for some help from the festiva gods.....thanks for the help....curtis

[ToTalXS]

does it turn over?... if not i would say your starter maybe bad.....i would first start by checkin the connections on the starter....i have seen cars loose ground and not beable to start...... but imho that humming noise is the starter motor tryin to engage/spin and due to some unforseen reason its not turning...

[K O D]

no sir it doesnt try to turn over at all..... every once in a while u can hear the starter make a clack sound like its trying to ingage but it never does. wear about is the started located on a ford festiva? thanks for the help....curtis

[K O D]

my e-brake also doesnt appear to work do these stop working easily on a festiva and is there a quick fix to it. and one more thang what make and model header fits the 1990 ford festiva. thanks for the help....curtis

[Tim]

my e-brake also doesnt appear to work do these stop working easily on a festiva and is there a quick fix to it. thanks for the help....curtis

Very common problem with Festivas.

Usually the actuators rust and freeze up, and the cable snaps from the extra force needed to activate the parking brake.

If your actuators are rusted, squirt them with WD-40 or something.

If that doesn't work, replace the rear brake assemblies. I got fed up with the actuators sticking, not working or destroying the brake cable so I bit the bullet, and spent $50 on some non-frozen brakes from a junked Festiva.


Regards,

Tim

[bassman]

check the ground cable.
it may be corroded or may look fine .
mine would light up the lights and run all the stuff inside but hit the key to start and nothing.
it was my ground.
take your jumper cables and ground the battery to the spot on the engine where you hook up the chain to pull the motor and see if it starts .

shayne

[PaulLehr]

My 90L used to have the same problem. Ir was one wire tat connects to the starter on a spade type terminal. it was all corroded and covered with oil from the many years of abuse it had from the previous owner

[K O D]

ok i did bassmans trick and the starter started to make a clack clack sound, it would do it about 3 times per key turning and then just humm like before, but then the battery died. so should i just crawl under there and check out all the wires going to the starter and if all else fails cross the starter to see if that works, after ive cleaned all the wires with a wire brush and made sure there all tight. I reall do appericate the fast responses and major help from u guys thanks alot great form, i hope to be apart of it for a long time. thanks for the help...curtis

[K O D]

ok guys now that i got a good battery in the thing it will turn over freely and as long as u got the key turned but it just wont start. what is the deal or what should i try next. thanks for the help...curtis

[K O D]

ok the coil is bad so is the coil out of the aspire and the 1990 ford festiva the same, what year would the coil off the aspire be for if they are the same. thanks for the help....curtis

[Safety Guy]

Ok the coil is bad so is the coil out of the aspire and the 1990 ford festiva the same...

Nope! Hold it right there!

According to my '94 Aspire shop manual, the ignition coil is integral with the distributor, and that should be the same with all subsequent Aspires.

The Festiva coil is separate from its distributor and is located on the left strut tower.

Look for another Festy coil in the 'yard, or buy a new one.

Karl

[K O D]

ok i was told that a msd blaster 2 coil would fit right in but i looked at one and my coil has 2 wire harnesses so how am i susposed to fix that up.