Hey there....

I'm having problems with my truck, and Ford seems to THINK that it MIGHT be the ignition module. Here is a run down of what has happened, is happening, and what has been done so far:

A “bang” that basically shakes the entire vehicle at highway speeds.
It is almost as if the transmission is slipping, then catches itself, and slams back into gear.

No set pattern or condition has been established.
Occurs at various speeds between 55-75 mph.
Not associated with being on or off the accelerator. (no tach. in truck, so I can’t tell rpm)
Not necessarily while going up or down hill.
Occurs with both front and rear fuel tanks.
Various brands and octanes of gas have no effect (positive or negative) Currently running 89 octane Mobil in both tanks
Dry gas has been used in both fuel tanks.

New battery and pickup coil in distributor were installed 1/4/03 and re-timed on 1/6/03.
Truck did not start on 1/3/03, so after failed attempt at jumping, original battery was removed, and a new battery was installed. Did not fix problem. After consulting with my mechanic, he suggested replacing the pickup coilin the dist. After replacing pickup coil and having engine re-timed, all problems seemed to go away totally for almost a week. Distributor cap and rotor both had slight build up of white corrosion on the contacts and end of the rotor, cleaned and replaced both pieces. New plugs and wires have yet to be installed.

Secondary problems: (possibly related):
Erratic idle (not all the time)
Seems to idle approx 500-1000 rpm higher than normal (best guestimate by ear - no tach)
Very hard to shift out of park without banging when high idle is occuring.
Does not seem to have and bearing on whether or not “banging” occurs.

Isolated incident
1/12/03, while traveling at approx 35mph, truck shut off. Was able to pull off road, put in neutral, and restart right way. Problem did not reoccur since then. Truck did seem to run “rougher” with some surging, and fluctuation of power at highway speeds, but not constantly.

AAMCO had checked the transmission when the problem originally started with the banging, in mid October. They pulled the transmission codes, road tested, checked fluid, etc. and found nothing out of the ordinary. Please contact them for further questions or information they may be able to provide.

The 35” tires have been on the truck for approx 3 years now, so I can’t attribute any of these problems to just installing the lift and new tires.

My local Ford dealer had it hooked up to all their diagnostics and even road tested it for close to 50 miles, and could not find any codes, or have it duplicate the problem for them.

I'm at a loss as to what is wrong, and what steps might be needed to do next. Is an ignition module anything complicated to swap out? Or does anyone have any other ideas as to what to check? I don't have much to spend on trying pieces and parts.

Thanks soooooooooooo much
Brian

 

It's tough to say if it is or isn't the module. 95% of the time when the module acts up, the vehicle will go dead. Completely. I have had two vehicles with modules cause guessing games. They work, and then all of a sudden, dead. Wait several minutes and the truck would start again. Run for minutes, hours, even days sometimes. Then, bang, crap out. Your problem sounds electrical to me either way. If it were me I would replace the module at this point just for peace of mind. I do hate the process of elimination theory but sometimes you have to bite the bullet. I have had vehicles that were problematic like this and many mechanics or dealers check them out and still never get the truck proper. I would then approach the truck logically and then start by process of elimination and finally get it corrected. It worked for me in respect to the fact that I could repair other trucks with similar problems cheaper. I don't like to suggest this type of meathod but at this point, it may be the way to go. You already have the pickup coil replaced. I would go over all wiring and ignition wires also. Good luck. Keep us posted. Jake.

 

 

btt one last time for any other thoughts......

 

If it has an "EEC TEST" connector near the L hood hinge, pull the codes:
http://www.broncodata.com/tech/codes.htm
If not, most parts stores will pull them free and decode them for you. Whoever pulls them, make sure to erase them when you're done, and then pull them again AS SOON as it happens again.

 

Brian, did you ever fix the problem?

 

yes i did.

ignition control module was at fault. replaced it and all was well.

 

im having the same problem, what brand of ignition control module did you buy? i drive a 1995, f-350, 4x4, 7.5L...thanks

do you have any notes for me that i should consider as well?

 

I'm still having that pain in the a-- problem, today it after I pulled the ICM off the fender well three days ago that after four years, it would start but would not catch, came home nine hours later and it started up and caught, still having it jerking feeling and rough Idle, but doing some more research today, talking to five more dealers, its a good chance its my upper intake gasket. So tommorrow I'm going to change it out, and hope the problem goes away.

 

well keep me updated, when i change out my ICM and if it doesn't fix the problem entirely, i want to stay in touch to see what else you are running into, thanks for the reply...i will let you know about the results i get once i install the new ICM