It Died! :(

[Bebop Man]

Was driving down the road, coming in from lunch, and wham! The Bronc sputtered a few times (like it was out of gas) and just shut off. When I turn the key, it rolls over, but doesn't fire. I still have electrical on the lights, all the belts are intact. No massive amounts of oil or other vehicular fluids.

So, what happened, where do I start looking? This is my work truck, too. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[broncodriver33]

Was driving down the road, coming in from lunch, and wham! The Bronc sputtered a few times (like it was out of gas) and just shut off. When I turn the key, it rolls over, but doesn't fire. I still have electrical on the lights, all the belts are intact. No massive amounts of oil or other vehicular fluids.
So, what happened, where do I start looking? This is my work truck, too. Any help is greatly appreciated

Could be the fuel pump is to blame. Did you check to see if you have any spark? Is the truck fuel injected if it is when you turn your key to the on position you should here your fuel pump run for a couple seconds.

 

[shift1313]

pull off your distributor cap and have someone crank it and see if your distributor is turning.

Ive had this happen to me a few times where the roll pin that holds the distributor drive gear on shears so the rotor doesnt turn anymore.

could also be fuel related. you really need to start checking the basics. you can pull the coil wire and rest it close to a ground point or something grounded, crank and see if you have spark. if no spark then pull the dist. cap and see if its moving. if it is then it might be your coil, wiring or the module on the dist itself. if its not moving then its probably your roll pin.

if you have spark then you need to look at your fuel system. you need fuel/spark and air to make the thing run.

did you have any error codes/lights pop up on your dash?

 

[BroncoJoe19]

If you don't hear your fuel pump run for a couple of seconds, then take a look under your dash driver's side pretty much up against the firewall for a switch with a little RED button. Make sure it is depresesd. It is your fuel pump inertia switch, if that triggers, it will shut the fuel pump off. It is a safety device in case of an accident.

 

[Bebop Man]

Ok, here's what I got....

1) When I turn the key, I hear the HP fuel pump charge the line.

2) No spark when I pull a plug.

3) the distributor rotates when I crank it.

So I'm definately missing spark, and I probably have fuel. I've pulled the ignition module and I'll get it tested at NAPA in the am.

Any other places I should look?

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Ok, here's what I got....
1) When I turn the key, I hear the HP fuel pump charge the line.

2) No spark when I pull a plug.

3) the distributor rotates when I crank it.

So I'm definately missing spark, and I probably have fuel. I've pulled the ignition module and I'll get it tested at NAPA in the am.

Any other places I should look?

Great informative post...

I got this from SeaBronc on another issue, but it may be informative for you.

I will post more in a few miutes.

<snip>

Does it act as though someone reached over your shoulder and turned the key off? If so, on older Duraspark electronic ignitions that was a classic symptom of a bad pick up coil in the distributor especially if it is followed by the symptom of it starts right up after having set for a while.

<snip>

joe

 

[BroncoJoe19]

IN addition you may want to pull diagnostic codes...

I found a great article on how to test for codes.

http://www.fordfuelinjection.com/files/self_test.pdf

This will be of particular interest to those with 1984 through 1988 models, but is also excellent for those up to the 1995 models.

 

[bko4x4er]

my moms car died....(2002 chevy camaro)...on her way to work and it would run but shut off. the mechanics tryed to tell us some ******** like...." the catylic converter clogged up with air "..or some gy shit like that...they said they ahd to drill a whole in the cat to fix it.

thats the stupidet thing ive ever heard.

 

[bidibronco]

I would hit the key and prime the fuel system then depress the little tire inflater looking thing and see if fuel comes out. If it doesn then you're getting fuel. If you're not getting spark I would hit the sides of the coil with a test light. If it blinks then your dizzy is good, if not, dizzy is bad.

 

[Bebop Man]

Well, NAPA tested my ICM, and it passed all three times.

I've got the Chilton manual, but there's little in the way of troubleshooting help, just tear-down and rebuild stuff.

Thoughts on where I go to next?

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Well, NAPA tested my ICM, and it passed all three times.
I've got the Chilton manual, but there's little in the way of troubleshooting help, just tear-down and rebuild stuff.

Thoughts on where I go to next?

Do you have a volt meter?

I'd bet that chilton should give testing instructions for your coil with a volt meter.

Make sure the coil wire is fully seated.

