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[DaveM]

Added seafoam to old gas at spring start up and and again to fresh tank of gas.  Inside of tank looks OK

Installed new fuel filters, air filter and fuel pump. Cat is not plugged, and no sign of vacuum leak per smoke test.

suggestions?

Mechanic wants to use his modern engine analyzer for a "data stream" while the engine is running.
Can that be done? Where would he plug in?

[EShepherd]

Added seafoam to old gas at spring start up and and again to fresh tank of gas.  Inside of tank looks OK

Installed new fuel filters, air filter and fuel pump. Cat is not plugged, and no sign of vacuum leak per smoke test.

suggestions?

Mechanic wants to use his modern engine analyzer for a "data stream" while the engine is running.
Can that be done? Where would he plug in?

Yeah, your tech is SOL there bud. I don't even think the old STAR machines or whatever the heck Ford used back in the day was capable of seeing the actual data going to the ECM.

I'm not super familiar with the non-turbo cars, but I would suspect something with the distributor or maybe something with the throttle position sensor. Have you checked them at all?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

[DaveM]

Thanks - will pass that along to the mechanic.

Can anyone tell me how to check for codes - where to plug in?  and would the plug accommodate a modern tester.   

[Rocketman]

There isn't a modern computer / tester that will work with the Capri.
You can use the internal diagnostics - jumper a plug underhood and it will flash the Check Engine Light with a pattern that can be easily decoded, to see if the ECU is unhappy with anything.

Ford had a Special Service Tool, that plugged in place of the car harness & ECU, that you could pinpoint test any sensor or ecu output, but they are rare and require specialized knowledge to be used. (you would need to manually test each sensor with a multimeter/oscilliscope, the tool just gave you a convenient set of test points all in one place) The electronics tech dates to the late 80s, early 90s - before On Board Diagnostics were standard - It was 1996 when OBD-II was federally mandated / standardized (the current onboard diagnostics standard) Just to reiterate here, and for anyone doing a Google search in the future here: there's no way to connect a modern scanner / scantool / engine analyzer to the ECU to see whats going on.

The N/A capri are now notorious for cracking the intake tube between the throttle body an VAF meter, pull & inspect, especially underside. The vacuum leak issue persists anywhere behind the VAF - not just behind the throttlebody (hard to test for with smoke machine)

[DaveM]

Thank you Rocket Man!

Could you be a more specific when you say jumper a plug under the hood?  (I don't want to fry anything)

I assume the jump wires should be connected to each other to close a circuit

where is the plug under the hood and how many pins?  I see 2 unused plugs hanging near the firewall on the drivers side - one plug has 2 prongs and the other has at least 5 prongs.  We are talking about jumping the 2 prong plug? correct?

Also is there there a doc which indicates what each flashing sequence means?

Does the car need to be running when this is done? and if there are multiple issues will the check engine light show each flashing sequence?

Thank you again for your help!

[EShepherd]

Thank you Rocket Man!

Could you be a more specific when you say jumper a plug under the hood?  (I don't want to fry anything)

I assume the jump wires should be connected to each other to close a circuit

where is the plug under the hood and how many pins?  I see 2 unused plugs hanging near the firewall on the drivers side - one plug has 2 prongs and the other has at least 5 prongs.  We are talking about jumping the 2 prong plug? correct?

Also is there there a doc which indicates what each flashing sequence means?

Does the car need to be running when this is done? and if there are multiple issues will the check engine light show each flashing sequence?

Thank you again for your help!

Back on the firewall where you are looking, there should be a single pin green connector. You want to jumper that to engine ground (any bare metal on the engine - valve cover, head, block, whatever). Then turn the key to 'On', and count the CEL flashes.

http://web.archive.org/web/20151002171125/http://techcapri.home.comcast.net/~techcapri/ServiceManuals/1991/Section%2015%20-%20EEC%20and%204EAT%20Quick%20Test.pdf That's the section of the FSM you want. Page 15-8 will tell you  what the flashes are trying to point you towards.

Hope that helps