<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=post2 vAlign=top></TD><TD class=post2 vAlign=top width="100%"><!-- THE POST 3574928 -->F150 straight six 94 190,000
totally random with no warning stops getting spark
3 mile walk back home
I may go back tomorrow and it will start
not related to temp, not related to bumps, nothing obvious all the other electrics function and it turns over fast
the closest thing I would say is maybe temp but it does it at random even with a warm underhood

i thought i had it fixed several times and now its back
it did it in the rain, was about to leave the job in the mud and pouring rain, backed up and it stalled , no mspark< tried everything for hours to get a spark but no go, it sat for several days and I went back on the motorcycle 110 miles in pouring rain with a distributor, coil and TFI but it started right up after sttting in the rain for three days but I have no idea what it was

have since changed the starter motor , recent battery

today I stopped and it would not start again , no spark

several times it has done this and I go under the hood wiggle a wire and try again and it starts
tried for an hour and mo luck
friday a week ago on the way home from work it died in freeway stop and go, unplugged the plug wire and no spark then started again after I unplugged and plugged back in the alternator harness I confirmed a strong spark

then a few miles later it did it again pulled over and tried the alternator plug but no help. tried wiggling the wire to the fender mounted tfi ? and it sparked plugged the plug wire back and it ran withoput a hiccup for another week until now

it does it sometimes driving along , two or three weeks ago it stalls and then restarts after I pull over
<!--emo&:frustrated:--><!--endemo-->
I have to get a vehicle , this is the absolute worst I have ever had to deal with ,
even my 1966 landcruiser was more dependable , at least if it broke you could trace it down
this thing looks like an antique space ship under the hood with spagetti and antique electronics drooped everywhere
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

HELP ! ! !

 

looks like I have a fender mounted EEC IV but the FN haynes isnt a big help said they changed it twice so they dont cover troubleshooting

this is real nice with a fever and pneumonia for the last two weeks and I gotts leave the mountain at 4;30 am tomorrow for work 6 hrs driving 8 hours work
may have to take the motorcycle

man I an sooo alone in this world

 

no help .....as usual

I have to laugh when I hear someone say being positive will always pull you through

what a bunch of bull****

I have stuck with this peice of crap ford and gave it every chance and preventive TLC known to man


its time to give up on this dead lane horse and move on , cant even get help from the "ford enthusiasts"

why di they put three different ign systems in this series ?
just to screw me , I get the FN basterd

 

sorry man, I've been on here all day and didn't see your post till just now.

My 92 straight 6 was doing the same thing.
6 months for me.
Wiggle this, f that, spark no spark like a bad dream.

DRY and sunny?
maybe
damp freezing rain?
didn't matter.

Turn the key to on and the fuel pumps kept running, thought the pressure wasn't getting high enuff but nooooooooo, not in this reality.
comPUTer shuts the pumps off after 2 seconds or NO SPARK!!

has NOthing to do with pressure.
crank spin spin no fire no start no spark.

pull a plug wire to check for spark, have spark and the sob started.

The increased demand on the spark generation reconnected something and it would run till it felt like not running.

Mine happened to be an intermittent Ninetynine cent capacitor in the computer that I replaced when everyone wanted big bucks for a computer.

I feel for you man,
I'm tied to a chair with a bad back and might even have trouble getting out if the house caught fire.

Gotta get creatively aggravated with motivation and outsmart the engineers.

Hopefully people will log in after work or after dinner and kick both our rrses

 

ps

I wish I knew what states people are in just for the salt rust corrosion factor, elevation
climatized or oxygenated fuel distributions.

I think it's info that would help.

 

It sounds like a dead ECU to me, if you get somewhere where you can safely open the computer, check for a dead capacitor (usually you'll find some sort of liquid or stain where it shouldn't be.

 

sorry to sidetrack, but do you think Venezuela would let us live there for the winter or permanently?
I'm sick of being cold.

Thanks

x2 on the ecu/eec btw

been there, done that and have the scars to prove it.

 

I will say this that the old carbbed 4.9l was a much better setup. Even though you cant rev it past 3500 with the single bbl carb.

