hi there, can anyone help me? my 97' f350 has just developed a stalling issue...... it starts fine in the mourning, idles great, but in my 10 min drive to work it dies after about 9 min and won't restart till it cools off! but yet if i leave it in the driveway and let it idle it will run for hours!!!! it just rolled over 100k, always been matained reg. only with true motorcraft parts, fresh tune up 5k ago.... i thought it was the TFI module so i replaced it but no luck....any ideas??? thank you guys in advance!

 

When it won't start, did you check for spark?

 

waiting for payday, right now all i have is a test light, it's not lighting when i turn it over but i was told that test light wont pick up a spark that fast.....is that true?

 

Yes it will. May I ask where you are connecting the test light?

 

grounded to the block, inserted into the plug wire.......is there a better way?

 

Depending on the style of bulb in the test light, the high voltage from the ignition could blow it.

I would use a spark tester like this:

 

Myself I just pull the coil wire from the cap, lay it on its side on a accessory bracket and have someone crank the motor for me.

Good strong spark will have no trouble jumping clear of the rubber boot to ground.

In a pinch or if in doubt, think its weak spark, put a screw driver in the wire end, lay its shaft near a ground.

You guys and your fancy stuff all the time......must be rough.....(hangs head in shame)...

Naww....guess I'm just too cheap!

 

$7 USD at da' Zone: OEM/In line ignition spark tester (25227) | | AutoZone.com

 

no spark......... possible stator? mabye coil?

 

Check the connection to the coil. More than once someone has replaced a bunch of parts then found out it was a bad connection to the coil. Does the truck have a tach? If so, does it show any RPM reading when cranking? It should. If not it is most likely a stator (PIP) problem. A very common problem on these trucks.

I have a meter that also reads frequency. I have used it in a pinch to measure if there was any signal getting to the coil.

 

thank you for the advice i will check that tonight and let you all know what i find out!
=)

 

ok............i don't know what to think about this......i was down at the local auto parts store yesterday discussing my issues with some of the guys there and this little old man walked up and said he had been listening to our conversation.....he told me he knew what the problem was, he said i needed a new rotor in my dist.! I informed him that i had just recently replaced it already and he said to replace it again that it was bad......i didnt really belive him, with the symptoms and all, it just didnt sound like a rotor, but i bought one anyways, trucks been running without a hitch ever sense!?!?!?! luck? years of knowledge? good guess? i am confused as to why that fixed the problem, and/or am i just getting lucky and its just not dying right now!?!?! if that was the problem then i have just gained a lot of respect for little old men in parts stores that's for sure!!! any thoughts from you guys?

 

Stranger things have happened. A simple rotor fixing the problem is suspect. But for the time being, see if it fixes the problem. Maybe the rotor tab was not making good contact after a period of time?