Pull diagnostic codes.

See where that leads you.

BidiBronco's suggestion of using a test light might work. I don't know exactly how to do it, but if it checks the dizzy, that would include what Seabronc refered to the pick up coil inside the distributor.

BTW... will it start now, that it is cold? If so... then you may consider getting that pick up coil checked.

Bidi, could you be more specific.. .proceedure wise.

 

[bidibronco]

On either side of the coil (where the two wires are, posotive and negative), hit the test light on both sides. What happens is that the posotive side gets hit with a negative to "ground it out" witch gives the spark to the center dizzy wire. It's kind of like a "tach" but just the light. Also, you can find a good ground for the ground of the test light and stick the other one on the posotive wire on the tach. It should blink, if it doesn't light up at all then there is no power to the coil, if it stays lit the dizzy isn't doing it's job by sending the "ground" pulse to the coil. Just be carefull, getting hit with the coil will wake you up in a bad way.

 

[bidibronco]

This is another way to test the coil. If you run a test light to either coil at the same time while cranking the engine, it should blink. Hope this helps?

This testing procedure is valid for most automotive coils. Using an ohmmeter, check the resistance between the side terminals of the coil. Do this with all of the wires to the coil disconnected. You should see 0.75 to 0.81 ohm of resistance. Then check the resistance between either side terminal and the center high tension terminal. The reading should be 10,000 to 11,000 ohms. Any significant deviation from these numbers would indicate that the coil is defective.

 

[shift1313]

check the condition of your dist cap and rotor button. if the gap is too large or there is corrosion on either side it will give you trouble. also the coils are cheap, i think mine was $15.

bko, the newer camaors mounted the dist cap behind the waterpump, stupidest thing ever. if your waterpump starts leaking a little it will ruin the cap, which is actually a pickup. i think they are like $125 or so.

 

[broncoman2004]

start off checking your coil wire, obviously make sure u got spark, but the same thing happened to me about 3 weeks ago.

 

[Bebop Man]

Ok, I swapped out the coil, and it ran for about 20 mins, then died.

Swapped out the pilot coil in the distributor, and the TFI-IV.

test light on the coil shows steady when I crank it, no blinking. No spark off the coil. I have +12 at the coil terminals.

Now I'm really pulling my hair out. :angry:

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Ok, I swapped out the coil, and it ran for about 20 mins, then died.
Swapped out the pilot coil in the distributor, and the TFI-IV.

test light on the coil shows steady when I crank it, no blinking. No spark off the coil. I have +12 at the coil terminals.

Now I'm really pulling my hair out. :angry:

WHen you replaced the TFI-IV ignition control module, did you use dielectric grease on the back of it?

According to Haynes, "it is essential for the cool operation of the module." IF NOT... could the module have burnt out?

Do you have a good ground between the pickup coil and the inside of the distributor?

Haynes says if you attach a light from the coil TACH to a good ground, and it stays on brightly but doesn't flash... "the problem is in the primary circuit (open for TACH to module) or ignition control module (stuck open transistor). Check primary circuit harness continuity from TACH to ignition module first.

 

[shift1313]

Ok, I swapped out the coil, and it ran for about 20 mins, then died.
Swapped out the pilot coil in the distributor, and the TFI-IV.

test light on the coil shows steady when I crank it, no blinking. No spark off the coil. I have +12 at the coil terminals.

Now I'm really pulling my hair out. :angry:

did you check your cap and rotor? ive had it happen once on a ford truck. the truck was running fine and all of a sudden just started sputtering and barely made it to my house. it was the cap and rotor. even if you have a good spark from your coil, if your rotor button has to much of a gap your plugs will never see spark. adding the new coil and tfi unit might have increased the intensity of your spark and bridged a bad gap for a bit.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

did you check your cap and rotor? ive had it happen once on a ford truck. the truck was running fine and all of a sudden just started sputtering and barely made it to my house. it was the cap and rotor. even if you have a good spark from your coil, if your rotor button has to much of a gap your plugs will never see spark. adding the new coil and tfi unit might have increased the intensity of your spark and bridged a bad gap for a bit.

I agree with Matt, that it is good to make sure that everything inside the cap is clean, that you have good connections, and that the cap and rotor should be servicable. But your problem appears to be before the current gets to the cap and rotor distribution to the plugs.