It Died! :(

[Bebop Man]

this is more than a little frustrating....

NAPA gave me another pick-up and ignition coil, swapped them in. Still no spark.

At this point, I'm almost looking at the computer. I've replaced (twice!) all the components that I can imagine that would be involved.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

this is more than a little frustrating....
NAPA gave me another pick-up and ignition coil, swapped them in. Still no spark.

At this point, I'm almost looking at the computer. I've replaced (twice!) all the components that I can imagine that would be involved.

Have you considered pulling codes?

Have you considered this?

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.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Also... I seem to recall reading that even with a bad computer, one would still get spark. The timing would be set at the base timing, but you would still get spark.

I might be wrong.

Check for bad wires in the primary circuit... bad connections.

 

[Bebop Man]

Have you considered pulling codes?
Have you considered this?

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.

Haven't pulled codes yet. I didn't think they would apply here. But that might be the thing to do

When I do put on the test light to the ignition coil harnerss, it flickers when i crank the engine. I wouldn't call it a flash, happens way too fast.

I'm thinking about a computer now. The only thing is that the model number of the computer is wore off. Anybody have any ideas what the #'s are for the EEC / ECC / ECM part?

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Haven't pulled codes yet. I didn't think they would apply here. But that might be the thing to do
When I do put on the test light to the ignition coil harnerss, it flickers when i crank the engine. I wouldn't call it a flash, happens way too fast.

I'm thinking about a computer now. The only thing is that the model number of the computer is wore off. Anybody have any ideas what the #'s are for the EEC / ECC / ECM part?

So when you put the tetst light to the TACH side of the coil it stays on... solidly? Yet when you put the light to the other end of the wire, where it goes to the ignition module, it flickers? IF that is the case... doesn't that mean that there is a break in the wire?

I may not have understood you correctly, OR you didn't do as the Haynes manual suggested.

 

[Bebop Man]

It flickers no matter which side of the coil I put the test light on.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

It flickers no matter which side of the coil I put the test light on.

You said this earlier...

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.

<snip>

The Haynes manual does NOT give that as one of the options for that test.

Options are 1. light flashes brightly

2. light shines brightly but doesn't flash

3. stays off or is very dim.

Yeah... I'm pulling my hair, with you.

Pull codes... It will only take you 30 minutes if you never did it before.I gave you a link to the instructions above.

jeo

 

[Bebop Man]

You said this earlier...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.

<snip>

The Haynes manual does NOT give that as one of the options for that test.

Options are 1. light flashes brightly

2. light shines brightly but doesn't flash

3. stays off or is very dim.

Yeah... I'm pulling my hair, with you.

Pull codes... It will only take you 30 minutes if you never did it before.I gave you a link to the instructions above.

jeo

I'm just telling you what I saw... The test light dimmed noticible and pulsed quickly, like it was trying to flash, but the lamp couldn't keep up with the signal. I get the same thing on both sides of the wiring harness.

Last night, I put the brand, brand new coil on, and it still didn't fire. This morning, I go back in, try it again just to see if maybe there was a 'cool-down, heat-up' thing going on, and while it didn't fire, I did hear a 'pop', like something was trying to ignite. Checked my TDC and rotor orientation, I was way off (like 30 degress) so I slide it over a few teeth and tried again. It ran, but rough.

Between hearing the pop and orienting the distributor, I pulled codes from the computer. I got a 1-1, which means 'system passed' according to the chart I've got.

Went through the timing process, engine runs, but idles way low, like 500 RPM.

After lunch, I'm going to run the trouble lights again, see if there's a difference. Then I'm going to put the old coil on, and see if it still starts.

Until I can duplicate the symptom and fix it again, I don't trust that I really fixed it. Being a professional computer geek has it's ups and downs.

If there's something else you guys want me to take a look at while i'm doing this, I'm more than open to ideas.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

I am pretty sure it is suppossed to be timed 10 degrees BTDC.

DOn't forget to pull your spout connector before you time it.

Now that you got it running, you might want to pull codes again.

KOEO and KOER

At least now you have spark. What did you do?

 

[BroncoJoe19]

deleted a double post

 

[Bebop Man]

I am pretty sure it is suppossed to be timed 10 degrees BTDC.DOn't forget to pull your spout connector before you time it.

Now that you got it running, you might want to pull codes again.

KOEO and KOER

At least now you have spark. What did you do?

I just put in another ignition coil. After that, it was just timing.

Now, here's the kicker.... I let it idle for 30 mins (timed it) and then let it run @ 2000 RPM for another 30 mins. No problems. Drove around town (25-35 mph) for about 20 mins, then took it on the highway (65 mph).

Turned around to come home, and as I was accelerating to highway speeds from a dead stop, it sputtered... tach bouncing all over the place, then died again.

So, what's happening that makes it eat ignition coils?

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Was the tach bouncing? or was the engine changing RPMs and the tack was reporting the changes in RPMs?

 

[Bebop Man]

Was the tach bouncing? or was the engine changing RPMs and the tack was reporting the changes in RPMs?

It was all happening pretty fast. The engine was definately missing. I'd say it was the latter.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

It was all happening pretty fast. The engine was definately missing. I'd say it was the latter.

OK.. you did it once... now it will be easier

Pull codes!

BTW.. we don't know for sure that the coil is fried unless you test it.

Does your Chilton's manual tell you how to test it?

 

[Bebop Man]

re: testing the coil...

All the other coils test good, too. Resistance across the terminals is .8 Ohms, across the high tension terminal it's around 8000 ohms.

In the morning I'll pull codes, double-check for spark off the coil, make sure the distributor is spinning, and then rig up a test light. Now that I know what to look for, I can use the test light a lot better now. There's a definate strobe-effect when the coil fires.

Assuming this coil went south, too... What caused it? What's in the engine that can fry ignition coils? My dad mentioned that maybe my Tach went bad, sending feedback to the coil.

 

[Bebop Man]

Pulled codes... I get a 1-1 again (system passed)

Checked for spark, no spark off coil. Distributor rotates. Trouble light on the coil harness, comes on as steady, both sides.

Something is eating my coils and I want it to stop /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[ford/moparguy]

Check all of your wires and make sure none of them are shorting out. This could potentialy fry your electronics. When you replaced the coil you might have temporarily fixed your problem. My buddies 88 bronco did the same thing as yours. No spark but had fuel. The power wire to the coil had 12 volts but would ground out while cranking. It was touching bare metal off and on but was frying his electronics. We changed the coil twice and the first time it ran for about an hour then just died. No spark but we saw the wire grounding out. Once we fixed the wire Presto it ran great. Hope this helps.

 

[Gordon]

this is more than a little frustrating....
NAPA gave me another pick-up and ignition coil, swapped them in. Still no spark.

At this point, I'm almost looking at the computer. I've replaced (twice!) all the components that I can imagine that would be involved.

Did you solve this problem? It sounds like one I'm having. I didn't have any codes stored that I could use to point to a problem area. Is there any connection between the no spark and the fuel tank pump issue?