I will say that expecting help in 1hr is a bit much. Especially at 8am Ive been working on my truck all day unfortunately, i would have much rather been here trying to help.

I do feel your frustration because I too am tracing down an issue with my 4.9. When you drove out with the dist, coil and tfi did you end up replacing any of those components(even though it ran?). Im guessing there may be something up with the pickup inside your dist. Could be some crud, wiring problem who knows. I had a car that did the same thing and for me it ended up being the ignitor connector. The pins didnt have good contact and every now and then it would die, wiggle the connector and vroom. Those are the worst problems because you can't find anything wrong when its running and it always dies at the worst time.


The best thing I can say is to have pull the codes next time it doesnt have spark. I dont know what the procedure is for the 94 but if the KOEO test cant communicate with something it will throw a code. I know for my 89 i just need a simple jumper wire and i can check the codes on the dash. It may at least point you in a certain direction.



one more thing. Anyone know what the ecu does when it detects a knock? Does it retard the timing or cut it all together?

 

thanks for the lead !

 

wow dr joe , I thought woe is me for having pneumonia, back trouble is horrible especially for mechanics
thanks for the help
so thats two for the ECU condensor

is it available from an electronics supply ?, or from an auto parts ? , ford ?
I suppose it would require heat sinking and low watt circuit board soldering methods of coure, (Not the big iron solder gun)

Im in the mtns of california 4500' lots of snow but no salt used on roads temps this week range from 30's at nite to 70's day

I have removed all the related connectors, scraped with a razor knife and added dieletric grease

I saw an old thread where someone suggested the PIP in the distributor ,
but the guy never came back to answer if he checked that, just dissapeared, I guess he got it running

and a buddy on another forum suggested the coil leaking oil and it looses spark at random when it gets warm but starts again when cool then gets progressively worse as it loses more oil ( sounds plausible also )

 

first and foremost thanks for the help,
I am losing time gathering info here instead of being out there stabbing around blind
so this is a big help

no i didnt really change anything ,I just loaded up and went home pouring rain all the way, it didnt let up for 6 days and I dont have a garage i was gonna do the fender tfi when i could find the right one but it ran great for about 3 more weeks (220 miles a day) and i thought it was over ...until recently

not getting any codes
the CE light does work
would the CE light stay on if there were codes ?

I am thinking , if the PIP were malfunctioning or the ECU it would send a code to the ecu ?
but a bad coil would just be out of the sensor loop ?

 

I've had similar problems with an '88 F250 that I own. The best suggestion is to trace all of your ignition wires. I don't necessarily mean the coil wire or the spark plug wires but rather the low voltage wires that control the condenser and the grounds around your voltage regulator. With what you are describing and the random nature of the problem it is likely to be a loose wiring connection. They frequently look good and the terminal to terminal connection may be but the problem is where the wire actually contacts the terminal. With the age of your truck I would say that this is a very likely problem. As involved as ECU diagnosis can be, I would look in this direction first.

 

I forgot the hairdryer trick If it seems heat or cold related.

Heat one component at a time until it starts . can help to pinpoint.and or cool spray or ice pack to cool and see what craps out.

let me go look at my extra capacitors, but remember, they have polarity and want to go in only one way.

99 cents at any radioshack and any computer geek can solder them in for a couple minutes work.

hang on..never mind, can't walk out there.
use the search key for capacitor and/or eec
There have been some extensive posts on here recently.

Most common symptom is fuel pumps do not run for 2 seconds and shut off with the key simply in the on position. they keep running = no spark.

 

The CEL may not come on for some codes. Mine has a PIP (14) and an EVP (34) code stored, but the light never came on.

Dave

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...nspection.html
lousy picture but the caps are blue and stand up on 2 thin wires like little pencil erasers.

they leak after so many years or cycles and are easily replaced if you've ever soldered anything
or get lucky and find the right one at a junkyard and plug it in.

IF that;s what it is.


They usually smell like electrical burn inside the cab more than under the hood. altho mine gave NO indicators.

The stoopid thing couldn't even blow UP correctly!!