Bad news for my 85 CV

[sly]

you do have a fuse on that charge wire and come conduit around it to prevent chafing right?

[fmansfield444]

you do have a fuse on that charge wire and come conduit around it to prevent chafing right?

Oh yes, it's not in its final place yet but I've got a fuse plus ill put some wrap on it.

I'm also going to wrap the fuel lines in some heat resistant wrap because my passenger side line runs pretty close to the exhaust header but it runs there from the factory I didn't do that.

[fmansfield444]

I ran into my first real problem last night, I wired it all up to the best of my knowledge and followed the EVTM's but I cannot get it to spark when trying to start.

I have replaced the dist cap/rotor, wires, and coil. And still it won't spark from the coil wire.

I tested the wires to the coil and from what I know one it supposed to get power with the ignition on, and the other is supposed to be a switching signal as the engine cranks (from pip sensor).

Well the problem is that the one that is supposed to be a switching signal just stays on with the ignition on but goes off when the engine is cranking. It seldom flashes like its supposed to always do.

This is leading me to believe that the pip sensor in the distributor must have gotten damage from the heat although it looks fine cosmetically. I will be taking the ICM and coil to have them tested today and hopefully this will be refutable evidence I need to buy a distributor.

Another thing is that I have a 91 ECM harness now as that's the only thing I could find around me. I used to have an 88 so I have the 85 and 88 EVTM's. is there any other odd thing in the ignition circuit of a 91 that I'm missing?

[sly]

if it came off a non-california car, it should be fine. Colors may vary, but plugs should match up.

[fmansfield444]

Yep non Cali car. Most of the colors are the same as the 88 EVTM, and similar to my 85's (dots turn to stripes). With this new harness I have the fancy new relays that clip onto the vac box but still wired all the same.

I took my coil and ICM to test and they both pass so I assume distributor is bad, I mean I can't complain it was in a fire. However I can get the coil to spark briefly as I'm stopping cranking the engine and at this time my test light picks up a signal from the PIP sensor so hopefully that's the problem.

I did get it to start today for a brief second then it lost spark and stalled. But at least it started

Got a fresh dizzy coming from rockauto it sucks I gotta wait for shipping but they cost $60 with shipping included at rockauto, while AZ wants $100 plus a $60 core, which is completely insane and not worth the instant gratification.

[marquisman]

Your using the original TFI module? Im sure the fire would have cooked it.

[fmansfield444]

Your using the original TFI module? Im sure the fire would have cooked it.

Ha no the original was definitely FUBAR. I am using a spare that I had, it passed 5 times at autozone so it shouldn't be the problem. I am using, or trying to use the distributor that was in the fire though. And I'm thinking the pip got internally damaged because I'm not getting a signal from it.

[marquisman]

Ah, yea, it dont take much to burn out little parts like the PIP. I had this problem with my brothers '88 town car once. It would flash spark just after cranking, not during. Month old PIP bit the the dust.

[fmansfield444]

That's exactly what this is doing. Has an occasional spark at the end of the crank. I'm hoping this is the problem, otherwise I'll be stumped

[fmansfield444]

Well got my new distributor in the mail today, its one of those stupid screw on rotor types though I hate those kind.

But I'll pop it in tomorrow and see if it runs

[fmansfield444]

Ugh still no spark. I am at a loss, I am getting 12 volts to the positive coil terminal, but the negative terminal is not functioning right.

I get 12 volts in run, then nothing when cranking. its my understanding that I'm supposed to be getting a pulsing 12 volts. Only thing I can think of is a bad ground somewhere, but I have 3 solid ones to the computer and one from the block.

It will occasionally spark as I go from cranking to off, which made it run for a brief second a while ago.

Any ideas?

[marquisman]

Are you using your original ECM?

[fmansfield444]

Are you using your original ECM?

I have tried using my original (SEFI) ECM, and also have tried using another ECM I had which I believe is an 89. Came from a grand marquis. Same outcome with both and I doubt they're both bad. Could be possible though

[sly]

and the TFI module is connected and properly greased with thermal compound? The TFI module is the one that actually tells the coil to pulse/fire.

[fmansfield444]

Yeah it's greased up and bolted to the distributor. Connected firmly and the connector clip is not broken so no wiggling.

I am thinking there is a bad ground somewhere but I have the 3 computer grounds and a block to body ground.

Maybe auto zones tests were lies? Perhaps I do actually have bad TFI?

I have been following this guide

http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/ford/4.9L-5.0L-5.8L/how-to-test-the-ignition-coil-1

Ad it leads me to this guide

http://easyautodiagnostics.com/ford_ignition_module/distributor_mounted_module_1.php

Which leads me to case 2 on test 4. Which apparently means a bad pip sensor. But I just replaced this? So maybe I got a dud from rockauto?